Dual Aqueons on 60-Gallon?

[Osage_Winter]

Because we are in the process of stocking a 60-gallon rectangular with fancytail goldfish and I was told repeatedly that these are "dirty" fish that give off a lot of waste (which they do), I just today purchased a second Aqueon QuietFlow filter to accompany the main one we had running in the tank, a model 55 (which was supposed to be good for up to 60 gallons).

I have the smaller Aqueon running on the other side of the tank from the 55, as I thought the extra filtration would be beneficial to the goldfish, but is it okay to run two filters on a tank, notably with one being a different size/model load from the other? Is this too much turbulence in the water in terms of current?

 

[mfdrookie516]

Not at all... how big is the other filter? I'm not sure that I would go with anything less than two filters 'rated' for 55g tanks or bigger.

 

[Osage_Winter]

Not at all... how big is the other filter? I'm not sure that I would go with anything less than two filters 'rated' for 55g tanks or bigger.

Really, nothing less than a filter like that? Well, it's a good idea that I got the second filter then -- the original filter that has been running is a QuietFlow model 55 from Aqueon, and the one we bought today to supplement it is a model 20. This one is like half the size of the 55, using only one media cart, but I figured this was okay just to aid in the bigger filter's job...

 

[carpus]

A thought or two...

I am putting some smaller Aquaclear HOBs on a large tank, and I thought of having one of them draw water from near the bottom of the tank, through an extension of the intake tube. I would have the other draw from about half-way down in the tank. This would give better mixing of tank waters.

Also, and I think your units are good candidates for this, I add additional material/layers to my filtration. I add Seachem Purigen in a pre-bagged form, ditching the carbon filter stage, and add extra bio-media. I also use a pre-filter on my tubes, and put a thin layer of polyester sheet in front of my filter sponge to take out lots of junk. You have to rinse the prefilter on the tube regularly, as it can clog, and I throw away the poly sheet every time I rinse the filter stuff--there is no way to clean it.

 

[Osage_Winter]

Thanks very much for your input, carpus! It's appreciated...

I am putting some smaller Aquaclear HOBs on a large tank, and I thought of having one of them draw water from near the bottom of the tank, through an extension of the intake tube. I would have the other draw from about half-way down in the tank. This would give better mixing of tank waters.

Sounds like a good idea for a clear tank...I actually found out about the supposedly awesome AquaClear filters after I purchased my two Aqueons; if I could do it over again, I'd get the AquaClears...

Also, and I think your units are good candidates for this, I add additional material/layers to my filtration. I add Seachem Purigen in a pre-bagged form, ditching the carbon filter stage, and add extra bio-media. I also use a pre-filter on my tubes, and put a thin layer of polyester sheet in front of my filter sponge to take out lots of junk. You have to rinse the prefilter on the tube regularly, as it can clog, and I throw away the poly sheet every time I rinse the filter stuff--there is no way to clean it.

Thanks for the advice here; actually, I have heard really good things about the Purigen -- I want to use it for crystal clear water, but I am in the midst of a very delayed cycle right now using Stability, so I was advised to wait a bit on the Purigen...

How do the Purigen pre-bagged pouches work? Do they just drop into the filter's media area with the carts?

 

[carpus]

Response from Carpus...

The Purigen bags just drop into the filter basket. Some large baskets would be too big and I don't know what I would do with those, maybe lay two bags diagonally? With smaller baskets like the AC20 has, I sort of squish the bag up a bit and it fits.

Remember that you can use Prime as an ammonia detox tool, too.

I think the big concept here is too maximize your filtration in any way you can. Any space I can take up in the filter basket with some kind of media is the right move in my mind. I usually end up with about 1/3 more physical material in the filter basket than came with the unit originally.

 

[Osage_Winter]

The Purigen bags just drop into the filter basket. Some large baskets would be too big and I don't know what I would do with those, maybe lay two bags diagonally? With smaller baskets like the AC20 has, I sort of squish the bag up a bit and it fits.

Remember that you can use Prime as an ammonia detox tool, too.

I think the big concept here is too maximize your filtration in any way you can. Any space I can take up in the filter basket with some kind of media is the right move in my mind. I usually end up with about 1/3 more physical material in the filter basket than came with the unit originally.

Thanks much.