Just Upgraded - What Filter For 50g?

HI Everyone,

I just bought a 50 gallon aquarium to upgrade from my 20 long.

What is a good filter to go with it? I was thinking Fluval 306, but it's expensive! I can afford it, but if it doesn't have any extra benefits over an AquaClear HOB or a Cascade 700, I'm not going to spend the extra money.

I really want reliability. That's the most important to me. I would hate to have my filter go out and not have a cycled one to replace it...

 

You can get a pair of aquaclear 70s (or a 70 and a 50 to save a few bucks) . That way you have redundancy.

 

Fluval is a good company, a leader in the industry. I honestly think the 306 isn't enough and you should look at a 406 instead as that is rated up to 100g. Even though you have smaller fish in there, you might consider upgrading to bigger fish later on in the future.

If the cost is a bit too much paper than consider getting something like a Cascade.

 

I have a Fluval 306 in my 46g tank and I am very happy with it. I do prefer a canister filter over an HOB, but my favorite HOB filter by far are the AquaClear filters.

 

get an aquaclear 110 and call it a day, I personally use two aq110s on my 55 gallon and a fx4 + two aq110s on my 125g. I prefer to overfiltrate my aquariums guaranteeing insane consistent filtration but I also have big fish

 

Actually, I just upgraded to a 75G rather than the 55. I realized the 75 is as wide as my 20G long, and that's just too skinny for me. I want to be able to add depth to the aquascape. So I called the pet store and changed my order.

Any suggestions on filtration now?

 

You want your total filtration to equal or exceed a GPH of 400-500.

 

A pair of Aquaclear 70s should work for that as well. They are 300gph each.

 

A pair of Aquaclear 70s should work for that as well. They are 300gph each.

I don't think that's enough filtration for a 75G. The 300gph rating is without media, so the actual output will be a lot less. I think a bare minimum would be 2 AC110 filters. A Fluval 306/406 (more bio media) and an AC110 would be a slightly better option and the best option would be a Fluval FX4. Petsmart often offers the FX4 on sale for $199. They don't advertise the sale online so you'll have to visit the store from time to time. The 4th of July sales are approaching so there's a good chance you'll see it on sale.

 

Yeah, my mistake. Don't know why I was thinking 2x300 = 800

 

I have 525Gph SunSun 304B canister filter and its not enough for 55g. On top of it I run small 20 gallon submerged filter on the opposite side of the tank which helps to compensate. This is temporary solution, since I want to go bigger tank soon.

*I have 20+ 2-4" fish so there is lot of bio load. So perhaps if you don't have a lot of fish, single 304B canister filter would be sufficient. Also you can get this filter under 80 buck of ebay. Ive had my for ~2 years and only had to replace UV lamp once which was 9 bucks on amazon and I clean it, every 3 months.

Also to note I have this is my bedroom where kids sleep so its very quite.

 

What's the bioload for this stocking?

6 x Pearl danios
8 x bloodfin tetras
8 x rummynose tetras
8 x neon tetras
6 x panda cories

My fiancé loves neon tetras, so she may want to add another school of black neons or ember tetras...