55 gal filter setup & CO2 setup

[Codefox]

I've been thinking of doing C02 since I'll have 2 WPG of cf lights and what I've read seems to indicate that that's very close to the same thing as 3 WPG of normal florescents.

1) Do I really need a canister setup to do CO2? I really don't want to go that route if I don't have to.

2) My current filters are a HOT Magnum & a Penguin BioWheel 200. Is the HOT enough filtration for the tank without the Penguin? If I do CO2 will the powerfilter ruin that whole setup?

Even though I'm just setting up my tank, I could always just pour all of my biomedia into a different canister filter if I should change that setup. Though I'd rather just keep the magnum. I never used a canister before so I don't know if it's enough filtration for the tank.

 

[Codefox]

I was reading some of the stickies above and I saw one of them recommended not exceeding 5x GPH. I assume this is for the canister. Since my Magnum does 250 GPH, I'd be at 4.5 GPH which I assume is adequate. (Still getting used to this whole canister thing.) There is biomedia in the Magnum so if I take off my HOB filter when I put the plants in, it sounds like I'd be ok with that level of filtration?

Then I could start pumping in C02 though I'm still trying to find a way to do it effectively without having a huge air tank sitting there.

 

[AlexPerez]

You could keep the HOB and just remove the bio wheels. The bio wheels will degass a lot of CO2, if your doing Pressurized CO2 its not a big deal, since all you have to do is add more CO2. I used to run 2 emperor 400 on my 55 Gallon with
Pressurized CO2 and It was working fine. I did have to pump in a lot of CO2 into the tank though. Once I switched to a canister I had to back off on the CO2 a
whole lot. a 5lbs tanks would last about 2 months with the 400 and about 7-8 months with the canister.

Regards,
ALex

 

[Purrbox]

You don't need to switch to a canister filter in order to inject CO2. If you use a HOB you just want to make sure that it doesn't have a BioWheel (if it does remove it) and that it doesn't splash a lot when returning the water to the tank.

You could feed the CO2 line into the input of your filter and let the impeller break up the CO2 for you. There is some risk of damaging the filter with this method and it can be noisy, but many people use it with lots of success.

 

[Codefox]

Well thing is I do have a canister on the tank. I have a HOT Magnun which is rated at 250 GPH. I had initially purchased the BioWheel 200 simply because I didn't know anything about canisters and wanted to bring the water turnover to around what I have with a HOB filter setup. So I'm wondering if I should just take off the HOB entirely and leave the Magnum.

I don't have anywhere to hide a CO2 canister and would rather not have it sitting in plain sight is the reason I'd like to find another option.

Feeding CO2 in the magnum would definately not work...it's hard enough to get that thing sealed up tight as it is :?

Thanks for the help everyone

 

[Hoovercat]

The HOT magnum is one of the best canisters to inject CO2 into because of its bottom mounted motor.

 

[Codefox]

I'm still unclear if I'd have enough filtration just taking the whole BioWheel 200 off the tank. And how exactly would I inject into the magnum? Do I need a pressured tank for that?

 

[Hoovercat]

The HOT is rated by the manufacturer for tanks up to 55gal. so if you don't overstock it should work. You will probably have to clean it more often than a larger canister. All you need to do to "inject" CO2 into it is put the output hose of DIY or pressurised supply in the intake of the HOT (squeeze the hose and stick it into the strainer on the up pipe). Use the foam covered plastic can and fill the can with ceramic bio-rings.

 

[Codefox]

Ok, I'll pull the biowheel off the other filter then to increase my mechanical filtration so I don't overload the canister. Since it's pushing the limit for my tank I'll probably upgrade the magnum eventually.

Are you refering to filling up the middle of the magnum with biorings? I've down that.