Filter for 37 gal (tall) for 7 veiltail goldfish

I have 7 small veiltails (I may go up to a larger tank in the future, but just have them in a 37 tall for now) in a topfin 37 'kit' tank. The filter it came w does 40 gallons but I don't think it will be enough for messy goldfish. I was considering putting a marineland biowheel HOB 350. (supposed to do 75 gal tank) Is that too much? I am worried with these fish who are sometimes weak swimmers that the current it creates may be too strong. 2 of the 7 are orandas and I noticed they don't seem to be really strong swimmers in current. I think the filter it came with is too weak of a pump to draw water from that depth throughout the entire tank.

 

Just wondering, how do you know that there is not enough filtration? For example, is your water cloudy? Maybe your current filtration is adequate.

If you still want that HOB filter, frankly, I don't foresee any problems with your fish. If you are worried, you can always adjust the flow.

 

I just set the tank up, moved the fish from a small quarantine tank to the new one today. So far I don't have a filter on it, just an airstone. The fish are only about 1 1/2 inches long now, so pretty small. I can put in the filter the tank came with, but was thinking I'd order the larger one and have it delivered w prime I can have it in w/in a couple days. I am just concerned w goldfish being really messy that the filter will not have enough power to pull that much debris from the entire tank. But then wondered if the larger filter would make too much movement in the water for the fish to be comfortable, if it would stress them.

 

Just in case: Is your tank cycled? If not, then I guess you'll want to read up on fish-in cycling. Also, if you change filter, that bio pad/sponge in the old filter will contain the bacteria you need, so you may want to run 2 filters for a while.

Really, your fantails aren't considered super delicate fish (which is a good thing), and having an HOB sized for 75gal in a 37gal (BTW, most HOB sizing is very optimistic) will not create problems for them.

Goldfish are very thick (i.e. massive), so the normal 1" tropical fish rule per gal doesn't apply to them. You have to size everything up. They are very smart and fun fish to keep though.

 

Yes I plan on putting the used filter pad into the new filter for a while. I still have it running in the tank even though I took the fish out this afternoon. I was thinking that too about the 1" rule, since goldfish are messy. I just bought this and already I am thinking I may go up to a 65 gal in a year or so. (I'm kinda nuts I guess! So I think the extra filteration will be beneficial. I do 1/3 water changes every week. That is what I did w the quarantine tank and I plan to keep it up for this one. The fish seem to like water change day, I guess they like the attention maybe. I had the tank in my kitchen (only place I had at that moment) and ended up really liking it in there. I spend a lot of time in the kitchen and the fish liked to see what I was doing.

 

You can't really have too much filtration but you can have too much current.

As you look at filters, consider the loose guideline that canisters should process 5x tank volume per hour (GPH processing rate) and HOBs should aI'm for 8x-10x the tank volume. A tank's bioload is the big variable though.

I have a temp 6 gallon tank in my kitchen right now too and I really like it! Plus, water changes are so easy with the sink right there.

 

Personally I would throw an aquaclear 110 on it and turn it down. That way if you upgrade to even a 75 you should have enough filter.

 

I did look at an aquaclear but it was more expensive, can the flow rate be adjusted on the Penguin filter? I guess I thought all of them had an adjustment. ?

 

I don't think they do. My big dislike is it uses cartridges vs a big sponge.

 

I did look at an aquaclear but it was more expensive, can the flow rate be adjusted on the Penguin filter? I guess I thought all of them had an adjustment. ?

I'm with david1978. I'm a big Aquaclear fan. And ANY filter that requires cartridges is a big no-no in my book.

Amazon typically has much lower prices than retail stores, BTW. Big box pet stores should price match.

 

Unless you are going to move them to at least a 140 gallon, I would rehome at least 4. Goldfish need at the bare minimum 20 gallons, but many agree that 30 is what’s best. They will quickly outgrow a 37, then a 65. And on top of this it sounds like you did not cycle your tank, please read about the nitrogen cycle, specifically a fish in cycle.

please read my singnature.