# Filters? Should i Add another and which kind, not looking for canister



## mrlegion (Aug 2, 2009)

I am thinking about adding another filter to my new fish tank setup,i the water kinda smells or starting to get that smell....., i am using the supposedly 30-40gal filter by tetra whisper that hangs from the back, i double cartridges it just so the cycle of water gets cleaner faster since i used tap water. And its not that quite at all just for anyone that's going to spend money on that filter, or maybe the noise is due to the motor over working itself because of the double cartridges? whats about penguin bio-wheel or Marine land power filters 

i also have a extra internal tetra whisper filter that filters 10-20gal tanks i had for my turtle, before upgrading her tank to a 30gal with 2 tetra internal whisper filters that supposedly filter 30-40gals of water or whatever...its really quite


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## COM (Mar 15, 2008)

The thing to consider is NOT the size of tank that the filter manufacturer says the filter is good for. This is universally inaccurate. You want to find out the rated gallons per hour of flow for the filter. Take the flow and divide by the number of gallons in your tank. This gives you the number of 'turns' per hour.

Flow/Gallons=Turns

Try and aim to keep turns between 5 and 10. The higher the stock, the higher the turns you will need.


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## Toshogu (Apr 24, 2009)

Never hurts to stick another fliter. Can't ever have to much filtration.


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## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

i agree with both com and toshogu...
if you have a 55 gallon tank ; you will need a filter that pumps about 550 GPH..
my favorite HOB type filter is the "aquaclear" brand..i picked up a box of smaller AC's at an auction..but mostly i use the 110 model..the largest HOB they make and rated at 438 GPH...i have used the 110's on tanks from 38-55 gallons...but also used large sponge filters in conjunction with them..it is always beter to over filter than to under filter...


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## ron v (Feb 24, 2005)

What smell? A certain smell is normal for an aquarium. It is kind of an earthy smell. It is a pleasent smell. Or does it smell foul? I would suggest a major water change. Maybe 50%.


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## bmlbytes (Aug 1, 2009)

Does putting 2 filter cartridges in a filter really work? It seems like if they would work better with 2 cartridges, that the companies would design them to have 2 filters in them.

Anyway, while doing my research, I found that many people like the Aquaclear brand filters. They don't use a cartridge, but they use a foam block a bag of activated carbon and a "biological filter" thing that is made from a material that expands your biological filter. All three of these things fit into a little plastic rack that drops into the filter. The filter media rarely needs to be replaced, and you can buy activated carbon in bulk and put it in a drawstring mesh bag. It is much cheaper to replace, and it works well.


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## ron v (Feb 24, 2005)

I don't know what advantage an extra cartrridge would be anyway. Maybe the second cartridge would be finer to filter out smaller particles??? Also, charcoal is only good for a few days. It will have absorbed all it is going to by then and actually starts leaching toxins back into the tank. The only time I ever use charcoal is after a round of medication is finished to get the remaining meds out of the tank. I only leave it in for a couple of days.


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## bmlbytes (Aug 1, 2009)

That is exactly what I was thinking. The second cartridge would be pointless and would make the pump work harder. If the second cartridge was different in some way, then it might help, but 2 of the same are not good, it just makes it pump slower.

Think of it this way, you clean the water with one cartridge, then you put the clean water through a second one? Doesn't make sense. I think that 2 would actually make the filter less effective.


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

Two cartridges, side-by-side in a double filter allow you to change one and still have biology in the second. The filters with two set of slots such that a second cartridge would be in front of the other generally aren't meant for two cartridges. The second slot holds either a 'media basket'. Which you can fill with sponge, ceramic rings, llimestone, extra carbon, whatever. or a thin sponge on a plastic frame. Both of these are good to use, but you want something that doesn't restrict the flow much.

There are two things that people judge a filter by, the size of media, and the flow rate. The two together determine how effective it is. Canister filters and sumps have large areas of media, HOB generally have good flow rates. You generally don't want to slow down the flow too much or use smaller cartridges than recommended. 

I always add another filter when I have the opportunity. You can have too much flow, but seldom too much filtratration. Though there are exceptions, of course. Sometimes a grungy tank will feed teeny fry better than a pristine one.


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