30 Gal Filter Type?

[partmemjustin]

I'm going to be starting a new 30gal tank. But I need to purchase a new filter for it. I usually go with the Tetra Whisper filters, I used them all my life and love them, but someone introduced me to the new AquaClear filters and says that up until here started using the 'amazing' AquaClear filters her swore by Tetra's as well. I just wanted to get someone else opinion on the two.
And how well they both fare when faced with a tank with sand substrate.

[jm1212]

the both should be fine, provided that the intakes are not to close to the sand bed and the sand is not to fine so that it would remain suspended long enough to be drawn into the filter.

the new line of filters from tetra looks promising. you could try one of those out.

many here like the versatility of AC filters.

im more of a penguin person myself :D

[red_wall]

I have only had one filter my whole fish hobby... career? haha, OBSESSION, there we go. My whole fish hobby obsession. Thats the AquaClear, it's lasted me 3 years, no problems yet

(unless you count having to clean around the turbine from algae buildup once a few weeks ago, but thats routine haha)

[fishorama]

I have both Whispers & ACs, the ACs are better filters wih more room for media. The Whispers are very fast to clean & good at gross mechanical filtration. Whisper media needs to be replaced WAY more often than AC (almost never). Go AC but get & use 2 sponges & the biomax plus a thin layer of floss as needed. Nothing better in a HOB.

[DAVIDFBT]

The AC filter I got in my pond works great, with lots of media space too. For tanks, I go eith the marineland HOBs. It's basically because of the bio-wheel.

[Ozymandias]

Basically i've used the whisper work but nothing out standing about it used cartridges which needed to be replaced. the AC on the other hand i loved vary vursital with media, after i bought it i did not need to replace any thing (though i did use two sponges). no more cartridges witch is nice and much more time in between cleanings. right now i have the AC 20 running on my 3.5 gallon at the lowest flow and works fine and i had it running on my 30 for the longest time with a penguin 150 too. till i replace both with a canister filter on that tank.

in short go AC thay are more vursital when it comes to media and performance. i would consider them one of the best if not the best of all HOBs

[jpappy789]

I agree with Ozy. I have AC, penguin and whisper HOBs running and ACs are by far the best. The whispers will get the job done though I have had zero problems with the Aqua Clear. The others tend to get gunked up more often and are pretty limited when it comes to media as Ozy stated.

[Ozymandias]

i've also used Penguins and the only thing i found unique about them was the fact thay have Bio-wheel. while it does act as a wet dry system you still have to deal with cartridges.

[irishspy]

The AC filter I got in my pond works great, with lots of media space too.

That's interesting ... I've never heard of using an Aquaclear on a pond before. How did you hook that up?

[DAVIDFBT]

^ I got a storage container, wieghed it down with rocks so it would sink, and I hung the AC filter off of it so the intake would go in the water while the back stayed dry.
http://img242.imageshack.us/img242/989/filter003ee3.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

The pond is small anyway, but the filter is very strong. I have to clean out the media every day, but I have crystal clear water.

[irishspy]

An AC 110? That's a clever set-up. :thm:

[DAVIDFBT]

Actually an AC 50. It came free with a free 20G X High setup. :)

That just shows you how powerful an AC filter is. An AC 50 can filter a medium stocked pond.

[partmemjustin]

Ok so basically AC is better with media and keeping water cleaner in general when compared to the Whispers. Now I heard that some people use 2 sponges instead of the one sponge and the carbon. would one see a major difference in this, and wouldn't you lose the benefits from the carbon, or are the benefits negligible, and the two spounges just a matter of preference?

[Ozymandias]

really most people don't use carbon unless thay are removing tannins from drift wood or meds from the water. the only benefit to the extra sponge is that it is more area for beneficial bacteria and a little extra mechanical filtration. again you don't have to do it just some people do, some people also add other things to there filter instead.

[irishspy]

...and the two spounges just a matter of preference?

For what it's worth, I use a sponge-ammonia remover-sponge "sandwich." The sponges are to provide lots of area for biological filtration (It's an AC 20, btw), while the ammonia remover is just me being hyper-cautious: the tank has been very lightly stocked, and I just added a small school of cories, so I put this in to guard against a sudden ammonia spike.

The only downside I've experienced is that the water isn't as clear as I'd like. If I run the filter at full, the current is too strong in this small tank for the cories and shrimp -- they hide behind the driftwood. So, I have to turn it down, which means the water isn't cycling as much.

Other than that, I like it quite a bit.

[echoofformless]

Everyone knows how much Echo loves a filter thread. he can't help but chime in every time with the same thing: Aquaclears, Whispers, Penguins....all just as good as each other with their differences only being varying advantages and drawbacks to each product. Any two that you choose (assuming you'll be using two since it's always good to use two on a tank larger than twenty gallons) will be perfectly good.

I've used all three of these brands and still have no favorite. Though lately I've realized I'm pretty much phasing out HOB filters altogether. Canisters are the way to go in my opinion. They require less maintenance, do a better job at filtering, and lessen the amount of water lost to evaporation.

[Rbishop]

What few HOB I have are AC. Canisters and sumps are preferred here.

[BoredAgain]

I like ACs, I have two AC50s on my 28G. I use them on all of my tanks. I like Penguins too, I have several of those, I just prefer AC.

[partmemjustin]

...I use a sponge-ammonia remover-sponge "sandwich."

How did you create the sandwich, cutting the sponges? Just curious, sounds like a good idea.

[irishspy]

How did you create the sandwich, cutting the sponges? Just curious, sounds like a good idea.

No cutting needed. I just placed one sponge on the bottom, then the anti-ammonia pillow, then another sponge. Easy as pie. :idea: