Your opinion on a filter

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cheezysquirrelz

Aquarium Advice Freak
Joined
Jul 5, 2004
Messages
412
Location
Georgia
For my 20gal x-tall should I use an aquaclear filter (someone said they have intake extentions) or a whisper (those have long intake tubes).
 
They are both awesome filters, I would get the Aquaclear since from what I heard it has tons of media room for additional filter meduims.
 
Another question, If you get a more powerful filter made for a bigger tank, to put on a smaller tank, is it better?
 
Why not go with a Penguin 125 biowheel?

You can get it from BigAls for about 20 bucks IIRC.

I prefer my Marineland equipment over AquaClear, I hate that company.
 
Im going to keep angels. William, I love Penguin bio-wheel filters. I have a Penguin 170 on my 20 gal. My concern is that a penguin will not have a long enough intake tube. This is an extra tall tank.
 
I don't think a Penguin 125 would be enough (I am queen of overfiltration, though) but I do like the Penguin and Emperor lines. I have never had an AC, but I think I would buy one just because of the media options - they are extremely popular and versatile, like a canister filter style that is HOB.

William - why do you dislike the AC company? I'd like to know what I can in case I'm ever in the market for one.
 
I've owned 2 AC filters, Both of them I have to reprime all the fricken time because they somehow loose their syphon, even tho the intake, impeller, impeller seat, and everything are clean as can be.

You ahve to be careful when putting filter media in them because if you push it down to fast it'll overflow all over the place

and one, after just over a year of use, has gotten so slow that it barely trickles water out, and its rated for 100GPH, it dosn't even pump 1GPH.


On the other hand, I've never had ANY problem other than operator error with any of my Penguins , I run penguins on ALL my tanks save for 2, one that has the trickling AC thats going to get replaced ASAP, and my 10gal Danio/Banjo tank has a whisper filter for a 40gal tank on it. ]
 
I will agree that I have used Penguins and Emperors for years (though I favor canisters on larger tanks) and never had a problem of any sort. I guess I should take that into consideration - if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

There are several threads going pertaining to AC filters, this must be national AC week or something!
 
DON'T GET THE AQUACLEAR! :D

i mean that. i honestly have no idea why people like the ACs. go with the whisper or the marineland (penguin/emperor) filters. the ACs have tons of room for media, but so what? most of the water flows right around it. water will take the path of least resistance (like most people,) and with the ACs, that is everywhere around little filter inserts (which are overpriced anyways.) i've bought two whisper filters and couldn't be happier. you can actually tell when the filter needs to be cleaned/replace because the output water decreases. if you really feel like adding extra media, you can drop a bag behind the main cartridge. as an added bonus, the whisper filters live up to their name.
 
Get the Aquaclear. Do some research on the web. The water does follow the path of least resistance - right down the channel uder the media basket and up through the media. Water is actually forced up through the media. In a Whisper or Emperor the media is just sitting vertically in a pool of water. Very inefficient. In an Aquaclear the media literally fills up the entire box volume, making for very efficient filtration. I have four running on my tanks and they work great, no priming problems or noise. The media is very cheap - $2-3 for an extra foam block that never wears out. Don't get a bio-wheel if you want to inject CO2 it will disperse it.

But they all work pretty well. I'd go with the cheapest.
 
hmm.. my penguin/emperor i couldnt be happier. besides the impeller housing (i think) (the thing where the impeller sits) (on the bottom) some sand got in there and slowed the impeller. but thats more a mantainence thingy. the intake tube almost never gets clogged. plus i think there are filter extenstions for penguins. ive heard of them i think.

and for my 5 gallon it has the least mantainence of all my filters. its the 5-15. yeah but the only problems are it has no lid so the fish can jump out. and the no biowheel. which isnt neccisary.
 
"Actually, the water flows OVER the media in my AC, not through it."

What? More AC bashing from Willian??? :wink:

Water does not go over or bypass the media in a AC unless you screw something up. Simply put, the impeller shoves water under the media, then the water gets pushed up through it. Any water making it back to the impeller has already been filtered. This is by design! With an AC filter, you can lower the flow rate, and the filter just cycles the water multiple times. So if you have a 200gps AC set to half the flow rate (100 gph), all of the water gets filters TWICE before returning to the tank.

Also, in AC filters the water gets pushes at a pretty quick speed through a lot of media. In other filters you have a thin vertical cartridge in a slow moviv pool of water? What do you think filters better, two inches of sponges, an inch of bio media, and some filter floss in an AC filter OR 1/4 inch thick of media stuck on a plastic grate?

In an AC filter, the media area is huge. Want to add some peat? Go right ahead. How about some extra bio material? That is easy too. How about some crushed coral? No problem there. Want to setup the whole thing just for bio? How about adding more floss for better mechanical? Only with ACs, just slip whatever you want into a media bag and put it right in there. With the Marineland filters, not all of them have the extra space for additional media.
 
Penguins have ample room for extra material, You just put it in those mesh backs and slide it right in.

Works wonders, I've done it in the past with things sucha s Ammo-Carb to absorb ammonia during a dangerous spike.
 
hmm i need your thingy for doing that. i wasnt very successful when i tried doing that lol.
 
Wow you guys are VERY opinionated.LOL I am going to put angels in the tank if that has anything to do with the filter brand. I have never had an AC or Whisper, only the Penguin because I thought they were the best(the bio-wheel). You guys all have great points. I have just put in gravel and filled the tank up. I still need to get a hood with florescent light (is anybody getting rid of theirs?)and a filter. I like your point about the media on an Aquaclear being thicker and there being more room for extra media. I dont think I like the design of whisper media.
 
You could avoid the filter wars and just have lots of plants and a small school of white clouds. No filter or heater necessary...
 
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