So many choices in the filter forest I cant see through the floss
- Thread starter swt2th
- Start date
I have a Fluval 404 on my 55 and it does a decent job..except that its a leaker around the seal until all air is purged out. I use AC's also as I can get them cheap and dont fret about them not restarting after the power goes out and here in central Florida thats often. I have always liked Magnum 330 and thier HOT 250. For my breeding tanks its sponge filters all the way..if they werent so offensive looking I'd use them on my display tanks. Think about it..thats all any filter really is..a place to raise bacteria and hold media. Whatever you choose..go as big as you can afford
I tried an Aqua Tech HOB 10-20 on a 10 gallon for about 3 months. Was not impressed at all. I did thorough cleanings every week, fed lightly, very light fish load.
The water tended to pour down all over the front of the filter. Not all of it through the filtration, AROUND the filtration. This tended to be wonderful to a nice colony of slime all over the front of the filter that would fall off and float all over the tank. It did not have much power to it at all, very little water pressure, weak, puny thing.
I personally vote for a combination of Canister and internal power filters. In my opinion and experience, they are superior to HOBs.
The water tended to pour down all over the front of the filter. Not all of it through the filtration, AROUND the filtration. This tended to be wonderful to a nice colony of slime all over the front of the filter that would fall off and float all over the tank. It did not have much power to it at all, very little water pressure, weak, puny thing.
I personally vote for a combination of Canister and internal power filters. In my opinion and experience, they are superior to HOBs.
Another vote for the Eheim Pro II (model 2028). If you are going to have live plants, a canister filter is a must. A wet/dry is WAY overkill for freshwater and it can NOT be used with live plants. If you are going to have fake plants and are on a budget, then the Aquaclear HOB is inexpensive and works well.
test kit
basic test kit -- Aquarium Pharmacuticals Master kit $11 fromPetSolutions.com -- has ammonia (2 bottle test kit reads free ammonia not total ammonia), pH, high range pH, nitrite, nitrate. Does not have KH or GH but these are usually pretty stable in a tank.
If you want uncomplicated, go for AquaClear, all media is reusable so no pricy cartridges to replace all the time. Get two sponges. Order online with the test kit for great savings.
While you are there saving so much money, get some appropriate food for the fish you are getting (I really like NewLife Spectrum) Get a filter brush set and a few nets, some dechlorinator (I like Prime - handles amonia and chloramine and chlorine and handy to use if one day the power goes out and you need to detox ammonia fast) Get a heater and thermometer, too, since you've already paid for the shipping you should add to the savings.
basic test kit -- Aquarium Pharmacuticals Master kit $11 fromPetSolutions.com -- has ammonia (2 bottle test kit reads free ammonia not total ammonia), pH, high range pH, nitrite, nitrate. Does not have KH or GH but these are usually pretty stable in a tank.
If you want uncomplicated, go for AquaClear, all media is reusable so no pricy cartridges to replace all the time. Get two sponges. Order online with the test kit for great savings.
While you are there saving so much money, get some appropriate food for the fish you are getting (I really like NewLife Spectrum) Get a filter brush set and a few nets, some dechlorinator (I like Prime - handles amonia and chloramine and chlorine and handy to use if one day the power goes out and you need to detox ammonia fast) Get a heater and thermometer, too, since you've already paid for the shipping you should add to the savings.
I have live plants and use HOBs. So, canister filters are not a must unless you want to go with a larger tank and dosing Flourish Excel becomes too costly.funatnight said:
He did say that he was going with a 55 gallon sooooo....Harlock said:
I figured that this was considered a big tank, so that was the reasoning for my comment. We all know that you need CO2, and a canister with a spraybar mounter in the water will not release as much CO2 as a HOB.
I guess you can use a HOB, but if you are going to add CO2, it defeats the purpose.
A 55 isn't too large. Also, depending on how many watts he uses, he can get away without adding CO2 at all. If he stays around 2 watts per gallon, he'll be fine without CO2. There's so many options with planted tanks, low-tech, hitech, high light, low-light, high maintenance plants, low maintenance... really, anything is possible. I don't think Flourish Excel becomes too pricey myself until around 75 gallons or more. If you can buy in bulk from Big Al's, it's all good.funatnight said:
It was mentioned that a wet/dry was overkill for a 55 gal. and couldn't be used with live plants. Why? No one has explained the difference yet between a wet/dry and a cannister filter. I plan on setting up a 120 gal. freshwater with live plants and money is no object. I've decided on an Eheim cannister and they offer a wet/dry model, which I thought would be the absolute best.
But not with plants?
But not with plants?
I dont know for sure because I dont have plants....but the idea is to keep CO2 IN the water and with wet/dry filters they tend to agitate the water enough to release all the CO2 in the water.
just get the canister it doesnt aggitate the water and you can set the spraybar further under the surface.
I thought about going with a Fluval 404 but Im not ready to make the upgrade just yet. I tend to like my bio wheels but Im finding it will benefit my stingray tank to add another filter on...I think Ill do a fluval/emperor combo.
whats the difference between the eheim and the fluval? what makes one better than the other?
just get the canister it doesnt aggitate the water and you can set the spraybar further under the surface.
I thought about going with a Fluval 404 but Im not ready to make the upgrade just yet. I tend to like my bio wheels but Im finding it will benefit my stingray tank to add another filter on...I think Ill do a fluval/emperor combo.
whats the difference between the eheim and the fluval? what makes one better than the other?
