hanging filter - 185l/h on a 2 ft tank for guppies keeping?

[jkcs]

Hello,

I am planning to rear some guppies in a 2 ft tank, I have googled around but couldn't find the answers I want hence I joined this forum.. kindly give me advice pls:

my ideal tank is with some water plants and light ornaments e.g drift wood. I read and understood guppies dont like strong current so here is my question

1) can I use a 185litres/hour hanging filter for a 2 ft tank?

thanks alot

[tetrakid]

Hello,

I am planning to rear some guppies in a 2 ft tank, I have googled around but couldn't find the answers I want hence I joined this forum.. kindly give me advice pls:

my ideal tank is with some water plants and light ornaments e.g drift wood. I read and understood guppies dont like strong current so here is my question

1) can I use a 185litres/hour hanging filter for a 2 ft tank?

thanks alot

For a 2ft tank, you can use the biggest hang-on filter (HOF) you can find. You can always adjust the water flow strength.
Don't waste time on smaller ones. When I buy, I always look for those big ones with double barrel compartment for media.
The larger the better. Cost will be above $20. Without substantial media space, you will soon regret and be tempted to buy a canister filter.
But I don't like canister filters because they give little, if any, oxygenation to the water, which is my top priority.

[jkcs]

thanks Bro Tetrakid.

pls correct me if I am wrong, this info is from my understanding after reading from the internet.

a 2ft x 1ft x 1ft tank will contain around 60 litres of water w/o substrate and other stuffs, filling up almost to the brim. so a 185l/h HOF would be suffice since it is 3x the volume of water. (I just wanna learn more, of course I will heed Bro Tetrakid's advice)

cheers!

[tetrakid]

thanks Bro Tetrakid.
pls correct me if I am wrong, this info is from my understanding after reading from the internet.
a 2ft x 1ft x 1ft tank will contain around 60 litres of water w/o substrate and other stuffs, filling up almost to the brim. so a 185l/h HOF would be suffice since it is 3x the volume of water. (I just wanna learn more, of course I will heed Bro Tetrakid's advice)
cheers!

Don't worry too much about water flow. What you should focus on is how you are going to season your tank so that the bacteria colonies will be established. That will take many weeks of waiting.

Water flow for a big HOF is sufficient for a 2ft tank, and the flow-rate can also be controlled by a knob if the current is too violent for your Guppies.

[jkcs]

thank you for your valuable advice.

[Gavan]

I'm running a 800 l/h internal filter in my 2ft, and it's just right for me.

many would advice "overkilling" the flow in a tank. insufficient flow would result in several issues such as insufficient circulation of nutrients to plants, algae settling, etc. I would actually recommend to aim for 10X the flow (ie for a 20G tank, get a 200G/h filter)

agree a large HOF could be sufficient, but you need smth at the size of a fluval C4 or even C5.

smth like the shiruba xb 306 might be okay too. great reliable piece of equipment, and if set up properly, can provide enough surface agitation for your tank


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[jkcs]

I'm running a 800 l/h internal filter in my 2ft, and it's just right for me.

many would advice "overkilling" the flow in a tank. insufficient flow would result in several issues such as insufficient circulation of nutrients to plants, algae settling, etc. I would actually recommend to aim for 10X the flow (ie for a 20G tank, get a 200G/h filter)

agree a large HOF could be sufficient, but you need smth at the size of a fluval C4 or even C5.

smth like the shiruba xb 306 might be okay too. great reliable piece of equipment, and if set up properly, can provide enough surface agitation for your tank


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Hi Gavan,
thanks for your kind advice.. fluval is expensive but good. cheers

[Gavan]

Hi Gavan,
thanks for your kind advice.. fluval is expensive but good. cheers

you're absolutely right about fluval being expensive my two cents: I only started out on this hobby last year, and I went for everything cheap at the start. but they kept failing on me and tank didn't do well. in the end spent more money upgrading bit by bit. it might be better to stretch your dollar abit for the initial purchases. or wait for cheap bargain on forum




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[ahpui6]

For a 2 feet tank of 60 litres volume, the ideal flow rate will probably be 8 to 10 times, which will be 480 to 600 litres per hour. Of course, this is very much dependent on the amount of livestock you are having. I have a few 2 feet tanks and used fluval HOF and canister filter before. I would say that a canister filter is a good choice for 2 feet tank though it seems my c4 is rather sufficient.

A 185 litres per hour filter will not suffice in my opinion. There will be too little water circulation, and possibly causing much dead spots.

[Gavan]

yeah I should qualify that my tank is 60 x 45 x 30 (80L) not the usual 60 x 36 x 30


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[jkcs]

Hello! I am back and getting confused after reading various forums so I hope experts could give me advice or instructions on what to buy for my planned 2x1x1 low tech planted tank.


1) On lighting, I understand T5HO is good enough but I am blur on the total watt needed.
a) I read it is 1 watt per gallon. Based on my calculation of 1 multiply by 15gallon, total watt is 15w.
b) some lights have 2 tube, so wouldn't 15watt x2 be overkilled? (I know I am wrong somewhere)
c) does the tube needs to be changed even though it is still working? I mean the light spectrum thingy which is too technical for me.
d) if the tube printed T5, is it already a T5Ho?


2) On OHF.
a) Bought a 2nd hand tank which come with plastic cover which I cant used a HOB as planned, is OHF suitable?
b) when I buy a OHF, do I need to add plastic tube so water goes down to the middle of the tank to reduce the water movement?
c) what type of media is recommended? e.g ceramic rings


3) substrate
a) is it needed to add-in base e.g ADA brand has bacter100, tourmaline BC etc or just soil will do?

thanks to all