2 smaller filers better than one big?

[johnrobbie]

I need to replace a fluval 403 filter on my 45 gallon tank. I was thinking about going with 2 Fluval 306 instead of 1 Fluval 406. The 403 was a bit too tall to fit well in the cabinet under the tank, and I thought that by having 2 filters, I could more easily stagger media changes so as to not interrupt the biological cycle of the tank as much.

I suppose a down side would be twice as many hoses into the tank.

Any thoughts on this?

Thanks

[J.B.]

Seems like a VERY smart thing to do, to me.

[twotone12valve]

I'm thinking yes, the more filter you have the more flow you can have. Also you won't need so much pressure so you wont be blowing plants around and slower fish. Another thing is filter media options, you can have much more room for different media, and like you said staggering you bio media cleaning will keep things much more stable. I can't find a down side other than having more filters to clean.

[Crazygar]

I also run two filters, just in case there is some sort of Mishap. Rather be safe than sorry.

Gary

[Diana]

You could also run different in line equipment such as heater, CO2 injector or UV sterilizer if you want.

[lou zello]

i agree two is allways better than one!!!!even better if they are rated for more gal's than your tank is.i run 2 marineland c-220's on both my 55gal and my 40gal(when it was up,it's in the garage now for my sister-in-law to move in;bummer!!).they both use them same size stuff inside so i order stuff online all at once,(i order a few months worth at the same time so there are no shipping charges)and i clean them and change the stuff every two months one week apart from each other(allways useing old tank water to rinse stuff in when doing so,i do it during a water change.

[Diana]

Do not go by what the manufacturer says about what tank size the filter is good for. Always look at the gallons per hour, and see if that was measured with the media in the filter or not. If it was measured using an empty filter, subtract at least 25%, and perhaps more. The GPH is over rated, and with media added that will slow it down some.

I generally set up my tanks with 10 times the volume of the aquarium per hour from a combination of filters and power heads. If I start with what the label says about the performance of the filter then deduct for over statement, and slowing as the media fills with debris I think I am getting between 5-8x the tank volume per hour.