Equipment Review and Discussion :: Which to add as second filter?

[BiteyBits]

Morning!

I found three old filters in my box o' random equipment and I'm thinking of adding one to each of my tanks, and was wondering which would best go where??

Current tanks and bioload:
55g (??), Currently a Fluval 4plus turned up all the way (fully submerged in tank):
1 Pleco 18in, 2 turtles aprox 2 1/2in, about 10 ghost shrimp, 1 lonely minnow

20g, Currently a Whisper 30 (hang on back) :
2 fat fantail goldies 1 1/2in(body), 5 oto's, few ghost shrimp, maybe 3 small snails
(anyone want some goldfish? I inherited them)

The filters I found are:
Topfin 20
Aqua Clear 30- looks like I could fill it with some bio-media, don't think I ever used this one. It came used with a HORRENDOUS sponge in it that I threw away and never bothered to replace
Regent (??) It's the smallest

I can post pics if that would help. They all need a good scrub but all work. I have no media for any of them right now.

Thank you for the help!

[rsour24]

its really up to you. to be honest it seems you are making this into a bigger deal than what it is. if one of ur tanks needs an extra filter put one on. if its not showing the improvement you want switch to the bigger filter. or just start with the larger filter and what u get is what u get

[BiteyBits]

Hmmm. Wasn't aware I was making a big deal out of anything. I was just searching for a little interaction on a bad day with people who share my hobby on something I'm really in no hurry to do, wondering if maybe one of my tanks is over bio-loaded? Or one of my filters not worth using, but I don't know and someone else does? What new media might I try that's better for a turtle tank, as my experience is all fish related. Would rather avoid a potential problem than wait for one to develop and be in a hurry.

[steve]

For turtles, you just need more powerful filters and your standard mechanical media (and bio media if there are less frequent changes). I would also avoid adding another filter if one is handling the load and I would rather upgrade to a canister when possible.

[BiteyBits]

Thanks. I just set up both tanks within the month, so, while the filter media were already cycled I'm still watching the tank to see if it balances out. So if i need them, i have backups, and if not all is well. I could use more biomedia for the turtles, less frequent changes would be nice

[VeipaCray]

You could set one HOB filter with all mechanical filtration and a second HOB with all biological filtration. The majority of your cleaning and maintenance would be on the filter with the mechanical filtration. +1 for going the canister route as a longer term solution.