Penn-plax Cascade Aquarium Canister Filter

I purchased this canister filter and got it set up on my tank last night. This morning I woke up to 2 dead fish and not sure why. Wondering if maybe the flow of the new filter is too much? I have a 60 gallon tank and ended up purchasing the 1200 model. I also have bubblers in the tank so oxygen is definitely there.

Is it possible to reduce the flow of this filter to half and still be effective?

Thanks in advance for all responses!

 

Did you use pre-seeded biological media when you put your new filter together? You should try and check the ammonia and nitrite level in your water. What kind of fish do you have in that 60gal?

 

When I purchased my SunSun 304B canister filter, I mounted it alongside my Aqua Clear 110 HOB in a 40gal tank so it'll start seeding. I took apart the HOB and washed the media in a bucket. I then used the brown gooey sludge goodness to start the seeding in the 304B. I left it running like that for over 2 months. When I moved the 304B to my 75gal, it was ready for service. I also added a bottle of TSS+ in the 75gal for good measure. 36hours later my cichlids were rehomed in the 75gal. No fatalities.

Yep, I'm thinking you didn't seed the Penn-Plax accordingly and rushed into putting it into service.

 

I am new to the canister filters, what do you mean by seeded? I really don't want any more fish to die because of this. I used the filter media and pads that came with the canister. Should I have used a different type of media and pads?

 

I still have my HOB in service in addition to the canister filter.

 

Did you was the new media that came with the canister filter in tank water only? Also before you started it up, did you fill it with tank water only? The new filters (tho clean) need to be rinsed in tank water and not tap water. There's still bad chemicals in the filters and inside the canister container than needs to be thoroughly washed out in tank water. It's poisonous to fish.

Slowing down the output could help a lot so the fish isn't getting knocked around.

Seeding means you're "jump starting" the beneficial bacteria colonizing process in the new filter.

The way is what I posted in #3. Other members have their methods as well, but it all leads to the same thing.

 

We did prime the canister with tank water before turning it on and also rinsed off everything before putting it together. Not sure if this makes a difference but I don't have city water, I have well water so my water doesn't have all of the chemicals of normal tap water. Should I continue to run this canister filter or turn it off and just run the HOB?

 

Don't think it is the canister anymore. Was preparing to test the water when I realized the tank water was really warm. The heater in the tank is set to 79 degrees but I think the tank water is much higher than that plus the other fish in the tank are not as active as they have been. So it must be the water temperature. Any suggestions to get a 60 gallon tank back down to its normal temperature? This couldn't have been caused by the new filter right?

 

Depending on what fish you have, it could be too warm for them. No, it wasn't the canister filter that caused the fatalities. Set the heater to 72 degrees and give it alittle time so the temp in the tank will equalize. You can also slow the flow down on the canister filter so it isn't making a fish milkshake Keep running the canister along with the HOB. This is what I did with my canister and HOB for 2 1/2 months or so before I moved the canister to the new 75gal tank.

I would check the water parameters to be sure the ammonia and nitrite levels are where they're supposed to be.

Also when in doubt, wash everything new in tank water only even tho you have well water.

 

Just my two cents about the flow. I have the same filter, and it was way too strong for my fish, too.

If you use the spray bar attachment and aI'm it directly at the back wall of the aquarium, it will significantly decrease the flow in the tank. You can also adjust the input and output knobs on the filter a bit if necessary.

 

PatientStars, I too have the spray bar attachment and did aI'm it directly at the back wall of the tank thanks to your suggestion. How do you have the filter media set up in the 4 trays for this canister? I used what was provided but know that isn't going to work long term and will need to change it, just not sure what to change it to.

 

PatientStars, I too have the spray bar attachment and did aI'm it directly at the back wall of the tank thanks to your suggestion. How do you have the filter media set up in the 4 trays for this canister? I used what was provided but know that isn't going to work long term and will need to change it, just not sure what to change it to.

I shoved as much media in there as I could! haha

I used the coarse sponge first, with the finer floss on top, then a ton more floss in tray two, then floss and carbon in tray 3, and then more floss and a ton of ceramic biomedia in the top tray. The only stuff I usually have to replace is the finer floss when it starts to break down. I don't change any of it for 2 or 3 months at least.

 

I used

to set up my canister filter. Since I have 4 trays, I doubled up the media order to fill all the trays.

 

Kind of a side note, I was surprised that the Penn Plax instructions don't say anything about rinsing aside from the carbon filter. I set it up in my kitchen sink with some declorinated water and ran it for 5 minutes before installing it.