mrrv

hello all, we have 9 tiger barbs and some live plants in a 20 gallon tank. the filter we have though, is for a 30-45 gallon tank (tetra ex45). is this in any way going to harm our fish?

also, we have a 10 gallon filter from an old tank laying around (aqueon) that came with a 10 gallon kit, will that be better to use?

would it be horrible if we used both of them? does that improve filtration/circulation? would appreciate any input!! thanks!

harpua2002

I usually find that the manufacturers' tank size rating for filters is questionable at best. I wouldn't be using a smaller size than what you already have.

alicem

Your tetra is rated at 240gph. The flow will be restricted when the media is in it and slower yet when it gets dirty.
That size should be great for a 20G tank.

You could add the aqueon, if you want, for back up and redundancy.
The aqueon alone would be a little small for your 20G, in my opinion.

Watch the fish to see how they swim with that much flow. The barbs may love it...
If they are struggling, only run the Tetra. For sure, the tetra alone won't hurt your fish.

hth,
alicem

mrrv

thanks! we feel more comfortable knowing that the ex45 is ok in the 20. we plugged in the aqueon also and decided to turn it on from time to time.

one thing too is that the ex 45 is emitting a buzzing sound which does not seem normal. the filtration system itself seems to be working fine however. we took apart the filter and impeller and cleaned everything, still got the buzz. the sound doesn't bother us at all, and as long as the filter is functioning correctly we dont mind, but will the sound bother or stress out the fish?

alicem

It's doubtful.
Check the lid. Sometimes they rattle or buzz.
I've put an object on the lid to weight it down to silence mine.