56 gallon "column", any thoughts?

[ben1157]

I'm thinking of upgrading my 29g and I want to go for the biggest tank that I can fit into the space that I have. I've been looking at the 56g "column", it's 30x18x24 so it'll fit perfectly where my 29 is right now.
I want to use another biowheel filter (I have a penguin 150 on the 29) but the penguin 350 (rated for 75g) won't fit on the tank because of the center brace and I think that the penguin 200 (rated for 50g tanks) will be too small. I want to stick with these filters and came up with the idea that I could put two penguin 150's on the tank (one on either side of the center brace) and then I'd have 300 GPH of filtration.... right?
Also, the tank will have corys in it and I heard they prefer a fine substrate, they are in the 29g right now and they seem to have a hard time getting to the left over food that sinks into the standard gravel I have in the tank right now... though they seem very happy. Again, any thoughts? thanks.

 

[theotheragentm]

You can buy pool filter sand, which is silica sand from a pool supply store. Ask for pool filter sand, not anything else. There are a few chemically created replacements, but plain pool filter sand is what you will want. It's $10/50lbs or so. It can be a pain in the butt to rinse out though. Mine was extremely dirty.

Is there a reason you want to stick with these types of filters? You might be able to get away a canister filter, and then you wouldn't need to worry about the the size of how it sits on top.

 

[SparKy697]

"column", it's 30x18x24

Being that you are calling this tank a column, is the 30 inch the height? If so, I have some concerns about circulation. Can you get the suction tube extended to the bottom of the tank? Some of this is just a gut feeling but I think you may be a little better off with a bigger canister filter that can move a little more water than you normally would to help make sure you are getting good agitation throughout the tank.

 

[ben1157]

I'm sticking with the penguins because I travel for work and they're very easy to mantain, my girlfriend looks after the tank while I'm gone and don't want to leave her with a canister filter to deal with... unnpluging hoses and so on.
I like the sound of the filter sand, I'll def look into it!!
thanks.

 

[theotheragentm]

If you don't want a canister filter, you definitely want to look into seeing if you can get the intake tube as far down as you can go so that the water is not stagnant in the bottom. Another thing you might want to look into is a powerhead to get circulation going, although I have never used one and am not sure they work for vertical circulation.

Good luck with the sand. I got mine from a local Leslie's Pool Supply. They're all over the place, and they have pool filter sand. Just a reminder, it was a pain in the ass to filter it over and over. I used a full 50lb bag on my standard 55-gallon tank. I would go with rinsing a little at a time as it becomes discouraging the 20th rinse and the water is still brown.

 

[jamesrm]

I will guarantee you that good canisters are easier to maintain than most HOB filters. Get a Rena XP3 for that tank. Price match Petsmart and get it for 104.99 at a local store. You can get the tube down about 2.5 feet and they have a 350 gph turn over. You need to do minimal maintance once a month. It DOES NOT get easier than that.

 

[theotheragentm]

I will guarantee you that good canisters are easier to maintain than most HOB filters. Get a Rena XP3 for that tank. Price match Petsmart and get it for 104.99 at a local store. You can get the tube down about 2.5 feet and they have a 350 gph turn over. You need to do minimal maintance once a month. It DOES NOT get easier than that.

I have the XP3 as well on my 55-gallon tank. There is also a $25 rebate at PetSmart for these filters too that runs through at least mid January if I recall correctly, making the price awesome.

Like jamesrm said, there is little maintenance with these things and you can detach the tubes from the filter and they have very little water drip, maybe a few drops here and there. You can just detach the tubes and take the filter away for cleaning, although its not very often that you need to do this.

 

[jcarlilesiu]

Thats the tank I have. See the pictures in my gallary. I have a HOT magnum canister on the tank. I have the intake extender so its nearly to the bottom. The tank is 30 wide by 18 deep by 24 tall. As for circulation, I also have a power head I move around to keep some of the water circulating in "dead areas".

As for the tank itself, I like it. It makes maintanence a little more difficult as you really have to go swimming to get to things on the bottom. The center brace is a little bit of a pain because of how filters mount. For instance, with my HOT magnum (250 gph), it isn't sitting completely seated because of the length of the whole set up. The bio wheel along with the filter prevents me from slipping the whole "hang on" device over the black lip on the back of the tank. I was able however to clip it on the the lip which typically holds the canopy. This just makes the filter sit up a little higher than normal, so the discharge is only half way submersed. This provides for a little "splash" from the discharge.

Overall I like the tank, but I have had some problems with the seals. I had to replace one tank because the seals were pealing away at the thinest areas. The new tank is somewhat doing the same thing.

Because I live in a small apartment in the city, floor space is at a premium, thus why the smaller footprint was more ideal for me with out sacraficing volume.

Overall, I like the tank, as it offers a "different" feel than most tanks. I have a heavily planted tank. With the smaller footprint however, you are a bit limited. Its a challenge to fill the tank in height wise because of the smaller foot print. I did it with drift wood and tall plants like val and amazon swords.

 

[BrianNY]

I'm going to say in no uncertain terms that the tank you are planning will have less issues with a cannister. It will be easier to scape your tank, and the cleaning is done only once a month.

 

[ben1157]

thanks for all the feedback.... I guess I have a lot to think about!

 

[severum mama]

I agree, a canister would make life easier for you; plus, you could use an inline heater with it instead of having a heater hanging in your tank. Also, a canister is very quiet compared with a Penguin.

If you go the Penguin route, I would suggest using 2 Penguin 200s, one on each side of the center brace. You're right to assume that a 200 by itself will not be enough.

 

[ben1157]

thanks everyone, in the end I split the difference and got an oceanic 46g bowfront... it still fits where the 29g is and gives me a few more gallons to play with. I got a penguin 350 for it. My next task is to switch the tanks... should I transfer the fish and the decor (I will only be changing the substrate for now) into the new tank and run both filters (the 350 and my cycled 150) on it for a few weeks to seed the new 350 or will I see small mini cycle if i do it that way?

 

[theotheragentm]

If you move the whole filter and the substrate, you are not likely to see a cycle, assuming you keep the same fish and feeding habits. The bacteria should move to the new tank just fine.