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Hello! I need to buy a filter for my 29 gallon tank. I am looking into power filters and I was thinking of either a penguin bio-wheel 170 or an emporer 280. Would one of these be sufficient? is one better than the other or are they about equal?

p.s. I also need a new heater, any reccomendations?

I would say the filtration really depends on what fish you are planning on putting in the tank. Bio-wheels work nicely once seeded, but I've heard from numerous people that they are noisy. AquaClears are great, inexpensive HOB's that I would highly recommend. They are also very quiet, and have good flow controls, and room for extra media.
As for heating...I've heard many positive things about EboJagers and Rena heaters. I myself have a Tronic Submersibile, which I love and have never had a problem with. I would stay away from anything non-submersible, and something that doesnt have a dial for exact temperature setting. In the past I have had problems with Hagen, so I might stay away from that too. Lastly, make sure you get the correct number of watts, I would suggest 150. There is a thread on heater preferance in Technical Tinkering here. G/L and please post if you have more questions. Hope I helped.

[span class="edited"][Edited by ferretfanatic 2004-09-05 12:18][/span]

-Formerly known as the Ferretfish

thanks!

Go to Petco.com You can get a Penguin 330 for like $27 then you have more than enough.

Mike

If you're looking for good fish supply dealers, I would check out Big Als. They have the best prices for online aquarium items I've seen.

EDIT: bahh, I can't type today

[span class="edited"][Edited by ferretfanatic 2004-09-05 13:16][/span]

-Formerly known as the Ferretfish

I have heard of many failures with aqua clear, even on this site. All in all the bio wheel marineland and emporor products are superior. I run a 330 on my 29 gallon with no problems or noise. Look up the fish profiles question in

Technical tinkering,
Aquaclear 200 problems
here at fishprofiles and see what I mean.

[span class="edited"][Edited by Hooben 2004-09-05 13:37][/span]

________________________________________
The calming qualities of a good aquarium are irrefutable

I can't seem to find any info on the 330, only on the 280 and 400. the 280 says for 25-50 gallons, is this the model I should be buying should I choose the emperor?

edit: nevermind, you must have been talking about the penguin.


[span class="edited"][Edited by devon7 2004-09-05 13:41][/span]

edit: so does the penguin 330 sound like the one I should go for? 23.49 on big al's! only 5 bucks more than the petco price for an aquaclear 200, and its only 3 bucks more than the penguin 170 model.

[span class="edited"][Edited by devon7 2004-09-05 13:48][/span]

I wouldn't pay much attention to the recommended tank sizes with filters. The ranges are often kind of ridiculous. With power filter, a good rule of thumb is to get something that turns over the water 6-10X per hour. I generally prefer the 10X side of things. On a 29 gallon, I'd go with either a Penguin 330, an Emperor 280, or an Aquaclear 300. There's a ranging debate between proponents and detractors of biowheels. People have had successes and failures with both.

EDIT: As for heaters, I'd definitely recommend Ebo-Jagers. Very reliable.

[span class="edited"][Edited by DoctorJ 2004-09-05 17:03][/span]

I vote for biowheels. The main reason is when I want to set up another tank I rob biowheels off established tanks and switch them out with the new ones, I also take filter cartriges and switch them too. Presto, a cycled tank! Of course I have enough Penguins that I only need to take one wheel or cartrige from any tank.

If you think your hobby might get out of hand as mine did, go with penguins. You can set up a new tank and stock it the same day.

14 tanks and looking for places for more, Mike

thanks! I'm thinking the penguin 330.

i have eheim proII 2028 and emperor 400 on my 40g. i used to have filstar xp3 too, but its output is reduced significantly by the end of the week.
for heater i use rena heater.