Question about Filters

[AdamMAXIS]

I have a 10 Gallon tank.. and it's sorta overstocked with fish.. but I don't mind because they are all pretty much feeder fish for my turtle.

I have about 20 small guppies, 10 Rosy Red minnows(tuffys?), 4 Zebra Danios and of course Toby the turtle(shell length about 2 inches). The fish and the turtle are doing very well and show no signs of stress. I keep the tank well maintained and clean it once or twice a week. However, with all these things inside the tank, it puts hell of a strain on my Aqua Clear filter.. So I bought another filter at the local Walmart(I hate Walmart) and was wondering if there is a review on it..
It's a Tetra. It's called "Whisper Power Filter" and says it's for 20-40 gallon tanks.. I'm hoping to run these filters like you would run memory in a computer (Dual Channel).. With double the filters, double the performance right?

Which filter is better and why?

Thanks*SUPERSMIL

 

[AdamMAXIS]

Hmm.. According to my calculations, the filters should filter all the water 46.25 times per hour.. or every 1 minute and 17 seconds..

Is that good?

 

[bigredspecial]

I had a post a while back, explaining why I got rid of a whisper:http://www.myfishtank.net/forum/showthread.php?t=25089.

No doubt, it's much better than a lone AQ, and you made the right decision to buy a second filter, but in my opinion AQ's are vastly superior filters; quieter, more media, less clogging, and seem to be all around better quality.

 

[Lorenceo]

Well, first I'll say that you need to do something about your stocking levels.
You cant keep that many fish in such a small tank and hope to keep them all alive and well.
Either get rid of some fish, or get a bigger tank. Your lfs would probably take them for you.

Best filter?
One word. Eheim.
Why?
Because they are the best filters on the market. They last for decades, never leak and are silent.

However, on a 10g an Eheim is a bit extreme, you could get an internal Eheim though.

But, imho, you need to get rid of some fish or get a bigger tank.
Having filtration for say.. a 50g tank on a 10g doesnt mean you can stock the 10g with 50" of fish.
Its the oxygen levels that are important, and with heaps of fish in a small tank, the oxygen levels are low.

In conclusion, get a bigger tank, or get rid of some fish.
I'd go for the bigger tank

 

[AdamMAXIS]

bigredspecial: I really do like my AquaClear too. It's a nice filter. Best looking filter I've seen.

Lorenceo: I really would like to get a bigger tank, but I am currently in college and I can not fit any more fish tanks in my room(4 tanks). As for the stocking levels, my turtle loves to eat the feeding guppies; so I'm sure that they'll all be gone in a week or two.

When Tara(my other turtle) was still alive, she and Toby(alive turtle) would hunt the Rosy Reds together and catch 1 or 2 of the unhealthy/slow ones per week.

As for the oxygen levels, I have a few plants in there which seem to be doing their job, and my AquaClear is bringing a lot of oxygen into the tank because it acts as a sort of water fall due to the fact that my water level is slightly lower for the turtle.

 

[Orion]

For a RES alone I would get the biggest tank you can get and a small canister. Just wait till the guy grows a little more, they are some of the dirtiest creatures IMO you'll ever keep in a tank. And about 10x's as dirty if feed live food. They do make prepared food for RES that mine took for many years with no problems.

But like was already stated, a canister on a 10 would be pushing it a bit. Two filters are better than one in your situation.

 

[AdamMAXIS]

I have 3 types of prepared food: Hikari Turtle sticks, floating turtle pellets by Zoo Med, and some Tetra garbage. I love to watch him hunt though, it's very entertaining.

 

[AdamMAXIS]

Hmm.. I can't find a good filter placement for my tank. No matter what I do, it seems squished..