I have a 20 gallon tank and I'm running a Penguin 170 biowheel and a Whisper 30. The Penguin pushes out 170 gph, and the Whisper pushes out 145. That seems like more than enough right?
I was thinking about keeping the penguin with the goldies but switching out the whisper 30 for the whisper 5-15 (90 GPH) and putting the 30 on my 10 gallon tank that holds my pleco. Does this sound like a good idea or should I keep my goldies with the two high powered filters?
Full Version: Is My Filtration Gph Ok?
That filtration sound just fine, etiher way. There is only one thing that I think might make you think slightly how you have them configured.
The Penquin 170 is a really nice little powerhouse. I have ones on my 10 gallon tanks - they do a great job. BUT.....the only way they hold your beneficial bacteria is in the biowheel and the cartridge. If you change the cartridge out (which I rarely do), you are counting on the biowheel to do it all. I have had a modicum of luck with biowheels. They do not have as much surface area as other types of media and take longer to "set up" with a good colony. I personally am leery of depending on their ability to hold all of the good cycle for a dirty goldie. To address this issue, I cut a slit in the cartridge and filled it with ceramic cylindars. It was difficult to stuff it back in the slot, but with care, it can be done. This increased my workable surface area many times.
I am assuming the Whisper is a sponge type filter? They are good solid bio-bases - no worry there. They hold wonderful amounts of beneficial bacteria.
A tank with 2 goldies (not too big for 2 in 20) needs a solid, robust biocyle. You should be able to get this with either configuration you are discussing. If your fish are big enough that they are pushing the 20 to the limits, I would leave the higher volume of filtration on the tank.
The Penquin 170 is a really nice little powerhouse. I have ones on my 10 gallon tanks - they do a great job. BUT.....the only way they hold your beneficial bacteria is in the biowheel and the cartridge. If you change the cartridge out (which I rarely do), you are counting on the biowheel to do it all. I have had a modicum of luck with biowheels. They do not have as much surface area as other types of media and take longer to "set up" with a good colony. I personally am leery of depending on their ability to hold all of the good cycle for a dirty goldie. To address this issue, I cut a slit in the cartridge and filled it with ceramic cylindars. It was difficult to stuff it back in the slot, but with care, it can be done. This increased my workable surface area many times.
I am assuming the Whisper is a sponge type filter? They are good solid bio-bases - no worry there. They hold wonderful amounts of beneficial bacteria.
A tank with 2 goldies (not too big for 2 in 20) needs a solid, robust biocyle. You should be able to get this with either configuration you are discussing. If your fish are big enough that they are pushing the 20 to the limits, I would leave the higher volume of filtration on the tank.
My fish are pretty small. I just like a lot of filtration because they tend to not find most of their food.
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