marineland penguin 200 bio-wheel power filter

[Aqualady40]

Curious question, I bought a Marineland penguin 200 bio-wheel power filter for my 40 gallon tank. It says it pumps 200GPH, is that sufficient enough for a 40 gallon that will be housing African Cichlids??????

 

[RussellC]

I would imagine that it depends on your stocking level, but 200gph is 5x tank size, which seems to be the most prevailing general recommendation, however:

With messier fish, it is commonly recommended to double the filtration capacity. While I've never kept them myself, it's my understanding that cichlids fall into that category.

Best!

 

[mohican]

Filtration turnover is crucial but not the be all end all. The 5x, 10x turnover rates are old school as filters today are better than previous years. I think ur filter will be fine. Just keep up with wc as usual and you'll be fine.

 

[Aqualady40]

I would imagine that it depends on your stocking level, but 200gph is 5x tank size, which seems to be the most prevailing general recommendation, however:

With messier fish, it is commonly recommended to double the filtration capacity. While I've never kept them myself, it's my understanding that cichlids fall into that category.

Best!

Okay, thank you for the info. I felt that this is enough filtration but as I did with my 55g I am going to add another filter of the same size well before the AC's get full size.

 

[tamtam]

Personally I would do more. I currently run 2 150s(total 300 GPH) on my 20.

I think 200 is just scraping by and you'd want to keep a light stock with that.

I'm also of the mind that you can't have too much filtration though. It would certainly do for now but personally I think I'd add a second down the road as you build your stock.

 

[Wyomingite]

Curious question, I bought a Marineland penguin 200 bio-wheel power filter for my 40 gallon tank. It says it pumps 200GPH, is that sufficient enough for a 40 gallon that will be housing African Cichlids??????

Howdy!

I generally recommend a flow rate of 8-10 times the volume of the tank for African cichlids for a coupla reasons. First, they are messy fish. Second, to minimize aggression, it is often necessary to overstock these fish significantly. Not so much with Lake Tanganyikan cichlids, but it is absolutely necessary with Lake Malawi and Lake Victorians. What kind of Africans are ya lookin' at?

So in yer case, you'd be lookin' at 320-400 gph. I have one 40 breeder; I have a Penguin 350 on it. Ya could easily add another 200 and be well-protected.

WYite

 

[Aqualady40]

Howdy!

I generally recommend a flow rate of 8-10 times the volume of the tank for African cichlids for a coupla reasons. First, they are messy fish. Second, to minimize aggression, it is often necessary to overstock these fish significantly. Not so much with Lake Tanganyikan cichlids, but it is absolutely necessary with Lake Malawi and Lake Victorians. What kind of Africans are ya lookin' at?

So in yer case, you'd be lookin' at 320-400 gph. I have one 40 breeder; I have a Penguin 350 on it. Ya could easily add another 200 and be well-protected.

WYite

Hi as stated above I am going to add another filter...I am leaning to buy another of the same brand and size making that a total of 400 gph....I figured that would be sufficient enough.....please let me know if any of you think I should do something different......thank you for the input

 

[aaronjohn20]

Hi as stated above I am going to add another filter...I am leaning to buy another of the same brand and size making that a total of 400 gph....I figured that would be sufficient enough.....please let me know if any of you think I should do something different......thank you for the input

I've got a penguin 350 on my 20g lol. Why didn't you go bigger to begin with? If I remember correctly I bought mine for about $35 shipped from amazon. That's the place to buy stuff. I always price things online cause they seem to be cheaper, unless its something that I have to have right away, or sometimes a pay alil more at the lfs cause I like to support them since they are a little mom n pop store. Well maybe just a pop store cause I've never seen mom lol