Does Size Matter?

[remysmom]

Bear with me .... really new at this but in reading some of the posts it would appear, if I am reading correct, that the fin 20 HOB that came with my kit might not be big enough for good filtering - or am I wrong? Should I replace with a HOB that is bigger? :help:

Presently I am using Whisper bio-Bags - and change every 3-4 weeks as listed on the package - or am I too hooked into the package marketing?

Appreciate your expertise.

Cheers

[Dave66]

You can't overfilter the water, as long as the fish can swim easily. You should aim on turning over the volume of your tank at least four times an hour, better six or eight. Take the published GPH of a filter with a grain of salt, since they test filters with no media in lab conditions. Just halve the published GPH when buying a filter, then divide that by times tank volume.

Dave

[nwnittany]

Bear with me .... really new at this but in reading some of the posts it would appear, if I am reading correct, that the fin 20 HOB that came with my kit might not be big enough for good filtering - or am I wrong? Should I replace with a HOB that is bigger? :help:

Presently I am using Whisper bio-Bags - and change every 3-4 weeks as listed on the package - or am I too hooked into the package marketing?

Appreciate your expertise.

Cheers

I also bought a 20 gallon tank kit that came with a whisper 20 filter. I learned the same as you that in many case the manufacturers overstate their capacities by a factor of two (I know this is a generalization and I'm sure there are cases where this is wrong, but I think it is a decent rule of thumb).

I ended up getting another whisper 20 and using two of them. This has a few benefits. First, it essentially doubles your filtration (both in terms of flow and in biological capacity).

Second, it will let you clean them separately. This was also something I learned - that you don't want to clean your filter media (in your case, the bio-bags and the black sponge) too often or too thoroughly. The reason is that there is very essential bacteria living on them and if you, say, run them under scolding hot water, it will kill all that essential bacteria. By having two, you can clean one (in water taken from the tank) and not disturb the other. Not a huge deal, but it helps, imho.

Lastly, you have a hot spare if one happens to break/fail.



Good luck. Tell us more about your tank - ie, what kind of fish, how long you've had it, etc. Lotsa smart people here who can help out....

[remysmom]

thanks nw for your advice. Purchasing another filter wasn't something I thought of but makes perfect sense ... best to cover the bases - you never know. Also good advice on the Bio Bags ... I wasn't cleaning them - just replacing as per the box instructions (obviously not the best route). I did have someone tell me not to be "too clean" with the tank and I am now just learning what that meant.

thanks for your help. really appreciate it - I'd hate to lose any fish, I'm quite attached to them.

My stock is listed in my original message ... the tank is only 2-1/2 months old and as far as I can ascertain- has cycled ( I hope).

Cheers
Peggy

[remysmom]

You can't overfilter the water, as long as the fish can swim easily. You should aim on turning over the volume of your tank at least four times an hour, better six or eight. Take the published GPH of a filter with a grain of salt, since they test filters with no media in lab conditions. Just halve the published GPH when buying a filter, then divide that by times tank volume.

Dave

Thanks Dave66 for the advice. Just need to find the specs on the filter for the GPH ( I take it this means Gallons per Hour??? Took me about 10 minutes to figure that out) .thumbs2: I have no idea what it turns over but will certainly check - another piece of advice I will tuck into the back of my mind for the next trip to Big Al's ... knowledge is power - and I think I need more power in my 20 g. thanks again