I am in need of some aquarium filter expertise?

Question

I have a 10 gallon aquarium and my filter just doesn't seem to be doing a good job (Penn-Plax Cascade 100....I don't reccommend it) so I am going to buy a marineland penguin filter with the biowheel (I already have a biowheel one for my 5 gallon tank and love it), so here is my delimma....which one do I get? I am trying to decide between the Penguin 100 for up to 20 gallon tanks and filters 100gph, and Penguin 150 for up to 30 gal tanks and filters 150gph. I am leaning toward the 150 because it has a bigger biowheel and larger filter cartridge and frankly I am a bit paranoid because the crappy penn plax is for up to 20 gallons and can't cut a 10 gallon aquarium. I guess my main question is will my fishies be hurt by me using a filter that is recommended for "all aquariums up to 30 gallons"? Here is a link with info about the filters. http://www.marineland.com/products/consumer/con_penguinfiltersnew.asp

Please, only post if you really know what you're talking about. Thanks!

Answer 1

A slightly larger filter won't hurt your fish as long as you don't overdo the current - you don't want all the fish to be swept to one side of the tank!

But just using a larger filter may not solve the problem you might having. How well a filter appears to work will depend on how new your tank is, how many fish you've got, and how much you're feeding them.

Something about your question makes me belive you might have a tank that's less than 2 months old and your water appears cloudy. This is normal for a tank that's just been set up, and changing your filter won't change this. It's called cycling, and the "cloud" is a bloom of beneficial bacteria. You need to have these in your tank because they're what converts the harmful ammonia and nitrite into nitrate, which your fish can live in as long as the concentration doesn't get too high. As long as there's more ammonia and nitrite than they can use, they'll keep reproducing. When the population builds to the point where the bacteria are converting all the ammonia and nitrite, the reproduction will slow down and the cloudy look will go away.

The more fish you have, the more ammonia and nitrite will build, and too much food in the tank isn't good either. The fish may eat all the food, but then they produce more wastes (where the ammonia is produced), or the uneaten food will decompose and release ammonia. Too much will cause ammonia poisoning, and they fish will start gasping at the surface like they can't get enough air, then they'll lay on the bottom of the tank and eventually die. They should only be fed what they can eat in 2-3 minutes, twice a day.

As far as nitrates in the tank, the only way to remove these is with partial water changes (although aquarium plants will help remove some), otherwise, algae will start to become a problem.

So you might not need a new filter. Please see the link below, as well as the link to "The Nitrogen Cycle" within.

Answer 2

I tend to recommend at least 50% more filtration than recommended for a tank but usually going more than twice the amount really messes with the current. It really depends on the filter and the tank size but putting the 150 on a 10 gallon tank might be a little much. It really depends what you have in there.

I really have to agree with Copperhead though. Every filter has it's pros and cons. I am familiar with the Cascade filters and they are just as good as most and better than some because of their design. I think the Cascade gives a good filtration but it has more of a tendency of backing up if you don't keep your tanks maintained. And cleaning them is a pain. But that filter should be more than adequate for your 10 gallon tank so there is probably something else going on. Do I think the biowheel is a better filter? If you are keeping up with maintenance, yes. If not, you will have problems will all filters.

Personally, I have about 6 different brands of filters on my tanks. I think the biowheel is better in the larger tanks rather than the smaller ones.

Answer 3

This Site Might Help You.

RE:
I am in need of some aquarium filter expertise?
I have a 10 gallon aquarium and my filter just doesn't seem to be doing a good job (Penn-Plax Cascade 100....I don't reccommend it) so I am going to buy a marineland penguin filter with the biowheel (I already have a biowheel one for my 5 gallon tank and love it), so here is my...

Answer 4

Usually overfiltration is a good thing but it can depend on the inhabitants of your tank. If you have a betta, gourami, or other fish that does not fast moving water the 150 may be too much for it.

I like the marineland products and have the Penguin 200 on my 29 gallon. I think either product would be fine, I'd probably get the 150, then if it's too much it would be an excuse to get a bigger tank (you'd already have the filter)...

Answer 5

I would recommend you to get the larger filter. Most aquarists that I know keep upgrading to larger tanks, so chances are that you will have a larger tank in the future and will benefit from using the same filter for it. If your fish are fast swimming fish, they wont mind the higher current. But if this becomes an issue, you can try power filters with adjustable flow such as Hagen's Aquaclear series.

Answer 6

Don't go by what size tank it's rated for, go by the gallons per hour. Take the tank size, yours is 10 and multiply that by 10=100, or just add a 0 at the end of the tank size :) . That's the minimum gallons per hour output for filtration you want on a tank. Now for larger or messy fish like some cichlids, you'll want to double that figure. I think someone mentioned, if you have slow moving fish like bettas, you won't want the strong current. But otherwise, I'd go for the larger one. That way if you ever upgrade to a larger tank, you can use that one on it as well.

Answer 7

No, the fish will not be hurt. The larger filters just cycle more water per hour than the little ones do. It should be fine to get a larger one. I have a 29 gallon that has a 40 gallon filter in it because the 30 gallon wasn't cutting it. It should be fine. It doesn't pull stronger, it just cycles more water per hour.

Answer 8

i have a penguin 100 on a 20 gallon and i am more than happy with it. if you feel the need to put extra stuff in your filter there is room in a 100 -- i have a bag of ammonia chips and carbon in right now because i added shrimp and haven't figured out their feeding yet. you can also get marineland filter cartridges for about 1/2 price at walmart -- they are under the name "aqua tech".

Answer 9

i put larger than needed filters on all my tanks