[jeffk]

I'm completely new to the whole fish keeping thing and I've got a second-hand 48"x13x17 (40 gallon/170-ish litres?) tank and extras, including an under gravel filter and an Aqua One 103F in-tank filter.

From what I've read about the under gravel filter, I think I will leave it out of the tank. It seems like there's a lot of potential for things going wrong that, as a newcomer, I don't really want to have to deal with.

That leaves the Aqua One and me wondering if that's enough on its own for the tank?

The user guide says it's rated at 960 litres per hour which by my (somewhat doubtful) math, and based on the stickie at the top of this forum, would work out to be about right in terms of flow rate (5x per hour). But the user guide says only suitable for tanks up to 100 litres.

I'm wondering if I've missed something in my reading so far, or are they exaggerating the filter's flow rate, or is there more to it than that? The quantity of filter media perhaps?

I'm on a budget and really hoping I can move forward with setting up the tank rather than having to hold off until I can afford a new filter.

All thoughts and advice greatly appreciated...

Cheers,
Jeff K

 

[beaslbob]

I'm completely new to the whole fish keeping thing and I've got a second-hand 48"x13x17 (40 gallon/170-ish litres?) tank and extras, including an under gravel filter and an Aqua One 103F in-tank filter.

From what I've read about the under gravel filter, I think I will leave it out of the tank. It seems like there's a lot of potential for things going wrong that, as a newcomer, I don't really want to have to deal with.

That leaves the Aqua One and me wondering if that's enough on its own for the tank?

The user guide says it's rated at 960 litres per hour which by my (somewhat doubtful) math, and based on the stickie at the top of this forum, would work out to be about right in terms of flow rate (5x per hour). But the user guide says only suitable for tanks up to 100 litres.

I'm wondering if I've missed something in my reading so far, or are they exaggerating the filter's flow rate, or is there more to it than that? The quantity of filter media perhaps?

I'm on a budget and really hoping I can move forward with setting up the tank rather than having to hold off until I can afford a new filter.

All thoughts and advice greatly appreciated...

Cheers,
Jeff K

You might take a look at the methods in the link in my signature.

They produce an easy to maintain, simple system.

my .02

 

[Hallyx]

The recommended max tank sizes on most filters presumes a heavily-stocked tank. Your filter will be fine to get you started as long as you don't get carried away and overstock. We'll help you prevent that.

What were you thinking of doing with your tank? Tropical, coldwater? Any favorite fish you'd like to keep? Post on the Beginner's Freshwater thread below. I'm assuming FW, right?

Good call ditching the UGF.

Welcome to the forum.

 

[jeffk]

Thanks for taking the time to reply...

@hallyx: At this point, my plan is for an unplanted, tropical community tank and I'm leaning more towards many smaller fish than a handful of larger ones. That may change with feedback from this forum but I'm trying to keep things as beginner simple as I can.

@beaslbob: thanks for the link. Definitely food for thought...