Ok..I feel like I want more GPH, but I am wondering if I am getting carried away...my 46 gallon tank has 2 Penguin 200s and a Penguin 150, but I am thinking of getting an Emperor 400 - that would total 750 gph - is that too much for a 46 gallon?

The reason I want to upgrade is because now that I am barebottom I am noticing more waste and I wonder if higher gph would help that - am I crazy?

I don't think that would be too much provided your fish are a good size and strong swimmers. As there is no gravel to contain bacteria it is important to have lots of filter media to replace it. The trick is to get a lot of water current along the bottom of the tank, so the placement of the water outflows is as important as total GPH.

I have never had a bare bottom tank and confess the idea of visible waste lying around the bottom has been a put off for me.

Lol Annette - I have one bare bottom only because I had a parasite in the tank so everything was taken out The poop doesn't stay there for long as the filter picks it up eventually

Just on filtration, I have 20 x gph on all my tanks and they do well with it. My new 70 gallon has 1580 gph and each week when i do my 70% waterchange, there's hardly any gunk in the substrate. That's why i'm such a fan of high turnover filtration - it helps keep everything clean

Annette has a good point - let me tell you- I get a little nutso when I see waste too! Since I am barebottom now, I figure the extra GPH can only help -let me ask you guys - what do you think about plants? Do you think they hinder the filters? In other words, do you think they prevent the intake tubes from getting extra waste because they are in tank? Sometimes I worry about that - I have three plants in my 46 gallon tank, the silk kind, and sometimes it seems like they block my intake tubes..what do you think?

Ideally with a bare bottom set up (based on my own experiences) the filter intake should reach the bottom of the tank so the heavy waste just flows into it. My bare bottoms are free of any poop or gunk. The poops are gone within a few minutes of being produced.

So it may not be a matter of more gph, but more the way the filter is set up. Are these Penguin filters the type that hang on the side with the intake tube and strainer just a few inches below it? That's too far up for the heavy poop on the bottom to flow into it (even for gravelled tanks). So they may be excellent for biological filtration, but not so good for mechanical filtration of the heavy goldfish poop and gunk.

So unless you can actually buy an extension set for Penguins to make the intake tube and strainer reach the bottom, I would recommend a getting canister filter instead instead of another Penguin. Even if the intake tube they supply with the canister isn't long enough, you can buy extensions for it, or maybe even a longer one.

And you'll have no problem with silk plant leaves blocking the filter intake, which is below their leaves.

PS. Be sure to feed sinking pellets at the other end away from the intake to ensure the fish get it before the filter does!

Great advice from everyone above but I'll chime in too with this; the filter power sounds fantastic but the max effectiveness from the filtering will also depend on a rich source of beneficial beacterial ground within the filter box. Biowheels are excellent and an assortment of media- sponges, coral gravel, loops and so on

PS.Newfishmom-I also answered your query about air but research section is closed so youll see it later...
Imogen.

Thanks guys...Imogen - great! I appreciate it - Awrieger, I had the intake tubes at the bottom but had to move them because of my sickly fish - remember? She was getting sucked up towards the intake tube ...so now what? If the intake tubes go too low, she gets stuck to them and if I don't have them low, I am having a horrible time getting the waste up - I am finding myself doing water changes twice a week - my nitrates are skyrocketing! UGH!

You mentioned on another post that you were considering upgrading to a larger tank but were running into opposition from your hubby.

Another alternative is to buy a smaller tank for your SBD fish. This way you are reducing the bioload on your main tank and you can lower the intake tubes to the bottom of the tank.

I have done this myself with a pearlscale in a 10 gallon, they do adjust very quickly to being alone and it doesn't seem to concern her at all. The other benefit is I can control exactly what she eats and how much she eats. The 10 gallon had built-in x20 filtration in the hood but it was too strong for this fish with floaty problems so I set up one of those plastic corner filters powered by a strong air pump, there is hardly any current at all.

Hi Annette - thanks for the reply - you have a good idea there - I think I may have to go that route - I can set something up for my little one and fix both of my problems!