Filtration

[bennylax3]

what would be the best filtration for 55 gallon with two cichlids. I want to overfilter but i dont want to spend to much. would two hang on the backs works or should i go to canister. if you could give some brands or models that would help. i would like to stick with hang on the backs but if more is needed that is that

[Gulp]

An emperor 400 ($36.99) and a Magnum350 canister ($86) would be plenty for a 55 gallon. The prices are at www.bigalsonline.com . The Emperor 400 (power filter) has 2 large bio wheels, and the Magnum is a nice affordable canister.

[bennylax3]

are you saying they would work individually or together

[Gulp]

Originally posted by bennylax3
are you saying they would work individually or together

I would suggest using one of each. You could have the emperor 400 on one half of the aquarium and the Magnum350 on the other. You could also get 2 Magnum 350's, with one of them being the "Pro series" (comes with biowheels), and have one in each corner of the tank. There are better filters out there, but these do the job and don't cost much.


EDIT: AT $36.99 a pop, 2 Emperor 400's would work great, and you would have 800 gph.

[bennylax3]

would two emporors do as good as a canistrer and emporor
sorry bout spelling

[JSchmidt]

I would buy two Emp 400s. I would toss the disposable Emp cartridges and buy AquaClear 500 foams to fill the filter well as mechanical media. I cut the 500 foam so it's just a bit longer than the filter well, insuring a snug fit.

You can use two blocks of foam per media well, or only one. If you use just one block of foam, you have to push it into the well just enough so that the biowheel can spin freely, but no further. If you use two blocks per well, just push then both in until they bottom out. Four AC500 foam blocks will fill a single Emp (with two cut pieces per well). They are easy to clean and will last pretty much forever. They provide good mechanical filtration, too.

I don't know that I'd mess with a Mag 350, esp. if you're trying to watch expenses. It's hard to less expensive filters than HOBs. Aquaclear 500s are also good filters (a pair would be OK for you) but I much prefer Emperors for reliabilty and for separating mechanical and biological filters.

HTH,
Jim

[bennylax3]

two questions for ya jschmidt

1 do you get the carbon inesrt two.
2 How do the foam and carbon inserts last

Thank you for your help Gulp amd Jschmidt

[dethjam316]

i think one emperor would suffice easily unless they were huge fish. how big are these cichlids? also, i would recommend using the filter things that come with the filter, then just replacing it with regular plain filter floss and/or sponges. carbon is overrated.

[bennylax3]

They wont be that big at first. i bought a jack dempsey a couple of days ago and i plan on buying a green terror next week. they will be in a 20gal but i plan on buying and setting up a 55 gal mid to late march. they wouldalso be in with some tiger barbs a pleco.

[Prometheus]

Originally posted by JSchmidt
I would buy two Emp 400s.

I have two penguin 330's on my 55... Two 400's would be cool, but seeing the effects of 660gph on my tank, I'm not sure that I would want two 400's on it... thats alot of current... Especially if you plan on using a power head... Just my personal oppion.

But either way, your tank would be able to handle a pretty large bio-load...:D

[dethjam316]

on my 50g, i use an emperor 400. now that alone is 8gph. above the usual recommended minimum of 5gph. i accent this with a eheim aquaball on the other side of the tank (partly to add a nice little current), which probably bumps this up to over 10gph or more. i think that's plenty. i think 2 400s might be overkill.

[JSchmidt]

Originally posted by bennylax3
two questions for ya jschmidt

1 do you get the carbon inesrt two.
2 How do the foam and carbon inserts last

Thank you for your help Gulp amd Jschmidt

I generally don't use carbon; it's not necessary 98% of the time. The foams last years and years and years. I suppose it will break down eventually, but not for a long time.

Is 2 Emp 400s overkill? Assuming these fish get large, and given how messy cichlids are, I don't know. If the fish are sensitive to current, you might have a problem, but I don't think 2 Emp 400s produce a lot more current than an Emp 400 and a powerhead...

You could probably start with one Emp and add another if needed.

dethjam316, why do you recommend using the Emp cartridges over foam or some other solution? The foam is far superior as a mechanical filter to the bonded blue pads that Marineland sells, it last virtually forever and it costs about the same as just a few sets of the cartridges. Why do you recommend the cartridges?

Jim

[dethjam316]

i don't. read my post again. i recommend using the cartridges that come with it at first...then using filter floss or sponges instead of continuing to buy them. i agree, the marineland things are overpriced and not all that great anyway.

[ewok]

Originally posted by dethjam316
on my 50g, i use an emperor 400. now that alone is 8gph. above the usual recommended minimum of 5gph.

i "usually" recommend 10 or *better* turnovers an hour. so do most other people i've seen.

it's not too much current, especially not for those fish. ditto for the filtration, the jd isn't small and the gt is larger i think.

i'd say emp 400 and fluval 404 first choice

2 emps 2nd choice

2 aq 500's 3rd choice

none of them are expensive to maintain. the emps you just keep washing the cartridges with the sink sprayer or something, you can do this several times. don't worry about the carbon, after a few days it's just extra biological media anyway. the fluval 404, fill the two top trays with the biological media that comes with them and fill the 2 bottom trays with the loose floss that looks like pillow stuffing. same thing, occasional rinse. it takes a long time til you actually have to replace anything. the aq 500's, put 2 foam blocks in it instead of just the one provided. put the carbon away for when you need it. just keep rinsing the sponges, and the extra one only costs a couple dollars around here.

my opinion...... the emps have a superior biological setup. the fluvals have superior surface area for longevity. the aq's move alot of water, but i am finding my 300's easy to cause mini spikes if you clean them too well.

good luck