Filter - Aquarium Advice

Mlrust1816 · 04-11-2006, 08:56 PM

Ok so the past two filters I've gotten have puttered out on me so I decided to go with the penguin bio wheel for my 20 gallon tank. It turned out that the smallest penguin bio wheel available at my LFS was a 50 gallon filter.

As far as I understand you cant have too much filtration. the only problem is that this filter causes alot of turbulance on the surface, this worried me because I dont want the water to become so airated that it becomes cloudy.

What problems am I going to face with using this big filter in a small tank?

severum mama · 04-11-2006, 09:06 PM

Did you get the Penguin 200B then (200 gph)? That's actually the one I would have picked for a 20 gallon. All the tanks I have that use HOB filters have at least 10x turnover per hour. IMO the manufacturer's rating for HOBs is usually very overestimated; like if you really put that filter on a 50 gallon tank there would be a bunch of dead spots and it just wouldn't be powerful enough. If you raise the water level in your tank, that might help with the surface agitation. You shouldn't have any problems unless you are keeping fish that really don't like a lot of current, like bettas. I'm not familiar with the newer line of Penguins, but the older model Penguin I had allowed the user to adjust the flow by pulling up on the intake tube. Maybe that is possible for yours as well.

Mlrust1816 · 04-11-2006, 09:14 PM

Yep the one I got, filtered 200 gph

severum mama · 04-11-2006, 09:19 PM

Oh, I forgot to ask... Did you keep your media from the filter that broke? If not, you will need to test your water and be prepared to do some pwc's, as your tank will likely experience a mini cycle. Also cut down on feeding if this is the case. If you still have the media, and it is still wet, either add it to the new filter or float it in the tank.

tbonem91 · 04-12-2006, 01:00 PM

riasing your water level will greatly help with the surface agitation. Also, unless you have a ton of waste in your gravel, you shouldnt have an issue with cloudiness caused by high flow.

In my planted 20, whenever I move things around I stir up a lot of debris and to clean it out, I turn the flow rate on both of my filters to the max - I've found that a higher flow will help clear the water sometimes

Mlrust1816 · 04-13-2006, 08:06 PM

I knew to keep the media, I also added a little stress zyme to boost the biological filtration.

This filter has ended up working out pretty good, it is a little loud but I havent had any troubles with cloudiness.

04-11-2006, 08:56 PM	#1
Mlrust1816 Aquarium Advice Regular Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Winona Mn Posts: 65	Filter Ok so the past two filters I've gotten have puttered out on me so I decided to go with the penguin bio wheel for my 20 gallon tank. It turned out that the smallest penguin bio wheel available at my LFS was a 50 gallon filter. As far as I understand you cant have too much filtration. the only problem is that this filter causes alot of turbulance on the surface, this worried me because I dont want the water to become so airated that it becomes cloudy. What problems am I going to face with using this big filter in a small tank? __________________ Mike 20 Gallon High Power head for water movement and a Cascade 100 Filter 1 Male and 1 Female Mikrogeophagus altispinosus 4 Coradoras (3 juli, 1 yellow rabauti) 1 Brachydanio rerio 5 Hyphessobrycon serpae 1 Gyrinocheilus aymonieri 1 Otocinclus

04-11-2006, 09:06 PM	#2
severum mama Aquarium Advice Addict Community Mentor Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Louisville, KY Posts: 2,771 Images: 22	Did you get the Penguin 200B then (200 gph)? That's actually the one I would have picked for a 20 gallon. All the tanks I have that use HOB filters have at least 10x turnover per hour. IMO the manufacturer's rating for HOBs is usually very overestimated; like if you really put that filter on a 50 gallon tank there would be a bunch of dead spots and it just wouldn't be powerful enough. If you raise the water level in your tank, that might help with the surface agitation. You shouldn't have any problems unless you are keeping fish that really don't like a lot of current, like bettas. I'm not familiar with the newer line of Penguins, but the older model Penguin I had allowed the user to adjust the flow by pulling up on the intake tube. Maybe that is possible for yours as well. __________________ WE CAN STAGE A RUNAWAY GOLF CART MARATHON 5 gallon, 45 gallon, and 55 gallon planted 75 gallon SA/CA cichlids 8 gallon Oceanic BioCube nano reef

04-11-2006, 09:14 PM	#3
Mlrust1816 Aquarium Advice Regular Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Winona Mn Posts: 65	Yep the one I got, filtered 200 gph __________________ Mike 20 Gallon High Power head for water movement and a Cascade 100 Filter 1 Male and 1 Female Mikrogeophagus altispinosus 4 Coradoras (3 juli, 1 yellow rabauti) 1 Brachydanio rerio 5 Hyphessobrycon serpae 1 Gyrinocheilus aymonieri 1 Otocinclus

04-11-2006, 09:19 PM	#4
severum mama Aquarium Advice Addict Community Mentor Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Louisville, KY Posts: 2,771 Images: 22	Oh, I forgot to ask... Did you keep your media from the filter that broke? If not, you will need to test your water and be prepared to do some pwc's, as your tank will likely experience a mini cycle. Also cut down on feeding if this is the case. If you still have the media, and it is still wet, either add it to the new filter or float it in the tank. __________________ WE CAN STAGE A RUNAWAY GOLF CART MARATHON 5 gallon, 45 gallon, and 55 gallon planted 75 gallon SA/CA cichlids 8 gallon Oceanic BioCube nano reef

04-13-2006, 08:06 PM	#6
Mlrust1816 Aquarium Advice Regular Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Winona Mn Posts: 65	I knew to keep the media, I also added a little stress zyme to boost the biological filtration. This filter has ended up working out pretty good, it is a little loud but I havent had any troubles with cloudiness. __________________ Mike 20 Gallon High Power head for water movement and a Cascade 100 Filter 1 Male and 1 Female Mikrogeophagus altispinosus 4 Coradoras (3 juli, 1 yellow rabauti) 1 Brachydanio rerio 5 Hyphessobrycon serpae 1 Gyrinocheilus aymonieri 1 Otocinclus

04-12-2006, 01:00 PM	#5
tbonem91 Aquarium Advice FINatic Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Colorado Springs, CO, USA Posts: 569 Images: 21	riasing your water level will greatly help with the surface agitation. Also, unless you have a ton of waste in your gravel, you shouldnt have an issue with cloudiness caused by high flow. In my planted 20, whenever I move things around I stir up a lot of debris and to clean it out, I turn the flow rate on both of my filters to the max - I've found that a higher flow will help clear the water sometimes

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