Aquaclear 50 or Whisper 60? Also light problem

[Cornstar]

Recently I bought a 50 gallon tank, and it came with a whisper 60 dual power filter. I still have an aquaclear 50 from my previous 36 gallon tank but I was wondering which filter is better. If anyone ever had experiences with these filters and can recommend it, that will be great.

Also on side note, I have these two light hoods with a problem. Sometimes in order to get the light to turn on, I would need to rotate the bulb a bit otherwise it will not turn on. I believe they are the aqueon fluorescent light hoods (22inch). Would it be a better idea to get them fixed or just replace them since it may take 1-5 minutes to get the light to properly work sometimes.

Thanks

 

[ridewithme38]

I'd run the both....The Aquaclear 50 has a pretty open media concept, you can fill it full of pretty much anything, while(From what i remember) the Whisper 60 uses Cartridges that can only be replaced with other Whisper 60 cartridges....

WHAT I WOULD DO:

With a Aquaclear, i would use one sponges and 2 BioMedia sacks
With Whisper, Stock Carbon Cartridge

This should give you the best of both worlds, a large bio area for you Nitrofying bacteria, and the ability to change a carbon bag weekly without disturbing that bacteria

 

[Cornstar]

Thanks for the advice, I would love to keep two since what you mentioned above sounds like a terrific idea in the long run. But I am selling my older tank and I already mentioned to the buyer that I will give a filter suitable for the tank. So basically I need to narrow down which filter I would rather keep.

 

[ffmedic2800]

I would keep the 60. I've been using it on my 46 and it does a great job. You can also purchase the foam inserts and frames (whisper 60) for biological filtering as well. I test my water quality weekly, have a pretty full house, and have had zero water quality issues.