What is your favorite filter? - POLL

[telemoors]

All i can remember HeHeHe!

[SeaWitch]

I am partial to Penguins, but I would also use Emperor or AquaClears.

[telemoors]

i wanted a peguin bio wheel filter but i heard maintainence was a beezy.

[claire_uk]

Although I love Fluvals and have used them throughout my 12 years of fishkeeping, I have to say my TetraTec external is just that bit better. Bigger capacity and pretty easy to clean.

[Emilio84]

I have an Emperor 400 and an Aquaclear 30.  Haven't had either for an extended period of time but i'll do a mini review of my experience so far...

Emperor 400 - Talk about a BEEFY filter.  Looks to be very well made and chock full of great features.  It uses two large drop in filters with carbon but also comes with 2 trays (same footprint as the filter packs) that you can toss any media or bio material you want into.  I am either going to run ceramic balls in there or just toss some AmmoCarb in there so I can just clean off the filterfloss every other week and only have to replace them when the floss is trashed.  It also has a very nice pickup tube setup that lets you trim it to fit the tank (stock it'll bottom out on my 29 gallon) and it has an inline mid level skim lever that lets it take in water from the middle of the tank.  I also love the adjustable spray bars for the biowheels (flow and angle are adjustable).  Its quiet and turns over more than enough gph for my tank.   My only real grip about the filter is the size... its HUGE.  Its very wide so you may need to cut your hood for it to fit and if you use a tank with cross braces be sure to measure incase it won't fit! 

Aquaclear 30 - This is going in my tropical tank.  I got it with a used tank I purchased and hopefully it'll be able to keep up with the nitrates (if not an Emperor 280 or 400 will replace it but only because it'd be easy to toss a biowheel and filter pad from my 400 to keep the tank cycled).   I really like the design of this filter.  Its smoked plastic so you can see inside it to check on your sponge and look at water flow/check for blockages.  Its also easy to adjust the flow and super simple to perform maintinence on.  I alo really like the way the filter media is setup.  It uses a sponge then a chem bag (charcol or ammo remover) and then their "Biomax" which is a bag of ceramic bio material.  The great thing about this is that you can clean or replace only one of these items at a time which reduces/eliminates the risk of losing your "cycle" and causing a spike in your tank.  Its compact...easy to use/service and quiet.  My only real gripe about the filter though is  the intake tube is short so you may need to buy extensions to get it lower. 

Hope that helps!

[Lolafish]

You should have made the poll allow multiple answers, because they all have different uses.  I prefer the Emperor's and the Rena's, but I like others too.   

[telemoors]

wow aquaclear is not as popular as i thought. 

Well my next 55 gallon filter is going to be ethier a 400 gph peguin biowheel or a canister filter.

[SeaWitch]

I am thinking of getting a canister, as I heard that they are much easier to clean than HOB filters.  However, I would have NO idea how to set up a canister!   LOL!

[zookey]

I think I am going to attempt to build myself a canister filter -- I thought that way my tank can be over filtered and if I need a hospital tank I can just move one of the filters over and not have to worry about the tank being uncycled or my main tank being underfiltered.  There are plans on the net for building your own canister filter that I think look promising.  And by adding a canister I don't have to worry about not having any more space on the back of my tank to hang another HOB.

The creating and instalation doesn't look like anything I can't do......

Here is the link if anyone is interested.

www.petfrd.com/forum/articles.php?action=viewarticle&artid=87&page=1

Sorry didn't mean to go off topic ......... well not off topic, but not exactly on topic either.

[claire_uk]

I love my external canisters, they are great. Plenty of space in for media. My Tetratec has 4 big baskets, and my Fluval has 3 medium ones. Allows you to put different types of media in.

[karell]

for me it's fluvial! but I like Astro too

[bigrule_06]

I have used a lot of filters over the years and i would have to say that I like the emperor the most. The whispers are ok for cheep walmart filters but they do anything but whisper they are noisy as heck.

[telemoors]

HAHAHAHA biowheels where winning at first but now aquaclears ARE IN THE LEAD!

[bekko]

Overhead trickle tower filters (OHF) have some inherent advantages:
-   inexpensive
-   unlimited space for media
-   versatile
-   lower nitrates
-   better gas exchange
-   easy to clean

However, they are not for everyone:
-   not compatable with most hoods or lights
-   noisy
-   not commercially available
-  difficult/impossible to hide

-steve

[BluePitBull]

I have a AC 110 and a AC 70 on my 55gal...

[ultimateOrandaLuver]

HAHAHAHA biowheels where winning at first but now aquaclears ARE IN THE LEAD!

Bio-wheels are nice but annoying they like to quit working in the middle of the night so when you wake, the bb's are dead...I have and use them..Also a pain in the tail!

[pipsxlch]

I have an Aquaclear 110 on my discus tank. I loved the idea of only needing to change the media that needed to be changed if using carbon/zeolite, and not losing all those BBs when it needed changing. I've been happy with it; biggest issue is the way the intake tube is set up, sheddings from the plants always seem to migrate to the screen on the inside of it, which can be a pain to clean. I do plan on continuing to use/purchase this brand, based on how it's done for me.
My GF tank has a big old (this filter is at least 15) Whisper 60 along with sponge filtration. I used the Whispers for 20-25+ years, they were always great workhorses, very dependable (never had noise issues with mine unless somethig got sucked into the impeller). I don't care for the single disposable cartridge, but since they're openable, I always reused them until the bag was falling apart- just rinse the bag in aquarium water, refill with fresh media, and you're good to go. I would make up additional sacs of biofilter media to put in the case along with the cartridge. I would have probably stuck with a Whisper when I was last filter shopping if they still made them. I would LOVE to have some $$$  and find a place clearing out some old Whispers, to have on hand.
I got an Emperor 400 and big Aquatech (50?) with the used tanks I just got. I never used to like the Penguins/Emperors much, seemed like they had the one truly great idea of the biowheels but otherwise the filters were meh. To be fair, I last tried one almost 20 years ago, so they may be much better. We'll see how this one works when I set stuff up. Don't expect much from the Aquatech, but that's just because it's a Walmart store brand special, so who knows? Must say my QT/baby discus growout 10 gal is a yard sale find that came with a small Aquatech on it, and it has worked quite well there. Uses Whisper-type filter cartridges (yay!), and for a cheapy aimed at newbies, I liked that it comes with a biomedia cartridge it tells them not to replace. Listening Hagen, who tells customers to replace their biomedia ?
I have used the Marineland canisters in the past, and liked them. Wanted canisters last time I was filter shopping, but they were beyond my budget.

[Heffie]

One with a good Bio-wheel

[pickles]

Iv'e always loved fluval canisters just not the prices. they have great water flow and i really love the fact that you can choose what to use in media cases.

althought.. tetra whispers has a new HOB filter design that i think works really well.

[Johnny Boy]

i personally like bio wheel the best because it looks cool but a couple of rocks in the filter do the same thing and its ALOT cheaper .

[toosase]

I have externals on all of my tanks, but prefer the Penguin Bio Wheels.  I have had little to no maintence with them, they are so reliable! 

[Heidi]

I use the Penguin 350 and it works fantastic!!! It makes good surface tension and keeps the water clear.

[leesprings]

Aquaclear i swear by them i have 2 models 70 and they do the job great. i all have a powerhead i purchased for aeration but slapped a diy filter on it to help me when i hook up my gravel siphon to vacuum.

[April]

Have used AquaClear power filters over the years and very pleased with performance and ease of use. Recently purchased a Rena Filstar XP1 for the 27gallon tank and it is virtually silent! So easy to clean and maintain and the options for media very good too. I would def recommend this brand based on my experience with it over the past 2 months. The only issue I wish I had considered prior to purchase, was getting the next size up (XP2) as it has 2 layers of baskets vs. the 1 in mine. Just means more choices in media can be used together.

[DM_uk]

I've been using canister filters for years and just bought a Fluval FX5 for my 100 gallon tank and i must admit it been one of the best filters I’ve ever bought and one of the easiest filters to maintain.