Filter question?

[10mm]

So I have a little 10 gallon tank and am running a top fin filter that came with a 5 gallon kit I bought for our first couple goldfish. They survived for a year but I felt they needed a bigger home. So I gave them up for adoption. They now reside in a huge tank. I decided to go a little bigger and got a ten gallon. But I fwant to upgrade filters as I don't think the cheap top fin one is not up to the task. So I am considering the auqaclear 20. Question is. Can I take the old bag from the top fin filter dump out the charcoal and seed the new filter? I understand the importance of keeping the bacteria and do not want to run two filters.

 

[Edee6646]

Have you looked at the Azoo mignon 60 or 150 filters? IMO they're great for your tank size with adjustable flow, quiet and easy on the wallet, the media it comes with is a little cheap though so I'd get aquaclear20 sponge and biomax (with biomax on top of the sponge). As for the filter media that you have, depending on the filter you are going to buy, i would just transfer the whole cartridge into the new filter or as much as you can for the time being and then switch it out later down the road. Another route if you have more time is purchasing the filter media for your new filter ahead of time and putting some or all of it into your current filter with the old media for a week or two. Then just using the newer media for the new filter when you finally swap them out.

 

[10mm]

Thanks for the reply. I did not consider that fter as I was unaware of its existence. But after reading about it it would appear it is intended for smaller tanks or ranks with a lighter bio load. I could be mistaken as I just read some amazon reviews. I have 10 small fish in my aquarium now and assume my bio load is maxed out. 2 fancy guppies. Five glodanios and 3 little mollies. I know lots of fish. But they seem hally enough and my water tests are appropriate at this point.

 

[Edee6646]

Oh wow that IS a lot of fish I was thinking you had some tetras or a betta and inverts or something. Then yes you'd definitely want something that could handle the bioload of probably a 20gallon tank, just make sure you get a pre filter sponge on the intake or be extra cautious that it's not strong enough to catch the fins of the fancy guppies. If your filter is big enough I would just take all of your media from the topfin and put in in the new filter along with more filter media so that after a 2 weeks- a month you can take out all the old media from the top fin filter and add extra media you intended for the new filter. I hope this helps

 

[10mm]

Sorry, I wasn't clear on the load. I didnt intend to have 10 fish. The guppies where cycling fish but did well since I used seed. The others came after as we wanted a tank with a bit more activity. I am considering brining the guppies back to the store and sticking with 8. I appreciate the advice and will go with a 20 gallon filter and pre the intake. I imagine a 20 gallon is on the horizon soon. Thanks for your time and help.