What "they" say vs. reality (tank size and filter)

[Newt]

My Rena XP3 is good for tanks up to 175 gallons, so "they" say. Being that I have it on a 75 gallon it should be all the filtration my tank needs. But in reality if I run it alone without the supplemental HOB's the tank seems to get dirty real fast.

How is it decided what size tank a filter will handle? I've always purchased filters rated for tanks twice the size of the tank I'm running it on, anything smaller just doesn't seem to cut it.

Have you had the same experience with filters, ie: what its rated on the box isn't what it can keep up with in real life?

Oh, and if I put a power head or two in my 75 to increase water flow toward the intake of the XP3 do you think I could do away with the HOB's?

 

[WyldFya]

Yeah, I've done something similar. However, it greatly depends on the filter. For an eheim filter, I'd cut it down to around 50%. for an XP series even less than 50%. For a fluval down to 40%. I definitely don't buy the tetra whispers 40-60 gallon tank rating, I'd give that one 25%.

 

[RadleyMiller]

A lot of it is very dependant on fish load. Most people don't stock like us.

 

[Newt]

Another example:
On my 20 gallon I run a Penguin 200, rated to 50 gallons. Livestock is two Brazil puffers, one bristlenose pleco, red rams for the puffers to snack on, and a few plants. The filter just doesn't cut it. I'm cleaning that tank every three days. I figure I should only have to clean it once a week because of the "oversize filtration" and light stocking.

I'm putting a Penguin 350 back on the 20 gallon, started out with one but figured I was over doing it.

 

[RadleyMiller]

Get an EMP 400 for that tank. 20x turnover is fine. I'm turning over 30x at night and 36x during the day.

 

[ChileRelleno]

For most quality HOB/Canisters* I recommend automatically deducting 25% off the manufacturers max rated flow...
And that flowrate will decline further as the filter becomes dirty.
Buy a inexpensive flowmeter and put it inline on your filters outflow, this will give a idea of the difference between manufacturers rates, actual rates and degradation of flow over time (time to clean!)

IME/IMO a single Canister needs to be accompanied by 1-2 HOB's depending on tank size, type of fish and stocking level. I prefer/suggest this in part because IME a canisters strong point is bio/chem/mech and HOB's are mech/chem/bio, they compliment each other.
I'd suggest adding a extra mech pad or two (fine/coarse) to your XP3 and trying that in addition to the powerheads. If your using chem-media in a basket, try replacing with a mech-media, great thing is that most mech does double duty as bio.
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One question pops to mind...
How much, how often & what are you feeding?
Too much wasted food and increased waste output due to overfeeding fouls tanks/filters quickly.










*The makes I consider acceptable quality are, HOB- AC & EMP, Canister- Eheim, Cascade, Rena XP's, and maybe Fluvals... I wouldn't use nor recommend anything else.

 

[Tongue33]

Sometimes we look at our signatures and think how much water would be ideal for all these fish to co-exist ... And then we think wow what a small filter I have

Just thought I'd add a little tension breaking funny

 

[cichlid savage]

What is your water change schedule. With a good W/C schedule keep adding filters til the water stays clear.

 

[WyldFya]

IME/IMO a single Canister needs to be accompanied by 1-2 HOB's depending on tank size, type of fish and stocking level. I prefer/suggest this in part because IME a canisters strong point is bio/chem/mech and HOB's are mech/chem/bio, they compliment each other.

Agreed.

One question pops to mind...
How much, how often & what are you feeding?
Too much wasted food and increased waste output due to overfeeding fouls tanks/filters quickly.

*The makes I consider acceptable quality are, HOB- AC & EMP, Canister- Eheim, Cascade, Rena XP's, and maybe Fluvals... I wouldn't use nor recommend anything else.

Also very true, however it is also important IMO to shut the filters down while feeding, as this attributes to food waste, and adds to the bio-load. By turning off filters while feeding your fish will be able to eat the food easier, and less will get taken up into your filter.

Another brand I like for canisters is catalina, although they don't have parts, they are very similar to the Pro 2 series Eheims, but are only $60.