Fish_fanatic
Aquarium Advice Activist
Would an emperor 280 be enough to filter a 75 gallon tank?? Would the addition of an Aquaclear 300 be better?? I have never had a tank this big so I dont know how much filtration I need. Any help would be great.
Filtration
- Thread starter Fish_fanatic
- Start date
The friendliest place on the web for anyone with an interest in aquariums or fish keeping!
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
Mr Burns
Aquarium Advice FINatic
the 280 won't cut it, but the 400 will. a cannister will also do the trick. i've heard good things about the AC300, but i think the emperor 400 reigns supreme in the catagory. are you going to have plants? if not, i would recommend the 400 with with an appropriate under gravel filter and power head. the would give you tons of filtration (a lot of biological) and tons of surface aggitation. this is the setup i was planning on before i switched over to planning for a planted tank...
ferret
Aquarium Advice Addict
I run an Emperor 400 and an Penguin 330 on my 75. Add a 400 and your 280 would be fine. I can't say anything good or bad about the Aquaclears, don't own any.
malkore
Aquarium Advice Addict
An AC 300 won't fit on a 75 gallon. The tank lip is too wide..you'd have to use an AC500.
On tanks that big, you should really go with a good canister. Rena Filstar XP2 or XP3 would work on that size tank, are cheaper than Eheim canisters, and much better than any Fluval I've seen. You can get an XP2 from Big Al's for under $80 I believe.
On tanks that big, you should really go with a good canister. Rena Filstar XP2 or XP3 would work on that size tank, are cheaper than Eheim canisters, and much better than any Fluval I've seen. You can get an XP2 from Big Al's for under $80 I believe.
TankGirl
Aquarium Advice Addict
I agree with Malkore. For that tank I would use an XP3, but I tend to err on the side of overfiltration! I have one and it is a wonderful filter. I use an Emperor 400 on my 44gal with supplemental filtration of an Eheim 2215. The Emperor is a great filter, as well.
Enki
Aquarium Advice Freak
I just got an XP1, baby bro of the XP3 and I swear I will never use another HOB again. Canisters are really worth it IMO.
Fish_fanatic
Aquarium Advice Activist
So, it seems that canister filters are the way to go. If I did get a canister filter like the XP2 or XP3 would this eliminate the need for a hang on back filter, or would it be better to get a canister and hang on back filter?
Thanks
Thanks
grimlock3000
Aquarium Advice Addict
HOBs and canisters do the same things very differently. HOBs are great for quick maintenence and adding carbon to the tank. HOBs turnover a lot of water, so they can be better for catching debris floating around. Canisters hold a lot more media but do not oxygenate the water well (depending on setup) and are harder to clean. On a large tank I think having one of each is the way to go. Just having one XP3 on a 75g is a bit low.
TankGirl
Aquarium Advice Addict
I would get the canister, and also get a HOB at the same time, because especially from Big Al's they HOBs are very inexpensive.
ferret
Aquarium Advice Addict
As are their cannisters.
Mr Burns
Aquarium Advice FINatic
why is that they're so much cheaper at big al? the other day i stopped into a lfs and saw they have an emperor 400 on display in a 75 gallon tank. i asked the guy at the counter how much it was and he said, "they retail for about $79.99. it's a great filter."
8O
"80 bucks?!?!" i said, "they sell for 40 online..."
same thing with the cannisters. i've check around for prices on the filstars and big al is at least $30 cheaper than everybody else! i'm going to order most of my stuff through the family shop, but if i didn't have that connection i would definitely buy from big al.
go figure.
8O
"80 bucks?!?!" i said, "they sell for 40 online..."
same thing with the cannisters. i've check around for prices on the filstars and big al is at least $30 cheaper than everybody else! i'm going to order most of my stuff through the family shop, but if i didn't have that connection i would definitely buy from big al.
go figure.
Enki
Aquarium Advice Freak
Check www.drsfostersmith.com. Prices are only a couple of bucks higher and I haven't heard one complaint about customer service, which I cannot say for big als 
There are some items that one will have that the other does not, shop around a little.
LFS prices on equipment are out of hand, it is pretty amazing what people will pay if they don't do a little research/shopping.
There are some items that one will have that the other does not, shop around a little.LFS prices on equipment are out of hand, it is pretty amazing what people will pay if they don't do a little research/shopping.
Sati
Aquarium Advice Addict
Enki said:
That's for sure! I have to think they'd sell a higher volume of product if they lowered their prices. Sales would increase and they'd still be making a buck...
grimlock3000
Aquarium Advice Addict
"why is that they're so much cheaper at big al? the other day i stopped into a lfs and saw they have an emperor 400 on display in a 75 gallon tank. i asked the guy at the counter how much it was and he said, "they retail for about $79.99. it's a great filter.""
Retail mark up. Filters, food, stands, and other accessories are high mark up items. Even with high markup on some items, a lot of LFSs still have trouble staying in business due to other operating cost.
Big Als/Dr Foster Smith/etc are primarily warehouses that can sell items for a few dollars above wholesale and still make a profit. Not only do they have the advantage of a huge turnover which gives them even better wholesale prices, their overhead is very low. It is grea that Big Als has stores, but most of their business is mail order.
"LFS prices on equipment are out of hand, it is pretty amazing what people will pay if they don't do a little research/shopping."
LFSs would not stay around for long if they began selling big ticket items for $3 and $4 above wholesale. Many good filters last for years and that $4 would not go far.
"I have to think they'd sell a higher volume of product if they lowered their prices. Sales would increase and they'd still be making a buck..."
Well, people who need a filter usually end up buying one The market for items like filters would not increase hugely with reduced cost. Even if they sell twice as many, they would still be profitting $8, compared to making $60+ for a cansiter at standard retail pricing.
For the time being, enough people get their goods at the LFSs to keep them happy. If the current trend of internet ordering keeps up and people keep buying more and more good online, LFSs will have to adapt or get run out of business by mail order. The first thing that would likely happen, is the cost of the fish themselves would go up.
Also, this can be applied to almost anything. Anyone here paid $20+ for a shirt? That shirt was probably $2 wholesale. When you spend $300 to get a car fixed at the dealership, you probably could have got the same parts online for $75 and did it yourself with little effort.
Retail mark up. Filters, food, stands, and other accessories are high mark up items. Even with high markup on some items, a lot of LFSs still have trouble staying in business due to other operating cost.
Big Als/Dr Foster Smith/etc are primarily warehouses that can sell items for a few dollars above wholesale and still make a profit. Not only do they have the advantage of a huge turnover which gives them even better wholesale prices, their overhead is very low. It is grea that Big Als has stores, but most of their business is mail order.
"LFS prices on equipment are out of hand, it is pretty amazing what people will pay if they don't do a little research/shopping."
LFSs would not stay around for long if they began selling big ticket items for $3 and $4 above wholesale. Many good filters last for years and that $4 would not go far.
"I have to think they'd sell a higher volume of product if they lowered their prices. Sales would increase and they'd still be making a buck..."
Well, people who need a filter usually end up buying one
The market for items like filters would not increase hugely with reduced cost. Even if they sell twice as many, they would still be profitting $8, compared to making $60+ for a cansiter at standard retail pricing.For the time being, enough people get their goods at the LFSs to keep them happy. If the current trend of internet ordering keeps up and people keep buying more and more good online, LFSs will have to adapt or get run out of business by mail order. The first thing that would likely happen, is the cost of the fish themselves would go up.
Also, this can be applied to almost anything. Anyone here paid $20+ for a shirt? That shirt was probably $2 wholesale. When you spend $300 to get a car fixed at the dealership, you probably could have got the same parts online for $75 and did it yourself with little effort.
Sati
Aquarium Advice Addict
I guess you're right, Grim. We keep buying fish and food, but the tank setups don't have to be replaced that often.
TankGirl
Aquarium Advice Addict
Right! That is what I meant, because that same XP3 was almost double the price at the chain store here, compared to Big Als. I want to support my LFS, but for hardware like filters you just cannot beat Big Al's.
Fish_fanatic
Aquarium Advice Activist
Yea I really like Big Als, and its only a 20 minute drive. I buy pretty much everything from there cause its so cheap. I can get an 8oz bag of food for like 5 bucks where as everywhere else its those little containers for 4 bucks. Thanks for all the info guys!
I agree with ya grimlock. The LFS has to have those mark ups to cover over head. Also, they can never have the purchasing power a bigals does. I'm sure bigals buys there stock for a hell of a lot less than an lfs.
Fortunately for the lfs, most sales of aquariums and related products are made to the uninformed.
Fortunately for the lfs, most sales of aquariums and related products are made to the uninformed.
TankGirl
Aquarium Advice Addict
Plus there are so many people who are not comfortable with online puchases, and need to put their hands on a product before they buy it. I keep my LFS in business with fish and live food puchases, as well as plants.
I have wondered if the brick and mortar Big Al's has the same deals as they do online.
I have wondered if the brick and mortar Big Al's has the same deals as they do online.
Similar threads
