2 filters for a 55 gallon aquarium?

Question

I just bought a emperor 400 with bio wheel for my 55 gal aquarium, replacing my whisper power filter 60, would i be able to put both on or would it be bad?

Answer 1

no it wont be bad i have an external and internal running in my 250 gallon tropical aquarium i have no problems at all it keeps the water cleaner as well i have the carbon filters in the internal filter and and normal sponges in the external filter i have a fluval and a Rena filstar xp
to carl s i only have one carbon sponge in my fluval and none in my rena

Answer 2

I agree with Mamao3boys and Ice Queen; an extra filter will certainly not hurt.

As with Ice Queen I would recommend adding carbon to only one filter as too much carbon is not good due to the fact some elements can be stripped from your water.

I would also recommend alternating when you change your filter cartridges so as to preserve nitrifying bacteria.

Another advantage of more than one filter is that if one breaks down the other will continue to keep your tank going (and based on my experience with many Emperor Filters in my maintenance business they have an above average breakdown rate!)

You might adjust the intake tubes so that one filter picks up as close to the bottom as possible while the other is more in the middle strata of water.

As with Mamao3boys, I would recommend reading this filtration article:
http://www.americanaquariumproducts.com/Aquarium_Filtration.html

:~) C

Answer 3

It is difficult to have too much filtration, although these two filters are both power filters (also called HOB), so you will not compliment as much with two different aquarium filter types.
If you have one on each end this will improve your circulation.

I would recommend this site for more filter information and comparisons (this site and all of its many articles is where I get most of my aquarium information)
http://www.americanaquariumproducts.com/Aquarium_Filtration.html

Hey, I hope this helps!

Answer 4

Sure, the redundancy would add a safety factor and allow filter cleaning in alternate weeks with less risk to the bio-filter organisms.

Answer 5

i run one canister filter with spray bar on a 55 gal oceanic,watch the nitrogen cycle,and have 5 in angels thriving.no other forms of filtration at all.an extra filter wont hurt it will give you another source of bacteria.

Answer 6

You can use both but it makes the filters leess efficient apparently


It wont do any harm, but if the filters are the right size and power for your tank it probably wont do any good either

Answer 7

It may depend on the kind of fish you have in the tank.