Lighting and filter question

[lyquidphyre]

I don't want plants, and Im gunna have a canopy to cover the lights. Do I need a single or double strip for a 75gal? Would a one tube light be enough light for a tank that size?

Also, what brand of power filters do you prefer? I found an Aqua Clear for $24 and a Marineland Emporer for $50. What makes one better than the other to create a $26 difference?

I want "cheap but good"

Any suggestions?

 

[Essayons89]

I don't want plants, and Im gunna have a canopy to cover the lights. Do I need a single or double strip for a 75gal? Would a one tube light be enough light for a tank that size?

Since you aren't planning on live plants then a single light strip would be fine IMO.

Also, what brand of power filters do you prefer? I found an Aqua Clear for $24 and a Marineland Emporer for $50. What makes one better than the other to create a $26 difference?

I run two AC 500's on my 75 gallon tanks. I have an Emperor 400 on one of them along with the AC but I prefer the AC over the Emperor. There is more room for media with the ACs. I don't use carbon in any of them-just fill them with the sponges. I also use the AC media sponges in the Emperor (and a Penguin) instead of the cartridges for it. I feel that the ACs have more room for media which makes a nice "nesting ground" for bacteria.

Bryan

 

[loganj]

One strip will be sufficient. Two, IMO, would look lots better. I maintain a 55g tank at a medical center. The strip light that was on it died and all I had here was a twin 48" strip. I was surprised at how much better the tank looked with the double strip on it and the staff at the medical center liked it much better too.
As for the filters, you'll probably get all kinds of opinions. I prefer the Emperor filters because they last forever and the bio wheel allows you to change all the filter media without disturbing the biofilter. We had Emp 280's that had been running for 5+ years at the pet store without a single failure. IMO, the Emperor offers all the media you need with it's cartridge (which you can rebuild for pennies) and the carbon/chemical media containers that come with it. JMHO.

 

[docrak]

I've just setup a new 60-gallon aquarium and went with an Aqua Clear 500 and an Eheim 2126 canister filter. That combination gives me about 700 gallons an hour of filtration. I wanted lots of current and filtration because I’m running the tank overstocked and with rainbow fish. I personally like the old proven design of the Aqua Clears, they are simple to maintain, work very well and are cheep. I’ve tried the bio wheel designs and don’t like them. My bio wheel filter stopped turning in less than one month. They are also very noisy. I also run my Aqua Clear with sponge media only. I also like having at least two filters in one tank so that when your cleaning one the second will take up the slack until the other sets up. For the price of the Emperor, get two Aqua Clear filters.