Filter too powerful?

ravichr

ravichr

Medium Fish
#1
Apr 18, 2005
50
0
0
Mansfield, CT
#1
I'm having a 14g tank with 5 fishes (listed below).

The filter that I'm using right now is the one that came with the box. It was a Tetra 5-15 filter. I'm now planning to get a Tetra 40 gallon filter. So here are my questions:

1. Will the filter be too powerful? I have a Silver Molly who is small.

2. Can I simply remove the bio-pad from the existing filter and use it in the new filter or should I run both filters simultaneously fo a while? IF I run both of them simultaneously, then I will have to remove the hood, but I guess I can find a way.

Thanks.

Ravi
 

ishar

ishar

MFT Staff
#2
Jul 27, 2007
1,490
0
36
36
Hamilton, ON.
#2
I would say it would be too powerful- my guess would the that the current woul dbe way too bothersome for your molly. A 20G filter would be fine, btu a 40 IMO would just be overkill.

When you add a new filter you could run them simultaneously to 'cycle' the new filter, but (I am not 100% on this) you should be fine considering you are keeping all of your gravel and decor. Your tank may minicycle but it shouldn't be too big of a deal- do one water change a day until it stops and I *think* it would be fine.
 

S

SeaMonkeyMiner

Large Fish
#3
Jan 27, 2004
250
0
0
38
Nipomo CA
#3
Its sounds a little over kill for the tank. The turnover rate may be to high and some of your fish may get sucked into the filter or sucked to the uptake tube either way it is not a good idea in my opinion.

Why are you planning on getting a filter that large or a new filter altogether?

I would do what ishar said. think about a smaller filter. On the whispers is the filter pad disposable? if so your tank is going to have a mini cycle every time that you change it but there is bacteria on your decor and gravel so you could run both or swap them out cold turkey. I would recommend doing a hybrid of the two by some how placing the old filter pad in with the new filter and pad so that you do not have so much turbulence in the tank with two filters running
 

cchase85

cchase85

Large Fish
#8
Jun 6, 2006
446
0
0
38
New England
#8
I'm not exactly sure of the price differences, but just go for an Aquaclear HOB filter. They are far better than the other brands in terms of media volume, longevity, build quality, and parts availability.

Anything else is a throw-away, in my opinion.

On a 14 gallon tank, I would try to find a filter rated for a 30 gallon tank. On Aquaclear filters, you can adjust the flow rate in case you feel it is too much. I think going for a filter designed for a 20g tank on a 14g is risking serious underfiltration and dead spots in the tank.
 

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