Noob with a couple of ???'s

[OUFanatic]

I just recently bought a 55 gallon tank and am having a few questions about everything. Im looking at purchasing a Marineland Emperor 400 Filter System. Im curious if anyone else has used this and if so is it really worth the money. If not what would be a good filter to use. Right now I have some Aqua Tech or something or another. I bought the setup used so its what came with it. I have the tank fully setup but i havent put the fish in yet because im having a little trouble with the temperature of the water. I used some warm water when i filled it up so it wouldnt take so long to heat. I set the heater to 80 degrees and its been stuck at about 88 for a day and a half. It also seems to stay on a lot but does go off for about 3 minutes or so. Maybe i need a new heater? Sorry if my questions are lame im just new to this. Maybe someone can tell me all the dont do's of making a great fish tank. Any help will be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[Deleted User]

Welcome to the AC!!! [Only Registered Users Can See Links.]

I've also considered that filter, and am looking at the Penguin BIO-Wheel 350 Power Filter as well. To me, it looks similar but costs about 40% less.... Maybe someone here who knows more about both of these filters can help us out with some guidance! [Only Registered Users Can See Links.]

[jaysee]

I cannot recomend the emperor over the penguin enough! Emperors are far better filters IMO and E.

[Lady Hobbs]

I hated my Emperor. The filter you have now probably come with the tank and was sold as a kit. I had one and it worked well but I always use two filters on a 55 gallon. I would add an Aqua Clear 110. No filter pads to buy, no clogging, no nothing.

[jaysee]

Here are the differences -

1. emperors have a spraybar that shoots unfiltered water (higher ammonia concentration) over the biowheel, supporting a much stronger colony. Penguins biowheels spin because the water exiting the spillway catches the bottom of the wheel. This water has already been filtered (lower ammonia concentration).

2. Emperors have a better designed lid that doesn't rattle like the penguins (dumb, but worth mentioning).

3. I find emperors to be quieter and they have larger media compartments.

4. I was using a few penguins and emperors in addition to the ACs, and when the power went out, the ACs and emperors (and whispers) all started working again when the power came on - all 3 penguins did not. I did my own testing of this, and yes when the water level is all the way up they did come back on. I removed water incrimentally, and the penguins were the first to not restart and the water was not very low. That prompted me to replace them.

[smaug]

Filters arent rocket science.If it pushes water through media and if the media is of sufficient quality and quantity a cheap filter does every bit as good a job as an expensive one if they both push the same amount of gph.The biggest issue you have at the moment is this.Is your tank cycled now by using a fishless cycle or are you going to go with a fish in cycle?

[Lab_Rat]

I've had both Emperor and Penguin filters and did not care for either. The Emperor was particularly noisy and sometimes difficult to restart, even after priming. I would go with Penguin over Emperor if I had to choose between the two. I also think the whole biowheel is a gimmick, any filter with biomedia/sponge will be able to hold beneficial bacteria.

[violet]

I prefer the Canister Filter, a bit pricey but does a beautiful job.

[smaug]

The biowheel isnt the wonder that they claim it to be but it does work ad is a great xtra to keep from getting minicycles when replacing media [what little that needs to be done]I actually keep one in with the biomedia bag in my pond so that it can be used for instant/quicker cycling.

[kcodrumlrak]

I totally agree with Lady Hobbs, Aquaclear makes a great filter and the lack of changing out cartridges really is saving quite a hassle. The sponges last for a year or more (as long as I've had mine). If you want to still have the "bio-wheel bio filtration" there's DIY mods for adding bio-wheels to Aquaclears as well :).

In terms of mechanical hassle, I've had two Bio-Wheels and both are sub-par. They took about 30 minutes each of wrestling to finally start. Between my four ACs, they've probably required 30 minutes total between the four of them for close to the year I've had them.

[OUFanatic]

Filters arent rocket science.If it pushes water through media and if the media is of sufficient quality and quantity a cheap filter does every bit as good a job as an expensive one if they both push the same amount of gph.The biggest issue you have at the moment is this.Is your tank cycled now by using a fishless cycle or are you going to go with a fish in cycle?



I have put two weather loaches in my tank since they were givento me to start the biological cycle in my tank. Haven't read too much about it but heard it was better then adding the chemical to start it. Is this not the correct method. I figured I would let them do their thing for a couple of weeks then add a couple of more fish. A friend of mine is letting me get a fluval 303 canister from him. Will that be enough of a filter or should I still run 2?

[hybridguy]

I advise the aquaclear 110 also, they are quiet and very easy to operate, i have been using the same ones for years. I also use the emperor on my 220 with 2 aquaclear 110s and the emperor is hard to start after you turn it off for water changes.As for your cycling of your tank, if you have any pet stores around you you can ask them for some bio booster to add to speed things up.thumbs2:

[Tetris]

I assume that by "The Chemical" you're referring to ammonia.

Cycling by adding ammonia without fish is far better than cycling with fish.

It's significantly faster and you get a lot more bacteria growth. It's also less likely to encounter any problems. Most importantly, you don't stress out and potentially kill your fish in the process.

If at all possible, I would return the fish and start a fishless cycle. You'll save yourself many months of waiting, and may even save yourself money from having to replace dead fish.

As far as filters go... There's not much difference. The main factors are.

- Amount of water that passes through the filter/hour
- Compartment space for filter media
- Noise
- Cost