need filter recommendation for indoor tank with plecos

[jmajid]

Moving our plecos to an indoor tank for the "winter" months..
need recommendations on what type of filter to use...
have seen a setup that uses a biowheel (penguin 350) - is this a good filter?
if not, what should i use?
going into a 55 gallon tank - not established - so going to need to get it started PDQ

 

[Dave 54]

Personally I would go for an external filter as pleco's can be messy fish

Dave

 

[dieselplower]

How big are the fish?

 

[j.w]

I had a Pleco that was almost a foot in length and he was a real pooper. I'd get the best pooper scooper filter I could find for the money if I was you. Like Dave said and external might be the way to go. Those wheeled bio filter ones get mucked up faster than I liked. Finally gave my Pleco away to a fish guy who had wall to wall fish tanks.

 

[jmajid]

current guess on the fish length is close to 10 inches each i think...
what external filter is good?
what about the aquasafe clear HOB?

 

[dieselplower]

How many fish?
I'm leaning towards 2 large HOB filters for this situation. Look up the Aqueon 55/75 on Amazon for the best bang for your buck.
I'm suggesting 2 because the 55 gallon tank is 4 feet long. You will want to ensure good circulation on both sides of the tank. I'm suggesting HOBs for ease of cleaning as well as
value. There is no way a canister can offer 800 gph flow and circulation throughout the tank for $60 shipped.

 

[dieselplower]

I not even sure what people mean by external. They are all external. It's either Hang On Back or Canister.

 

[jmajid]

How many fish?
I'm leaning towards 2 large HOB filters for this situation. Look up the Aqueon 55/75 on Amazon for the best bang for your buck.
I'm suggesting 2 because the 55 gallon tank is 4 feet long. You will want to ensure good circulation on both sides of the tank. I'm suggesting HOBs for ease of cleaning as well as
value. There is no way a canister can offer 800 gph flow and circulation throughout the tank for $60 shipped.

actually thats the one i meant - i just typod
good to see my leaning towards that was well founded....
so having two of these in opposite sides will be what i need to do? one in each corner? down towards the substrate (1 inch of gravel i presume or sand?)

 

[dieselplower]

actually thats the one i meant - i just typod
good to see my leaning towards that was well founded....
so having two of these in opposite sides will be what i need to do? one in each corner? down towards the substrate (1 inch of gravel i presume or sand?)

Personally I do not use substrate. It makes cleaning the poop out much harder. In my tank I have 6 goldfish and 1 large pleco so there is a lot of waste. When I had gravel, it would get full of poop and it was impossible to get it all out, even with a gravel vac. I imagine the pleco would appreciate a nice black sand substrate. I would seriously go as thin as possible. And yes I would put one filter on each side of the back of the tank. They have good auction at the intake, so if you do leave the tank bare bottom, the fish swimming around will kick up most of the poop and it will be sucked into the filter. With rocks, it sill just stay where it lands. Keep in mind plecos like hiding place. A big cave or hollow long for each would be nice.

 

[Dave 54]

I not even sure what people mean by external. They are all external. It's either Hang On Back or Canister.

Extrenal filter means just what it says that it is external and sited away from the tank either to the side or underneath .
Eheim, Fluvel, Tetra, JBL all make them they do a seperate range with the hang on the back filters which are so called because the hang from the back of the tank half in the tank half out of the tank ,
Last but not least again made by the major companies we have the internal filter that hang from the sideof the glass inside it just under the water.
Hope this clears up your confusion dp you of all people I'd have thought, would have known the different types

Dave,

 

[Dave 54]

current guess on the fish length is close to 10 inches each i think...
what external filter is good?
what about the aquasafe clear HOB?

Eheim are the best as are fluval but tetra can be a tad finicky and will tend to leak if manovered into a tight space , JBL are the new kids on the block but like Eheim are a good german company

Dave

 

[dieselplower]

Extrenal filter means just what it says that it is external and sited away from the tank either to the side or underneath .
Eheim, Fluvel, Tetra, JBL all make them they do a seperate range with the hang on the back filters which are so called because the hang from the back of the tank half in the tank half out of the tank ,
Last but not least again made by the major companies we have the internal filter that hang from the sideof the glass inside it just under the water.
Hope this clears up your confusion dp you of all people I'd have thought, would have known the different types

Dave,

HOB are external. I'm very familiar with aquarium filters. I have at east 6 HOB and 2 canisters. They are all external. I do have one pond filter I don't use which would be submerged in the pond and thus, internal...

 

[jmajid]

well - got two aquaclear 50's bought this weekend - couldnt pass up the 20%off (online with pick up in store) normal price at petsmart for them....
i figured this would be enough in the tank i have with one in each corner...will need some long extension tubes as they are not going much beyond half way down the tank
now have all the water in the tank and waiting for the cycle....before putting the plecos in there (of course i have to catch them! - which is going to be fun as i will likely have to remove everything from the pond to be able to find and catch them)
its a nice big tank - i think they will be happy to spend the winter/early spring there....

 

[dieselplower]

well - got two aquaclear 50's bought this weekend - couldnt pass up the 20%off (online with pick up in store) normal price at petsmart for them....
i figured this would be enough in the tank i have with one in each corner...will need some long extension tubes as they are not going much beyond half way down the tank
now have all the water in the tank and waiting for the cycle....before putting the plecos in there (of course i have to catch them! - which is going to be fun as i will likely have to remove everything from the pond to be able to find and catch them)
its a nice big tank - i think they will be happy to spend the winter/early spring there....

How do you plan to cycle the tank with no fish in there? You will need to start adding an ammonia source. Ammonia, fish, fish food... Something.... You can also take seeded media from an existing filter. You won't be able to establish a cycle without an ammonia source.

 

[dieselplower]

Seems the aquaclear 50 only flows 200 gph so I think you're a bit underfiltered even with 2. I don't think you have said how many of these fish you have either.