Do my fish need a change?

September 13, 2009 7:33 AM

[AquariumFilter] I have a Magnum H.O.T. filter on a 29g freshwater tank and I am considering changing to a Penguin Emperor 400. Is this a wise move? Do I have to run them in parallel? (and another weird question about inhabitants)

[OK, the "AquariumFilter" pun was slightly intended] The tank is freshwater and has an assortment of guppies, Cory catfish, kuhli loaches, and a pleco. The substrate is gravel and the plants are all live (Java moss and fern). I have tried getting some easy fish to reproduce in the tank and after ten years, the guppies have finally done it!

The Magnum is a pain to clean and change; it must be removed and completely dismantled to change the filter elements. It looks like the elements of the Emperor just lift out while the filter remains running. I usually do not run chemical filtration (carbon); I stick to mechanical (filter "floss") and biological (bio-wheel).
It looks to me like the Emperor might be easier to service and the 400 has two large bio-wheels.

The Magnum quit on me again yesterday. Yeah, I know, my fault, but the filter element must have grabbed all of the algae junk at one time and clogged(!). Anyway, it was pulling nothing and cavitating.

I don't know how long that had been going on, but I could see that the fish were stressed. Then I saw something REALLY weird. I saw six (or so) worms. It looked like they could be tubifex worms, but I haven't put any live tubifex worms in the tank for a couple years! It is even possible that the worms lived and/or reproduced for that time? What good (or bad) does that say about the tank's eco-system?

posted by Drasher to sports, hobbies, & recreation (11 comments total)

How often do you do water changes? What is your feeding schedule? What's the total amount of fish you have?
The Emperor 400 is a decent filter, it should be fine for a 29g, to answer your primary question.Whether or not you should run them in tandem depends on the health of your tank.

Are you sure the worms you found are tubifex worms and not some sort of parasite?
(Sorry for answering your questions with more questions! Fish tank troubleshooting is kind of like PC troubleshooting.)
posted by d13t_p3ps1 at 7:58 AM on September 13, 2009

OK, more answers...
Water changes: about 30-40% every month.
There are about 20 adult guppies and 6 babies. 2 Cory catfish, 4 kuhli loaches, and one four-inch pleco.
I feed once a day. Flake, a couple shrimp pellets, and a couple algae discs.
The idea of running them in tandem is just for the Emperor's bio-wheels to catch up and get a hold of good bacteria. Then I would take out the Magnum.
The worms were about an inch in length, about 1mm in width; light brown in color. A couple were on the glass, crawling upwards, a couple were free floating.
I KNOW there was a problem in the tank, the Malaysian Trumpet Snails were all out on the plants. As soon as I changes and restarted the filter, they dropped down into the substrate.
posted by Drasher at 8:12 AM on September 13, 2009

Oh, yeah, I saw planaria in the tank a long time ago. That is not what I saw yesterday.
posted by Drasher at 8:14 AM on September 13, 2009

Switching filters to one you prefer is always a good idea. But yeah, definitely run them in parallel for a week or so if you can to prevent a cycle (unless you want to just transfer all the filter material you can from the magnum to the penguin).

If the worms aren't planaria, I'm not certain what they would be, but you might ask at aquariumadvice.com. I personally would start doing every other week water changes, at least while switching filters and until you get the worms figured out.

Oh and one note on the pleco: have you looked up how big he's going to get? I'm just asking because my mother got an itty-bitty pleco once, and it's now a foot-long behemoth in my big tank. Always a good idea to plan ahead for.
posted by internet!Hannah at 8:31 AM on September 13, 2009

internet!Hannah - I am not positive that I will prefer the Emperor. That is part of my question. I am trying to find out if others think it is a good switch.
Thanks for the link. I'm not really worried about the worms. (Not sure if I should be...) But I will try that forum.

I know the pleco will get big. I had one grow out in this tank. He got huge. The size wasn't as much of a problem as the strings of pleco poop. BLEAH! I traded him to a local fish store for credit and another small pleco.
posted by Drasher at 8:46 AM on September 13, 2009

From all the people that come into the pet store that I work in that looove the Emperor filters, I'd say it's a good switch. Anything Marineland does is usually recommended. Definitely run them together for a couple weeks to let the bio-wheels catch up! And make sure you keep the papers that come with the filter, in case you need to order new impellers or bio-wheels. They're hard to find in pet/aquarium stores, at least around here.

(At my store we recommend people do 10% water changes every week, and then a 40-50% change once a month. I've had a lot of luck with this schedule, aside from the amount of work it is. Since you have a smaller tank, you should be fine doing 15-20% every other week. Make sure you get a gravel vacuum and clean out the gravel once in a while too. If you've not done it before, only do a small patch of gravel at a time, and move as slowly as possible. This is to kick up as little icky stuff as possible into the water, and if you've never gravel vacuumed before there is a lot of junk down there. It can harm your fish if you kick it up all at once.)
posted by d13t_p3ps1 at 9:03 AM on September 13, 2009

While prepping a 55gal for a move, I collected a knot of tubifex worms the size of a tennis ball after the pea gravel substrate was all scooped up. I hadn't feed live tubifex in that tank for at least 2 years prior.

I also found two dozen kuhli loaches, which was a surprise because I thought I only had two.
posted by jamaro at 10:11 AM on September 13, 2009

They also tend to be more expensive than equivalent brands. I suggest you go with something from the AquaClear line from Hagen, instead of the Emperor. Personally I can't stand Marineland's H.O.B filters. I find them a pain to set up and maintain. AquaClears also have much more flexibility when it comes to media - you don't have to buy their ridiculous filter cartridges. Really the only reason to stick with Marineland is if you LOVE the biowheel for some reason.

Of course, the best option is a canister filter. I recommend the Eheim classic line (the 2213 or the 2215 should do nicely in your tank) or the Rena Filstar (Xp1 or xp2 should fit your tank well).

Your tank is relatively overstocked, but not catastrophically so. I suggest you up your water changes to 30-40% every two weeks. Make sure you vacuum your gravel at the same time.
posted by sid at 1:19 PM on September 13, 2009

d13t_p3ps1 - that's the type of product endorsement I was looking for. Sounds like the Emperor is the way to go. I was leaning towards the larger one (400) as it would be overkill for the tank size; seeing as I am a little overstocked anyway. [Good suggestions on the changes and vacuuming too.]

jamaro - I thought so... I used to have clown loaches but they got a little too big for the tank. One time I was doing some major rearranging of plants and ornaments. The big resin (fake) tree root was removed from the tank first and I continued on my merry way. About an hour later, I went to replace the fake tree root in its final position and the largest of the loaches (about 5") popped out and started flopping around! I put him in the tank and he wasn't the worse for wear.

sid - I agree that the Marineland is a pain to service. That is why I am considering replacing it. I DO like the bio-wheels, so that was a criteria in the selection. I have used AquaClears on my smaller tanks though (they're not running now). I want to avoid the canisters for the same reason as avoiding the HOT. The servicing looks like a pain.

Yeah, I'll have to get on the stick and do some vacuuming!

Thanks everyone.
I am going to mark this as resolved, but if anyone has anything else to add, please do so.
posted by Drasher at 3:51 PM on September 13, 2009

I have an Emperor 400 filter. It's pretty easy to clean. My only complaint (well, my wife's complaint, really) is that after running nearly silent for about three years now, it's started to make this mouse-squeak noise every so often. I'm betting if I take the whole thing off the tank and give it a thorough cleaning it'll go back to being nice and quiet.
posted by odinsdream at 4:15 PM on September 13, 2009

odinsdream - thanks, that's good info too
posted by Drasher at 8:44 PM on September 13, 2009