Filtration for 46 gallon

[FISHGUY40219]

ok here is the deal i love having crystal clear water 24/7 in my tank. Im picking up a 46 gallon bow front soon, and i got to thinking about what kind of filter to get. I wanna get a Magum 350, which should be enough but since money isnt a issue with this i thought about picking up a fluval 405 or maybe another magum 350, and running 2 350's. I also will be using a protein skimmer. I know this will be extreme overkill, but i just wanna keep my water clear all the time. What are your thoughts and opinion's on this. Thanks

[zenkatydid]

you are going to end up with a lot of circulation, so make sure the fish you want like that. also, in my experience, you are always going to get bits of something or other floating around. fish poo in mid-stream, so it will float around until it gets sucked in by the filter. having "clear" water is only a matter of avoiding green water (algal bloom) or a bacterial bloom, which can happen to any new tank.

[FISHGUY40219]

Originally Posted by zenkatydid

you are going to end up with a lot of circulation, so make sure the fish you want like that. also, in my experience, you are always going to get bits of something or other floating around. fish poo in mid-stream, so it will float around until it gets sucked in by the filter. having "clear" water is only a matter of avoiding green water (algal bloom) or a bacterial bloom, which can happen to any new tank.

would you recommend i just stay with one magum 350?

[zenkatydid]

i've never used the magnum 350 so i can't recommend it specifically, but it's rated for a 100gal tank - i think one will be fine.

you can always start with one anyway, and if you feel you'd like more filtration, just add another.

[Fishyfanatic]

The protein skimmer will be of no use in a FW tank. I have never used a Magnum 350 either so I can't comment on the flow that it produces.

[JustOneMore20]

I am not familiar with the Magnums either. I will suggest a Rena XP3 because I really like that line of cannisters. Using one of those will be enough filtration to keep the water clean and clear. I use one on my 55g and it does an excellent job. For a 46g it would work well.

[squawkbert]

I would suggest an Eheim 2213 or 2215 (larger, higher flow than the 2213) over Magnum or Fluval or Rena.

[maxwell1295]

My 46Bow has a Penguin 350 and a Filstar XP2. The water is crystal clear and there isn't too much circulation. I also have a AC30 powerhead in there (soon to be an AC50). I also plan on replacing the Penguin with either a Eheim 2213 or 2215. I tend to overfilter my tanks anyway. My 55G has 2 Ehiem 2217s on it...