Top 3 Filters

whats its "rated" for is just a marketing ploy. what you need...MINIMUM is 5g/hour being cycled through. generally, it's a good idea to do better than that, and i certainly don't think it's enough. i suggest a minimum of 8g/hour; some on AC would suggest 10! it's part personal preference, part due to stocking levels, etc.

on my 50g, i use an emperor 400 and i accent this with a small duetto internal filter, so i'm getting around 10g/hour. that tanks bioload is very high, so i do a lot of water changes despite this filtration.

i'd recommend using an emperor 400, it's the best HOB filter i've used, far more reliable than aquaclear in my experience. $40 at bigalsonline.com. alternatively, using (2) AC 200s won't hurt you, i've just found these unreliable. on AC 300 gets you 6g/hour turnover. i'd recommend increasing this unless you're setting up a low population planted tank or something.

my top 3 filters:
EMPERORS
AQUACLEARS
PENGUINS

i only use HOB and internal filters. the modular eheim aquaballs are pretty cool, as well...as second filters, or for using in fry tanks.
 
It all depends on you. I have a Whisper Power filter for tank up to 60gal. My tank is 46gal. The instruction stated that it pumps up to 330 gal and hour. It works for me.
 
I have never used the emporers but I love the aqua clears. On longer tanks like the 50 gallon ones and bigger I like the idea of two smaller filters on each end. As well as a heater on each end. Creates something more stable IMO and allows for backups if something fails.
 
Yes I also like 2 filters on a tank of 50 gallons or so. Certainly, if things got much larger than that, I would recommend a canister filter but I dont find a need for those, so I stick to recommended power filters for the most part.

I dont understand how someone could find AC's unworthy? I mean as far as I'm concerned most of the power filters out on the market now are excellent as there has become such a high demand for them, with UGF's becoming unpopular with most.
 
Thank You so much for everybody's ideas..i'm either going to go w/ 2 Aquaclear 200's OR 1 big one that supports up to 100 gallons.
 
Thank You so much for everybody's ideas..i'm either going to go w/ 2 Aquaclear 200's OR 1 big one that supports up to 100 gallons.
 
IMHO the emporer is the best HOB filter you can get, Biological filtration is extremely important and the biowheels do a fabulouis job without a lot of expense and work. More importantly is this: Go with multiple smaller rather than one large, no matter what brand. I would run two Emporer 280's on a 55 rather than one 400 this makes for a more stable environment, and also never leaves you without a filter if something goes wrong. I have used Aqua clear, wisper, and Emporer filters, and I personally like the Emporer the best, but all will do the job. I have never used canisters, but I know very few people who ever say anything bad about them, which speaks for itself. Good luck, Petsolutions.com and Big Als both have very low prices on filters compared to the LFS's. Money always plays into a decision, so shop around and get the most you can for you fishy money.
 
50 G - Fluval 304
33 G - 1 Aquaclear 150, 1 H.O.T. Magnum filter loaded with Biomax
10G - 1 Aquaclear 150

I really like having 2 filters running because I can clean one out completely and not have to worry about spikes in my tank because it will re-colonize again within hours.

I tend to overstock and then heavily filter my tanks.
 
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