AQ 110 (500) or Penguin 350B?

I have a penguin, and i've noticed from all the AC filters i've seen that they are much more quieter when it comes to waterflow back into tank (when it waterfalls). with penguins, the water line has to be right on the outflow for it to be quiet, with AC's the level can be lower. Their flow control is nice too. but both filters are really good.
 
All my tanks are running Penquins(4X 350's, 2X 250 and a 150) Sure there's a little noise from the Bio-Wheels, don't bother me any; reminds me of a babbling brook (versus the Babbling idiot I can be at times...:)).

Run mine with extra filter elements. Nice thing, if I start a new tank, I can Swap one of the two Bio- Wheels in the 350's, an extra set of "dirty" filter elements fit them to the new filter and I got a cycled tank almost.

Friend recently started a 55 gallon tank, I swapped Bio-wheels and the extra filter elements as stated above, and they had a safe tank almost immediately...

I like mine!
 
well, I received my AC110 this week, unfortunately we had lost power last Friday during the big ice storm, and just received power yesterday. So, both of my big fish are dead :( 5 year old Jack Dempsy and a 4 yr old Firemouth. The big pleco is ok of course :).

Soo... this gives me a chance to start over I guess :) I am going to try and do the live plant thing this time, but I have never done it so we will see :)

Thanks again for the input.
 
Cakes said:
sometimes they can overflow out the sides and back.QUOTE]

I have never had an HOB overflow out over the sides and back. They are designed with an overflow built in the front so if they become clogged they overflow back into the aquarium.

I like AC over Emperor. I had an Emperor 400 for years and it was always too noisey for me. I now run an Aquaclear 110. It can hold a TON of media. You can put anything in it you want and it has a higher flow rate than the Emperor. I would go with the Aquaclear.
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GOV said:
well, I received my AC110 this week, unfortunately we had lost power last Friday during the big ice storm, and just received power yesterday. So, both of my big fish are dead :( 5 year old Jack Dempsy and a 4 yr old Firemouth. The big pleco is ok of course :).

Soo... this gives me a chance to start over I guess :) I am going to try and do the live plant thing this time, but I have never done it so we will see :)

Thanks again for the input.
Click to expand...

Ah, I'm sorry...that sucks to hell and back....I say you deserve two dips in the good kharma fish tank!
 
I am so sorry for your loss. That really must be awful! As far as the filter is concerned I think you made the right choice in chosing the aquaclear. I have run both filters before and still do and I have to say I like the aquaclears much better anyways.

Marinemom
 
Go with the Aquaclear, they are cheap especialy at a place like bigalsonline, they are very dependable, quiet, and they cost a lot less to maintain then filters like the Emperor. I actually feel to that the Aquaclear actually works better. Those sponges that the Aquaclear uses can be rinsed time and time again. They last virtually forever.

I never have an overflow problem with my Aquaclear, I rinse the sponges in old aquarium water once per week. If anybody is getting overflow problems with any of there HOB filters than they are letting them go too long between cleanings.
 
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aardvark1 said:
All my tanks are running Penquins(4X 350's, 2X 250 and a 150) Sure there's a little noise from the Bio-Wheels, don't bother me any; reminds me of a babbling brook (versus the Babbling idiot I can be at times...:)).

Run mine with extra filter elements. Nice thing, if I start a new tank, I can Swap one of the two Bio- Wheels in the 350's, an extra set of "dirty" filter elements fit them to the new filter and I got a cycled tank almost.

Friend recently started a 55 gallon tank, I swapped Bio-wheels and the extra filter elements as stated above, and they had a safe tank almost immediately...

I like mine!
Click to expand...

I can do the same with my aquaclear because I dont use carbon, so instead I use two sponges and I also use filter floss between them so if I start another tank I also can take one sponge and some filter floss out of my established Aquaclear and put it in the new one and get the same results.

I have learned from experience, Aquaclears rule in my humble opinion.
 
Cakes said:
Suckers move a lot of water. Make sure you keep it clean, sometimes they can overflow out the sides and back.
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You probably didn't have your filters leveled properly (with that little leveling thing on the bottom that rests against the glass of the aquarium).

Because an AC that's leveled correctly would only overflow if it were severly neglected.

icecubez189 said:
I have a penguin, and i've noticed from all the AC filters i've seen that they are much more quieter when it comes to waterflow back into tank (when it waterfalls). with penguins, the water line has to be right on the outflow for it to be quiet, with AC's the level can be lower. Their flow control is nice too. but both filters are really good.
Click to expand...

I agree... my penguin 200 was one noisy son of a gun unless the surface of the water was right at the lip of the outlet.

Plus, the shape of the penguins outlet is convex which makes the water splash even more than it should...

All in all, AC's are just very well designed HOB filters, and they're old, so they've stood the test of time and competition.
 
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