Need help choosing a heater & HOB filter.......

M

Martin_G

AC Members
Feb 14, 2011
35
0
0
68
Glen Burnie,Md
Since I've decided to get back into keeping "finned critters" after a very long spell (27 yrs), I've noticed that many items from way back when are all but extinct.

I will be acquiring a 10 gallon tank instead of a larger one for various reasons. With that said, I'm more than a little bewildered trying to find a real nice filter & heater.

The heater will be either a 75watt or 100watt from Jager or Visi-therm, and the filter will "probably" be an Aqueon #20 @125 Gph or a Marineland Penguin 150 or 200. I tend to go bigger than is usual.

This tank will be planted using Eco-complete & small fish from 1" to 2" maximum

If anyone has any suggestions,advice, etc., about the brands or size I'm considering, or would like me to consider using another brand/size, I would appreciate hearing about them! I sure don't know everything. Considering that the heaters & filters in use today barely resemble what I once used, I suppose that I can be a "newbie" again!

Previously I had used two Metaframe Dynaflo's on each 55gal I had with one at either end (circa 1969-70 to 1984) and I had excellent water quality.

Hope to hear from y'all!


Thanks,

Martin
 
I won't flat out say don't get a Marineland Visi-Therm, but I have had two just stop heating since Nov '10 when I bought the first one. I am waiting for my third to come in the mail as a replacement for the second one that replaced the first. Hope that made sense. I also think 100w would be overkill for a 10g. I have a 100w in my 29g.

For HOB filters, I really like Aquaclears.
 
I agree with the above. Aquaclears rock! I can't recommend a heater as I am struggling with that right now. I just bought ebo jagers for my 125...we'll see.
 
The Aquaclear filter might just be the ticket! Do you think the 150 is a good choice? When choosing things like filters I generally go one number past the usual filter choice.

With the heater I'll probably go with a 75 watt instead of the 100w, however, I'm still unsure about the brand at the moment. The choice doesn't have to made right away, but I hope to narrow possible choices down to two or "maybe" three of them and go by their track record.

There's no sense in buying a heater with all of the "bells 'n whistles" if it doesn't perform or is problematic.

Thanks for the info on the Aquaclear!! I hadn't even considered that one! It appears to be less bulky than the other two as well.


BTW, whats the deal with the "Bio-wheel" filters? To tell ya the truth I've never seen so many choices for filters in my life.

I wonder if any of the fish magazines did a "Filter Shootout" to see what is the best filter in the most popular size tanks with everything equal (pH levels,temperature,nitrates,nitrites,particulates Ppm,Co2, etc.) so people can see comparisons that are "apples to apples" instead of "apples to oranges".


Thanks guys!

Martin
 
I think the AC 20 (150 GPH) would be perfect for your 10gal. As for heater brands, its funny that I have had better luck with cheapo brands so far. My Marineland Visi-therms are the first "good" brand heaters I have bought and have had nothing but trouble. They do have excellent customer service at least. Other than those I am running some Tetra brand heaters and a Top Fin brand. I'm not recommending you go out and get a cheapo, just sharing my experience with what I have. :)
 
I like my AC filters also. I run canisters on all my big tanks with a AC HOB as the additional filtration. I like the Aquaclears because they are so easy to maintain. I would recommend a prefilter sponge because I used to find baby fish and shrimp in my filter all the time.
 
How would I go about setting up my filter system? The filters I'm familiar with aren't even made anymore. To say that the new filtration systems are heads above the old stuff is definitely an understatement!!!

I would like to ask a theoretical question:

If you have a filter system that is "just OK" for an aquarium but its nothing special, and then you have a high output filter system (more Gph,better bio filter, larger carbon area, sponge and/or canister) for a different aquarium, would the better system be able to handle more fish for a given size tank ?

Both tanks woule be identical in size,shape,planted w/ heater, and the pH & Co2 is less than a point between the two on the scale.

I don't have a clue about the new stuff, but years ago the tank kits that came with a (submersible) filter did work, but some of them struggled to keep the tank clean and the quantity of fish wasn't near maximum.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
AquariaCentral.com
Top Bottom