40 gallon aquaclear 50

Blackheart said:

Would 2 Aquaclear 50 power filters be enough you think for a 40 gallon long tank? 48x12x16 tank dimensions with one on each end?

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Depends on the bioload, but one would be enough: the filter is rated for 50 gallons. Since your tank is so long, yeah, I'd have one on each end to minimize dead spots.

What about an AC50 and a decent powerhead?

I've always been under the impression that the rating is estimated on the filter being empty and in a perfect set up (which never happens)..so I've always shot for and recommended to have my filtration be 2-3 times the size of the tank (if finances/stocking allow for it).

I run two AC 30's on a 29g tall. It is not enough because of the amount of fish I have and I have to be diligent with the monthly maintenance.

The biggest factor will be the bioload from the fish. It is always recommended you opt for more filtration since you'll never know if you'll end up with more bioload than you expected.

For a 40B, the minimum I would recommend is an AC 70 or two AC 50's or two AC 70's.

mizzoutank said:

I've always been under the impression that the rating is estimated on the filter being empty and in a perfect set up (which never happens)..so I've always shot for and recommended to have my filtration be 2-3 times the size of the tank (if finances/stocking allow for it).

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I agree. I should have said "one AC 50 would be barely enough." For the 40B I'm planning, I'll get and AC70 and a canister.