Filter Questions

Denther

Denther

Large Fish
#1
Feb 26, 2011
137
0
0
USA
#1
About a month ago I set up a 10g aquarium with a HOB style Aqua-Culture 5-15 filter. It has a flow rate of about 125 GPH according to a review of it on another forum.

I'm not currently having any problems with my filter. It's actually doing great considering it came with a cheapo kit from Wally World. Very quite and works well. It has however been suggested that I upgrade to a larger filter due to my over(ish) stocked tank.

I have fairly small fish (see sig) so I don't want a filter that is going to blow them around like crazy. I can probably block the flow of it with a clean plastic soda bottle, however.

What filters are good and what size should I get?

Or is it even necessary to upgrade at all?

My water does cloud up after about 4-5 days but I think that's mainly because I replaced the filter pad and probably threw it into another mini-cycle. I also change my water that often so it's not that big of a deal but clearer is better. :D

Thanks guys for any help in advance. *thumbsups
 

skjl47

skjl47

Large Fish
#2
Nov 13, 2010
712
0
0
Northeastern Tennessee.
#2
Hello; Let me start and I fully expect others will have varying opinions.
The best explanation I know of for over filtering was in a post on this forum in the past few days. The post cited the fact that higher filtration will have increased flow and will tend to keep the detritus suspended in the water longer thus allowing a better chance for it to be sucked into the filter medium and eventually removed when the medium is cleaned or changed. Do you have a problem with unwanted stuff building up on the bottom of the tank?

The other good point was about the fish that do better with additional current. If someone recognizes the post, perhaps you could point us back to it.

That said; I do not see why you need additional filtration if you are not having some sort of problem. My first ten gallon tank had an undergravel filter and an air stone. That was a standard setup for a number of years. Over time the variety of filter types available has grown and the flow rates have increased. My suspicion is that the 5 -15 power filter you have has a flow rate many times that of anything I had for a long time. Sort of seems like the standard recommendations for flow rates have increased over the years as the power of the HOB and other filters has increased. I like a HOB power filter and have them in use right now. I find no need to go beyond the filter recommended for my tank size. In fact I did use a power filter from a 10 gallon on a 29 gallon for several years with good results. ( I did have air bubbles and live plants.)

Will it hurt to have more filter than you need? Except for the expense, probably not.

One other point. Your tank does not seem overstocked to my way of thinking.
 

T

Tooj

Medium Fish
#4
Apr 9, 2011
61
0
0
Vancouver, B.C.
#4
yep, bioload and filtration
the thread also states that as long as all of your wastes are being converted into nitrates, there is no need for extra filtration (unless you want more water movement). However, its the nitrate buildup that limits the amount of fish you can have in the tank, not how much filtration you have.
 

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