Getting back into fish keeping

H

Hlynn1975

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Jul 20, 2003
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After a long hiatus (6 yrs) I am starting up a big tank again, 75g. I got the stand set up today, I don't even own the tank yet. I just wanted to check and see if the Marineland Emperor 400 was still the best HOB on the market and if Ebo Jager was still one of the best heaters around?

I have physical limitations so I will only be using a HOB filter, canisters and internals are just to hard for me to deal with but I am willing to consider other brands if you can tell me why something is better than the Emperor. Hard facts please, not just I like it better, I want to know why its better. Same with the heater, I like to know why something is better so I know i'm buying the best thing for my fish.

My plan is to have the tank heavily planted and have it be a community tank with gouramis, peaceful cichlids, and other community fish. It won't be a regionally accurate tank, I just want something pretty to look at when I'm going thru a Fibro flare and I don't want to kill brain cells watching daytime tv.

Thanks,
Heather
 
i've only used the one brand of HOB since getting back into fish, so i can't help there... just wanted to say "hi!" and "welcome back to fish!!" and "welcome to AC!" :D
 
That is still a decent han on the back filter but I am not sure it's enough for a 75G tank. Have you considered a HOT magnum ofsomething similar. You wil get the power of a canister filter but it wilbe placed where the hang on the back filters normally are. I would put 2 HOT mags or similar on the tank. Welcome back!
 
Since you want to have a heavily planted tank I would highly suggest getting a canister filter. That well help keep the C02 from gassing off.

For canister filters I recommend either an ehiem classic, pro 2 or a marineland c-360. Both are great filters with pretty much no bypass. I use the eheim since they are so quiet. That's important to me. I like the eheim pro 2 2028 since it's self priming and easy to take apart.

For a cheaper option sun sun makes a 360 knock off that is suppose to work pretty well. I have used penplax cascade as well. It worked pretty well but does have bypass.
 
Like I said in my original post. Due to health issues, specifically carpal tunnel and arthritis in my hands a canister filter is not really an option for me. I used a marineland canister back when I had a 72g bowfront and had hard enough time when my hands worked fine. Now, it wouldn't be manageable. I don't know anything about how the Eheim goes together but a glance at them online shows me they are out of my budget.

If there are doubts about the one 400 working I can always use 2 280's on my tank.

Now, what about the heaters. Ebo Jager, still the best?
 
check out aquaclear filters. They are a 3 stage filter and if you don't want to use carbon you can always add more biological media. Also fluval has a good line of heaters out now. for info on those try www.fosterandsmithaquatics.com .
 
Sorry I hadn't had my coffee yet and I missed that part :)

Then I agree that aquaclear might be the way to go. I don't like the biowheels that the marineland have. They make too much noise and splash the water a lot which would be bad for the plants. My aquaclear runs well on my 5 gallon planted and it has an adjustable flow.

I've used visa-therm heaters on my tanks with a lot of success.
 
ya 2 280s would work very nicely ,,, good over filtration.. and maybe get some diff filter material,, sponges etc,, filterpads instead of a new carbon filter every time.. carbon filters are good now and again but not necessary like most lfs would make you believe.. you could go with a 400 and a 280 and have massive filteration...
 
2 emperor 400's would be great. they are still the best HOB in my opinion and are very dependable workhorses. i used them on all my tanks until i switched over to wet/dry sump filters on all my tanks. i used them for years and sold them to friends who still have them in use today and they work just like the day i bought them. i always used 2 of them on all my tanks over 55 gallons.
 
Ok, I decided to try the Aquaclear filters because I liked the idea of not having a biowheel to off gas all my CO2. I got 2 AC 50's and opened one but found it won't hang on the back of my tank unless I notch out the bracing. If I get the AC 70's will I have the same issue? I really don't want to have to cut a notch into my new tank so would rather have a filter that will fit the tank without my having to modify the tank. Does anyone have an AC 70 that can tell me if it clears the brace of a 75g?

Thanks,
Heather
 
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