InstantForum.NET v4.1.2FishChannel Forumshttp://www.aquariumfish.com/aquariumfish/board/forums@bowtieinc.comThu, 08 Jan 2009 04:22:40 GMT20http://www.aquariumfish.com/aquariumfish/board/Topic151375-22-1.aspxHello,</P><P>The cascade 1000 would probably be a little overkill for a 55-gallon aquarium. Also, my experience with the tetra-tech is that they are more hype than useable product (they work fine, but you can get similar result with cheaper products). As such, the Emperor 400 is a great choice. Another filter brand you might want to look into are the aquaclears. They have special considerations for maintaining beneficial bacteria and thus tend to be very sustainable filters.Mon, 28 Jul 2008 10:46:01 GMTmath-only aquariumhttp://www.aquariumfish.com/aquariumfish/board/Topic151375-22-1.aspxanyone??Mon, 28 Jul 2008 06:55:54 GMTBunsehttp://www.aquariumfish.com/aquariumfish/board/Topic151375-22-1.aspxWhich would be a better choice. The Marineland Emporer 400 (bio-wheel) or a Cascade 1000 (canister)</P><P>Also I have seen a filter at Petco (in the store) by Tetra-Tech. I has 4 filter catriges with slots for other media, a large bio foam cube, in board heater (included), and one constant flow return one pulsating. Does anyone know anything about this filter. Have have not been able to find anything on it online. Fri, 25 Jul 2008 21:50:56 GMTBunsehttp://www.aquariumfish.com/aquariumfish/board/Topic151375-22-1.aspxTypically, adding more filtration isn't a bad thing, unless your turnover rate is so high that it stresses the fish. Personally, I like my tanks to have a turnover of 10-20 cycles per hour--but that would be too high for some species (especially ones with really long fins). Additionally, high turnovers are strongly linked to reduced disease rates as a higher turnover results in fish that get more execise and helps eliminate "dead zones" in the tank that can harbor pathogens.</P><P>The thing about higher turnover rates being linked to more bioload, however, is kinda true and untrue. You see, the aerobic filtration capacity of a freshwater enviroment is extremely high provided that the beneficial bacteria have some medium to colonize and at least some flow to bring nutrients to them. In fact, the aerobic potential of most aquariums is nearly limitless compared to the effect of other factors. As such, adding more flow and medium doesn't necessary mean your aquarium can handle more bioload--adding more bioload will result in more bacteria that will subsequently process more N-compounds. </P><P>No less, adding more flow and medium does determine the adaptability of a system in that the higher the flow, the quicker a particular ecosystem will respond to a change (like adding more fish). As such, tanks with a higher sustained flow, while not implicitly being able to handle more fish, are less likely to be shocked by the addition of fish or anything else that might harm a system with a lower turnover. In the net, high turnover systems aren't necessarily cleaner or anything like that, they're just more adaptable.</P><P>As long as you have a decently sized filter, the much more important concern is fish-to-fish interactions. It is actually possible to kill fish (via stress) by simply making them live too near other fish. Because of this possibility, I distinguish between overstocking and overcrowding. Overstocking is relative to the filter and is nearly impossible provided you do water changes often enough. On the other hand, overcrowding is having too many fish for them to feel comfortable with each other and will start to show much sooner than overstocking does in most cases. Factors that influence overcrowding include: aggression level, zone distribution (if all the fish prefer the same zone, then more interactions are going to occur), activity level, relative presence (a bland fish isn't as bad a a brightly colored fish), and size (big fish, even if unintentionally, intimidate little fish).</P><P>As a very general rule, bottom swimmers and top swimmers need the square of double their lengths to feel comfortable. For instance, a 6-inch butterfly fish needs at least 144 square inches of the surface to call its own. Therefore, if you have a very well planted 50 gallon that has a good filtration system, you shouldn't keep any more than 4 butterfly fish even if the aquarium can handle more with regard to filtration capacity. No less, that would only be with regard to the top-swimmers for that tank, you could still add mid and bottom swimmers. Slow-moving mid-zone fish need at least one-fifth the square of their lengths worth of volume to feel comfortable and faster fish need one-quarter the square of their length to feel comfortable. As such, you could add 15 4-inch slow moving fish to the previously mentioned tank (50 / (0.2 x 4^2) = 50 /3.2 = 15.625) or (not in addition to) 12 4-inch faster fish to the same tank (50 / (0.25 x 4^2) = 50 / 4 =12.5). Also, you could repeat the same process for the bottom-swimming fish as you did for the top swimmers; you could keep 4 6-ich bottom swimmers.</P><P>My point is this: there is <EM>always</EM> a limit to what you can expect from your fish, always.Thu, 24 Jul 2008 18:11:39 GMTmaonaquahttp://www.aquariumfish.com/aquariumfish/board/Topic151375-22-1.aspxYou could add it if you want. The filters could then handle bigger bioloads. Make sure the cycle rate isn't over 20 cycles per hour, or the fish would be stressed. Make sure the fish in the tank like currents or are fine with currents.Thu, 24 Jul 2008 15:49:24 GMTFattFishyhttp://www.aquariumfish.com/aquariumfish/board/Topic151375-22-1.aspxI am looking at getting a second filter for my 55 gal tank. Currently I have a Wisper 30-60. I am looking at possiblly a Marineland Emporer 400. </P><P>Any Suggestions or Comments would be greatThu, 24 Jul 2008 15:27:26 GMTBunse