Changing Over My Filtertration

After 7 years with my trusty Biowheel filters, I am finally switching to an external canister (Penplax Cascade 1500). The biowheels have been great filters, but I find I want more power with discus fish. This a 120 gallon planted tank, well established. Should I cut any of the filter media out if the biowheel filters and place in the penplax when I switch?

 

Run them both. I have 3 canisters and a twin bio wheel (Marineland in this house) on the 150 gallon for 1,420 GPH flow.

 

Me I would set up your canister filter (check out the pondguru on utube) and run it with the hob for around a month or two. This will give the new media in the canister time to grow bb.
Nice set up I like the dwarf lily how long have you had it?

 

Run them both. I have 3 canisters and a twin bio wheel (Marineland in this house) on the 150 gallon for 1,420 GPH flow.

I actually want to get rid of the biowheels, trying to have as little visible equipment in the tank as possible! Plus my Cat from **** likes to knock the lids off the filter boxes and drink the water!

 

Well as thunder said running both would be a better set up. Looks like your running 2 350s now. Do away with one use the other. Again watch some of the pondguru videos. Very informative on the set up of a canister. Unforunatly the 1500 is not big enough for a 120 and with discus the more filtration the better.

 

Me I would set up your canister filter (check out the pondguru on utube) and run it with the hob for around a month or two. This will give the new media in the canister time to grow bb.
Nice set up I like the dwarf lily how long have you had it?

Thanks, sounds like a better option with no risk! Don’t want to risk my discus’ health (especially Phil, my avatar and worlds coolest fish!

I switched from my 55 to this setup just over 2 years ago. I have been sticking with easy plants to try to avoid messing with CO2, and just upgraded the lighting to Fluval A3992 Aqua Fresh & Plant 2.0 LED, 48-60”. The tiger lotus is my all time favorite!

 

My lily is in the same place as yours.

 

View attachment 425087 My lily is in the same place as yours.

Love that!

 

Yes it has become my favorite plant. I now have 4 growing on different cycles. Not sure what to do when they go dormant. Have 1 dormant now.

 

Yes it has become my favorite plant. I now have 4 growing on different cycles. Not sure what to do when they go dormant. Have 1 dormant now.

Me too. I’m just leaving it alone until it goes active again!

 

Well as thunder said running both would be a better set up. Looks like your running 2 350s now. Do away with one use the other. Again watch some of the pondguru videos. Very informative on the set up of a canister. Unforunatly the 1500 is not big enough for a 120 and with discus the more filtration the better.

I could, but why do you say the 1500 is not big enough? It’s good for up to 200 gallons.

Actually running one 350 and one 200 at the moment, and 120 is at the top of what they will handle. I do pretty large water changes weekly to keep the discus happy.

 

Yes they say it can Handle 200gal but that’s with nothing (no media) in the filter. Once you add your media the flow rate is usually half(Pond-guru).My tank is a 90gal. I’m running a sunsun 304 a tidal 110 and a sponged powerhead that moves 250gal an hour. Your keeping discus they need very clean water. I also have the 350 on another tank. It’s a great filter but the lid is easy to open. I just got the tidal 110 and would recommend it. It’s got a full cover a huge basket for media and it’s much quieter than the 350.

 

Yes they say it can Handle 200gal but that’s with nothing (no media) in the filter. Once you add your media the flow rate is usually half(Pond-guru).My tank is a 90gal. I’m running a sunsun 304 a tidal 110 and a sponged powerhead that moves 250gal an hour. Your keeping discus they need very clean water. I also have the 350 on another tank. It’s a great filter but the lid is easy to open. I just got the tidal 110 and would recommend it. It’s got a full cover a huge basket for media and it’s much quieter than the 350.

Hmmmm, well that has not been my personal experience with filtration, so we’ll see after I get it set up. I have been successfully keeping discus with just the biowheels for 2-1/2 years now, so I can’t imagine a more powerful canister would somehow make things worse. I tend to favor the more natural route, and the plants and substrate do a lot of the work.

My biowheels seem really quiet to me, but with 3 parrots I think “quiet” is a relative thing! I would just like to have less visible equipment in the tank, really favor as natural look as possible!

 

Hmmmm, well that has not been my personal experience with filtration, so we’ll see after I get it set up. I have been successfully keeping discus with just the biowheels for 2-1/2 years now, so I can’t imagine a more powerful canister would somehow make things worse. I tend to favor the more natural route, and the plants and substrate do a lot of the work.

My biowheels seem really quiet to me, but with 3 parrots I think “quiet” is a realize thing! I would just like to have less visible equipment in the tank, really favor as natural look as possible!

I think what they're saying is that for the transition period between adding the canister filter and removing the HOB filters, it will certainly not do any harm to leave all 3 filters in place; it's not worth risking your established bio-cycle to simply get rid of the HOB filter intake tubes.

I think you're just looking at your short term goals and not really the big picture or what is best for your fish.

Since the tank has been setup for 2+ years, leaving the HOB filters in place for another 2 months will not hurt anything while you allow the canister filter to build sufficient BB to handle the bio-load of the current tank residents.

My .02

 

I think what they're saying is that for the transition period between adding the canister filter and removing the HOB filters, it will certainly not do any harm to leave all 3 filters in place; it's not worth risking your established bio-cycle to simply get rid of the HOB filter intake tubes.

I think you're just looking at your short term goals and not really the big picture or what is best for your fish.

Since the tank has been setup for 2+ years, leaving the HOB filters in place for another 2 months will not hurt anything while you allow the canister filter to build sufficient BB to handle the bio-load of the current tank residents.

My .02

I think you misunderstood my reply. I said I loved the idea of leaving everything in place for a few months, that this sounded like an excellent way to minimize any risk and the best possible solution. I am not sure what you read that made you think differently, but I know the threads don’t always post in order and get confusing!

I am absolutely thinking of what is best for my fish over the long term, which is why I loved this particular idea. What I am not necessarily wanting to do is leave all 3 of the filters running indefinitely, which is what some are recommending. And I also do not agree with the theory that every filter can only really handle about half the size of tank they are rated for once you add the filter media, as this has not been my experience with over 20 years of various filters. People get very married to particular beliefs and ideas that sometimes do not match experience, and we also all have our own preferences we have developed over the years.

Rest assured, the three filters will be running for the first 2 or 3 months, not risking my fish!!

 

I think you misunderstood my reply. I said I loved the idea of leaving everything in place for a few months, that this sounded like an excellent way to minimize any risk and the best possible solution. I am not sure what you read that made you think differently, but I know the threads don’t always post in order and get confusing!

I am absolutely thinking of what is best for my fish over the long term, which is why I loved this particular idea. What I am not necessarily wanting to do is leave all 3 of the filters running indefinitely, which is what some are recommending. And I also do not agree with the theory that every filter can only really handle about half the size of tank they are rated for once you add the filter media, as this has not been my experience with over 20 years of various filters. People get very married to particular beliefs and ideas that sometimes do not match experience, and we also all have our own preferences we have developed over the years.

Rest assured, the three filters will be running for the first 2 or 3 months, not risking my fish!!

My apologies! I guess I read through the replies too quickly to see that.
tl3

 

I think you misunderstood my reply. I said I loved the idea of leaving everything in place for a few months, that this sounded like an excellent way to minimize any risk and the best possible solution. I am not sure what you read that made you think differently, but I know the threads don’t always post in order and get confusing!

I am absolutely thinking of what is best for my fish over the long term, which is why I loved this particular idea. What I am not necessarily wanting to do is leave all 3 of the filters running indefinitely, which is what some are recommending. And I also do not agree with the theory that every filter can only really handle about half the size of tank they are rated for once you add the filter media, as this has not been my experience with over 20 years of various filters. People get very married to particular beliefs and ideas that sometimes do not match experience, and we also all have our own preferences we have developed over the years.

Rest assured, the three filters will be running for the first 2 or 3 months, not risking my fish!!

Beautiful tank, BTW!

 

My apologies! I guess I read through the replies too quickly to see that.
tl3

No worries, happens to me all the time!

 

Beautiful tank, BTW!

Thanks! My personal meditation, my zen place... ️

 

Hey Wendy glad to hear your keeping all three on for awhile. I’m just giving you my experience with canisters. They are different than hobs. Hobs run closer to what is listed as do wet/dry filters. Wet/dry I found were the best for discus. Canisters just don’t run as listed. They are great for growing bb and I use them but always with a second filter. I also put a sponge over the intake. Clean the sponge twice a week and a canister can run for a month to months without cleaning.

 

Hey Wendy glad to hear your keeping all three on for awhile. I’m just giving you my experience with canisters. They are different than hobs. Hobs run closer to what is listed as do wet/dry filters. Wet/dry I found were the best for discus. Canisters just don’t run as listed. They are great for growing bb and I use them but always with a second filter. I also put a sponge over the intake. Clean the sponge twice a week and a canister can run for a month to months without cleaning.

Thanks! Yes, I use a canister for my outdoor pond and have used various canisters on smaller tanks over the years. My personal experience is that a LOT depends on the manufacturer. With filters and lighting, you seriously get what you pay for! I just switched my lighting over to Fluval plant LEDs, and can’t believe the difference in plant growth vs the off-brand of LEDs I had before. It’s been a similar experience for me with filters. Penn Plax I have found to be very powerful and run as listed, where something like SunSun that claims to be the same size is actually only worthwhile as a backup. In any case, if I find the new Penn Plax is not doing what I want once the break-in period is over, I can decide at that point if I want to keep one biowheel after all or look at a different backup.

My discus are fussy and pampered, so I know pretty quickly if they think their water is anything less than pristine!