Emperor vs Filstar

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greenfish

Aquarium Advice FINatic
Joined
Jun 2, 2004
Messages
631
Location
Livermore, California USA
About halfway through buying all the stuff for my new 55gal, I decided I was going to do planted. I have already bought (and opened) an Emperor400. This tank will have 130 watts of lighting so my lighting is only 2.36wpg so I know I am not looking at any high light plants. I am not trying to grow a jungle here, just have something decent. I was planning on doing DIY CO2 and then possibly upgrading it later (depending on money and results from DIY). I have been researching planted and it seems that most people use canister filters. Should I bite the bullet and buy a Filstar now? Will I lose way too much CO2 through the Emperor?

Next time I'll decide first then buy..... It's cheaper.

So Canister or HOB? Any advice or comments are appreciated.
 
If you can get the Filstar, I would prefer it in your shoes, but you can remove the Biowheels from the Emperor and then take care to keep the water leve up close to the outflow so it does not splash so much, if your buget does not permit the swap. You can always get the Filstart and keep the Emperor for another tank (you will wind up with more tanks, if you don't have them already.. 8) )

I think your lighting is going to enable you to have a lovely planted display, and is a great place to start.

Forgive me if you already know this but I always have to say when someone is preparing to use CO2 to check your KH and pH frequently, starting with your tap water, since in the absence of adequate KH you will be subject to unstable pH, which is extremely hard on your tank inhabitants.
 
Thanks TankGirl. That confirms what I already thought. I will need to open up the wallet again. Plan first buy later... plan first buy later.... Repeat..... commit to memory......

Another question: xp2 or xp3? There isn't that much cost difference between them. Is xp3 overkill for a 55?
 
Nope, not in my opinion, esp. since I am running an XP3 on my high light, CO2 injected heavily planted 55! :D

I think probably the cause of most of our MTS problems relate to more tanks to solve problems we run into along the way. We learn that this fish or that fish just can't get along, but we don't want to get rid of the fish, so we get another tank to suit the troublemaker, and MTS is born. Then we take all that we learned and help others here on AA!

What'll happen to you is that you'll see a 44 or a 55 for sale in the paper or at a yard sale, and you'll think, "well, I already have a filter sitting around, might as well...."
 
Can't go wrong with the great XP. I second the XP3 motion. I have an XP2 on a 26 gallon and an XP3 sitting in a box for a future 80 gallon. :roll:
 
Ok. I did it. I bit the bullet. Big Al's now has more of my money. XP3 is on the way.

Thanks all.

Oh, TankGirl I searched and searched for that avatar. I am glad you like it.
 
betowess said:
Can't go wrong with the great XP. I second the XP3 motion. I have an XP2 on a 26 gallon and an XP3 sitting in a box for a future 80 gallon. :roll:
ditto, almost. i have an xp3 sitting in the box waiting for my 85 to get finished. i go to the glass shop tomorrow!!! :D
 
Hats off to you Mr. B for building your tank with your bare hands. Can't wait to see the finished product. If I remember correctly, is the back and bottom plywood with acrylic or some equivalent painted on the inside? And is this a bit cheaper than buying one? Just curious why you are literally DIY re: the tank? How thick is the glass and are you plumbing through the bottom. Didn't mean to hijack this thread. Maybe you could start a new topic... Just an idea.
 
Your'e not the only one waiting for the low-down on Mr. Burns' tank, Betowess - I think a new topic is definitely in order!
 
whoa, sorry about the delay here. beto, i replied to your PM, and I forgot to mention that i'm making a website which will have a lot of information about how i built the tank, etc. the only catch is that it won't be up until everything is complete. right now i'm waiting on the glass to be delivered.
 
just a small update, the glass is installed. total install time was about 30 minutes, begining with moving the tank to the garage, clean the glass, sanding, cleaning, siliconing, installing, weighting the glass, and taking pictures. it was much much easier than i had expected!
 
hey greenfish,

just saw that petsmart carries the XP's. Im assuming from what Ive read that these are goo dfilters. If I bougth the XP2 ($89.99/is that a lot?) for my 55g tank, do I need to buy any other filters?

thx,
dan
 
I would say if you bought the XP3 for your 55 then you would not need any other filters. The XP2 might be enough but I tend to overfilter.
 
Tankgirl,

Id tend to agree with you. Better safe than sorry.

Petsmart has the XP3 for $105, would I be better off looking elsewhere for a better price?

thanks again,
dan
 
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