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I have a 120 us gal tank and the current filtration is a penguin 330, penguin 170 and a fluval 4plus underwater filter. I can't stand the noise from the penguins anymore! For some reason water evaporates super fast in this room and I'm topping off the tank every two days which really takes the fun out of it! Anyway... today I bought an eheim 2215 canister filter which is rated for a tank up to 93 gallons. If i keep the fluval which is rated for 53 gallons, do you think that would be sufficient? I could live with keeping the penguin 330 because it is further into the water than the 170 if you think i need more filtration.

Well....according to the "filtration rule" you want 7-10times an hour. That would give you a goal of 800gph plus.
However no one to my knowledge has said how canisters rule into the equation . If you can't get a higher rated canister then you should be okay with what you have now depending of course on the stocking.
Leave the current filtration alone for a few weeks after you've added the new filters. Then remove the noisy ones.

^_^



[hr width='40%']"I'm alright, I'm alright
It only hurts when I breathe"

Canister filters do not in general use the LPH rule due to the large amounts of filter media they are capable of taking, for instance i use Eheim 2028 filters on my 125 uk gallon tank and the pump on these are only rated to shift about 2-3 times that water volume an hour but because of there vast media baskets the water is in contact with media for much longer so no need for high throughput.
They are also silent in operation.


Last edited by krige at 08-Mar-2005 11:09

Gibson SG you know you want one!!

I think you would be providing enough filtration with the canisters and agree with Babel to keep the HOBs running for a few weeks until the new canister gets established with beneficial bacteria.

I wouldn't totally get rid of the HOBs as they would be handy to have around in case of a failure with one of the canisters.

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Water, taken in moderation, cannot hurt anybody. -- Mark Twain

Thanks everyone! I am keeping the 330 HOB operational for the time being and removed the biowheel from the other one which I am floating in the tank at the moment. I think that should suffice for saving the bacteria. I will definetly be cleaning out the two HOBs and keeping them in the garage in case of any catastrophy. Thanks again!

I have went round and round trying to find the most economical, highest performing, lowest maintenance canister filter for my money. I almost bought a Hot Magnum but no filter seemed worth the dough. So I made my own. Shown below:
http://www.imagestation.com/album/pictures.html?id=2130240017&idx=1

All you need is a decent inline pump or submersible; however it best suits your system. When the sediment filter becomes expired, cut away the filter material and you will be left with a plastic core. Simply wrap polyfill sheet or felt around the core and SHAZAM…..a DIY filter element. I like to use kite string to bind the material to the core.

I guarantee this filter will out perform any other prefab filter in cost, performance, and reliability.

I don’t use this filter any more since I now use filter socks; but for those who prefer canisters – this is the way to go.