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need help deciding which filter for 55g

Discussion in 'Aquarium Equipment & Decor' started by damnsneakyasian, Feb 13, 2009.

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  1. damnsneakyasian

    damnsneakyasian Thread Starter New Member

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    WHICH FILTER?????
    Whisper 30-60 hang on the back filter
    OR
    Marineland Penquin 160

    they are ten bucks each buying them from a guy on another forum.

    will they work in my 55 gallon cichlid tank?

    which one is better??

    what about a Fluval 403 canister filter for 50 bucks??

    i heard that they are a pain and over flow.
     
    damnsneakyasian, Feb 13, 2009
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  2. Anthony

    Anthony Active Member

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    What do you plan on putting in the tank ?

    The Fluval 403 is an OLD filter.

    Normally what you want to do is filter the tank 10 times an hour. For a 55 gallon tank that means you want a filter or fitlers that do 550 gallons per hour.
     
    Anthony, Feb 13, 2009
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  3. damnsneakyasian

    damnsneakyasian Thread Starter New Member

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    so which one will do the most filtering? i have 8 cichlids in my 55g right now and i still have the filter that came with it when we bought the whole set up from the store.

    i was trying to look up the two online but didnt really find much on either of them.
     
    damnsneakyasian, Feb 13, 2009
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  4. Anthony

    Anthony Active Member

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    I'd get the Marineland Penguin then.
     
    Anthony, Feb 13, 2009
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  5. damnsneakyasian

    damnsneakyasian Thread Starter New Member

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    alright i was leaning that way. is it a strong filter? i cant seem to find anything on this filter!
     
    damnsneakyasian, Feb 13, 2009
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  6. LemonDiscus

    LemonDiscus Active Member

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    If it were me I would get all 3.... and run them all as each filter has its benefits..

    If I am not mistaken the Penguin 160 is just a low flow bio-wheel. Bio-wheels help sustain beneficial bacteria with proper filter cartridge changes... (you dont loose your bacteria causing a cycle when your throw out the old filter)

    The Whisper 30/60 is a decent filter and has a MUCH higher flow rate than the Penguin (I could be wrong though as all of these filters are OLD)

    The Fluval will enable you to load the levels to what you want to run in your filter. All canister filters I have seen do a GREAT job polishing the water and others even have the benefit of media baskets (that one does have the media baskets)

    $70 for all 3 is not bad and the filters all could be ran together on the 55 which would enable you to over-stock just a tad! (as long as you keep up with waterchanges weekly)
     
    LemonDiscus, Feb 13, 2009
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  7. Anthony

    Anthony Active Member

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    Yeah I agree with you Lemon. The only thing I worry about with the canister is how well it works being so old.
     
    Anthony, Feb 13, 2009
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  8. LemonDiscus

    LemonDiscus Active Member

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    Yeah, I forgot to mention that he should offer $20-$30 for that one.... I did get my Magnum 350 for $20 and it is an old filter too....

    He also may need to buy replacement parts to get it to work.... again I spent $15 for new parts on the Magnum.
     
    LemonDiscus, Feb 13, 2009
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  9. Anthony

    Anthony Active Member

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    What I would do is order two AC70's fro Drs Foster and Smith for $22.99 each.
     
    Anthony, Feb 13, 2009
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  10. LemonDiscus

    LemonDiscus Active Member

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    Again though, the canister if he did get it for $25 we will say, gives him the ability to customize filtration better than the AC70's. Also the bio-wheel on the penguin would be great too!

    The AC70's are just power filters like the Whisper 30/60
     
    LemonDiscus, Feb 13, 2009
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  11. Anthony

    Anthony Active Member

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    What could he do in the canister that the AC wouldn't do ? The media is basically setup the same way, stacked.
     
    Anthony, Feb 13, 2009
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  12. damnsneakyasian

    damnsneakyasian Thread Starter New Member

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    thanks guys! really helpful!
     
    damnsneakyasian, Feb 13, 2009
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  13. Anonymous

    Anonymous Guest

    Top Poster Of Month

    Posted: Tue Feb 17, 2009 11:14 pm
    I just have to say that biowheels are basically worthless, there is basically no surface area on the wheel and studies show that it holds very little "bb"
     
    Anonymous, Dec 10, 2009
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  14. damnsneakyasian

    damnsneakyasian Thread Starter New Member

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    Posted: Tue Feb 17, 2009 11:25 pm
    Also the bio-wheel on the penguin would be great too!
     
    damnsneakyasian, Dec 10, 2009
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  15. Anthony

    Anthony Active Member

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    Posted: Tue Feb 17, 2009 11:32 pm
    Yeah, they're not worth it. After a while they get pretty clogged and stop spinning also.
     
    Anthony, Dec 10, 2009
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  16. MOD_Dawn

    MOD_Dawn Active Member

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    Posted: Wed Feb 18, 2009 1:02 am
    Really? I've used them for years and I haven't had one yet that stopped spinning? Maybe it depends on the brand, I've always run Emperor 400's by marineland.
     
    MOD_Dawn, Dec 10, 2009
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  17. GOT MTS?

    GOT MTS? Member

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    Posted: Wed Feb 18, 2009 10:22 am
    I had an emperor 400 and I loved it. I liked the fact that it was really easy to add my own media. Also I had mine on a timer ao it would go on at night when my co2 kicked off and it would always start right up, never had any problem getting the water back up after being
     
    GOT MTS?, Dec 10, 2009
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  18. damnsneakyasian

    damnsneakyasian Thread Starter New Member

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    Posted: Wed Feb 18, 2009 10:22 am
    IF they get clogged after awhile then that really blows then! haha i should have gone with the non biowheel one then! it was cheaper too!

    but its all good though! the one i got had the best GPH for its priced compared to the others@

    The bio-wheels are basically worthless....
    Really?! darn, cause instead of buying the two used one from this one guy i just pooled money with my two brothers and we bought a penguin 200 with a biowheel!

    so biowheels not all its cracked up to be!?
     
    damnsneakyasian, Dec 10, 2009
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  19. Anthony

    Anthony Active Member

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    Posted: Wed Feb 18, 2009 12:58 pm
    The Emp 400 is exactly the one I had when it was first released.
     
    Anthony, Dec 10, 2009
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  20. GOT MTS?

    GOT MTS? Member

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    Posted: Wed Feb 18, 2009 3:46 pm
    I ran mine for about 3 years with no problem.
     
    GOT MTS?, Dec 10, 2009
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