What filter should I get Penn Plax Cascade or Marineland?

[jasno999]

The two that I am looking at are Marineland Penguin 200B Power Filter and the Penn Plax Cascade 300 Power Filter.

I want to put this on my 30 gallon tank. I know overkill but that is the way I like it. Not sure if it would fit so I need to figure that out.

But I wanted to know what you guys think about these two brands. I have always been a fan of the bio-wheel but I am willign to try somehting new if it is worth it. Does anybody use or know about the Penn Plax Cascade filters???

HEre are some links:

http://www.bigalsonline.com/catalog/product.xml?product_id=22161&category_id=1721&pcid1=2885

http://www.bigalsonline.com/catalog/product.xml?product_id=31767;category_id=1721;pcid1=2885;pcid2=

Or if you guys have other suggestions on nice oversized filters I could get for my 30 gallon let me know.

 

[DeathWarp]

I personally have always used the Marineland myself, I haven't ever seen the Penn Plax in action, but I stick to what i know. So you get 1 vote for the Marineland from me

 

[richiestang_78]

I would go between the Marinelands and the Hagen AquaClears personally. I just bought a Aqua Clear 50 for my 30 and never been happier.

 

[jasno999]

Aqua clear - Are they the ones that have the bags that you drop into the filter??? I have one on a small 10gallon tank and I am nto a big fan cause a lot of the water is allowed to pass around the media. I like the cartrige type filters cause they make all the water go through the media.

 

[richiestang_78]

I dont know about bags but on my aqua clear the water passes through a sponge, then either another sponge or carbon then finnally through Bio Max Ceramic media. The media stacks on top of each other and you lower it into the filter. From what I understand the best two HOB filters out there are either the Marinelands or the Aqua Clear. I went with the AC cause the biowheels make too much splashing noise for me.

 

[severum mama]

That's true, the Marinelands and the Aquaclears are the best HOBs, IME. But if you're thinking you want to stick with Marineland, I would recommend the Emperor 280 over the Penguin 200. First of all, that would give you close to 10x turnover per hour, which IMO is a good rule of thumb for tanks filtered with HOBs; and second of all, as I understand it the quality of the Emperors is superior to the Penguins. I personally don't like the proprietary cartridges in the Marineland filters (though I really like the Biowheels), but I have to say that after using 4 Emperors I have found them to be exceptionally reliable. I like to stick filter floss in the extra media basket for a little more mechanical filtration and I think they do a great job.

That said, I am also a fan of the Aqua Clears. If noise matters to you, they are definitely more quiet than the Biowheel filters, and they don't make that churning noise when you adjust the water flow. I've used a lot of ACs and haven't had any problems with the water not being pushed through the media. I use them without the carbon insert, and put a second sponge where the carbon normally goes, like richiestang mentioned. Then I put the BioMax on top of the sponges. Aqua Clears are a lot cheaper than Marinelands in the long run because they use the sponges as media instead of cartridges. You can rinse the sponges in tank water every so often when you do pwcs and they last for a really long time.

 

[richiestang_78]

Yeah the Marinelands would be alot better if you didnt have to use the costly media inserts though I believe my LFS makes generic inserts for those and Whispers.

 

[jasno999]

Well the Aquaclear are not what I like. I feel that in the Aquaclear you have a lot of water that can go around the media. I think the sponge does its job for the most part but the configuration of the chemical media is just not good cause it is too bunched together and you do not get water flow thru the media bags. Instead the flow jsut goes around it or bypasses the entire filter section by goign over the top.


I don't know. I was hoping somebody would have some input on the Penn Plax Cascade 300. It looks nice and appears to have some good features. It also has a sponge for bacterial filtration but it is supposedly in a location that allows you to remove the media withought disturbing it.

I guess I am lookign for more of a cartrige set up. It is a bit more expensive but I can always reuse the backign with some new foam and media. I jsut like that setup best. So now it comes down to brand. I think for some readon the marineland line will have more avaliable filters and for cheper prices. However the Penn Plax modle is larger and has higher flow and what not.

 

[richiestang_78]

You can give it a try but I would go with whats popular. Ive heard of Penn Plax but dont know about there filters.

As far as the ACs yeah teh cabron is alittle packed but you can get aroudn that buy using you own bags with your own carbon and pack it less tight.

 

[Lonewolfblue]

Another vote for Marineland here. I have both the Emperor 280 and 2 Emperor 400's, and love them.

 

[maxwell1295]

I have a Penguin 350B on my 30gal, but if I were to do it again, I'd go with an AquaClear. It's more CO2 friendly (no bio-wheels) and the combinations of media you can use is a lot broader.

 

[jasno999]

maxwell1295 - What do you mean by it is mroe CO2 friendly??? How is that?


Also I would think that the Emporor 280 is more media friendly condisering you get a plastic cartrage that you can put any media that you want in that goes along with the typical foam and carbon filter. It has 2 slots.

 

[maxwell1295]

maxwell1295 - What do you mean by it is mroe CO2 friendly??? How is that?


Also I would think that the Emporor 280 is more media friendly condisering you get a plastic cartrage that you can put any media that you want in that goes along with the typical foam and carbon filter. It has 2 slots.

The biowheels themselves tend to agitate (oxygenate) the water, causing your CO2 to be lost to the atmosphere. AC's don't do that.