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That sounds like lots of filtration and plenty of heat. It should work really well. You could go with the canister instead if you wanted to shell out the extra $$$. The advantage of the two power filters is that if one fails, you have a backup. One canister alone wouldn't give you the backup.

Thanks.
I think once my fish grow and/or I get more, then the filtration may need stepped up. But I probably would not need another AC500 right? Maybe something smaller just to supplement it.

Sneaky_Pete, I would have to agree with your opinion on Aquaclear. I've had their filters years ago and I never liked them. If I do end up with a 75g I'm seriously considering the Emperor 400 and the Cascade 200 for filtration... or is that overkill? Would the just the Penguin 330 be adequate with the Cascade instead of the Emperor?

what about a fluval 304 or 404. i have the 404 on my 75g and it works great. i would see how much just the tank would be and get the rest of the stuff online at bigals or foster and smith.

I find with the aquaclear that there is just too much maintenance. I have to wash out the sponges every 3rd day just to keep the filter flowing properly.

If that is the case then there was something wrong. Either your tank was severely overstocked, you were grossly overfeeding or the filter itself was being misused and/or was faulty. I perform maintenance on my AC filters once every 1-3 months and when I do the maintenance it takes me 5-10 min. tops.

For one thing, I don't use the carbon bags in my AC's at all. I used to use 2 sponges but I have stopped doing that and now I use cotton batting on the bottom and one sponge above that. I'm curious to see how this works out because I've heard it works much better than using 2 sponges. Supposedly the cotton batting traps about 95% of all the particles taken into the filter allowing the sponge to only be used for bacteria to colonize. This is supposed to prevent gunk getting trapped in the center of the sponge which would lead to higher nitrates.

I have more of a problem with flow rate and priming my Emperor 400 filters. They are rather difficult to prime IME compared to AC filters and even cheaper filters like whispers and others.

Jason

On my AC500, I have the foam block in the bottom, carbon or ammo insert in the middle, and bio bag up top. I change the foam once a month and replace with new ... and even at that, it is barely dirty. And I stagger changing the carbon/ammo, do that about 2 weeks after the foam every month. Never do anything with the bio bag. Maintenance is quick and easy. Every 2-3 months we can clean out the filter and the impellor.

I tried a whisper on my 20 gallon back in the day and didn't like it. Felt the filter media was just too small.

Rewd: I'm seriously considering the Emperor 400 and the Cascade 200 for filtration... or is that overkill? Would the just the Penguin 330 be adequate with the Cascade instead of the Emperor?
Depends on how much of a bioload you plan to have on your tank. I think anything between a 6x to 10x turnover rate should be just fine. I think the Cascade and the Penguin would be more than adequate, but if you went with the emperor and the cascade that would be even a little bit better. I think both would work for you and keep your tank nice and clean.

Jason: I had 4 guppies and 3 platies and a hillstream loach in that tank. I only fed 2 times a day and supplemented with zucchini.
It is now a tank for Baby fish only, we shall see how much it needs to be cleaned now, however, the 150 tiny fry that are in there cannot be too dirty, and I already cleaned the sponges after 1 week. My sister also had an aquaclear at a time when all she had was a betta and a tiny baby goldfish (1 inch) and she cleaned the sponges every 4 or 5 days as well or else the AC just wouldnt pass water through it. I just think they are a poorly built filter which shows why the AC 400s are always on sale for 19.97 at my pet store. Thats 50 bucks off. Just a cheap filter with a bad track record in my books. But then everyone has their preferences. I know a guy who swears up and down that Undergravel filters with powerheads is the best filtration there could ever be. Go figure.
I would just probably lump AC filters right at the bottom of the heap with whispers and the like. I think when it comes to cheaper filters, the cascade, the penguin, and the emperor would have to top the list for HOB filters.
I still prefer a nice canister, but the price is definetly never right on one of those unless their is a sale. They are expensive, but worth it if you have the cash to drop. On my 90g I would like to use a cascade 300, however when I built the wood hood for it I didnt even think about a HOB because I assumed my Fluval 403 would work. It didnt, now Im using my 204 and waiting till Mid Sept. When the money comes in, and will be purchasing a Rena Filstar XP 300 filter to assist the fluval.
Anyway, Rewd and Doc, good luck with your new tanks! I hope the filters work well for you whatever u choose!!!
Setting up a new tank is great fun, and rewarding as well!



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Sneaky_Pete, it could very well be the smaller ones that get clogged easier. I noticed last night that the sponge in my AC200 is floating up again meaning it needs rinsed again. I have to rinse the AC200 a lot more often than any of my AC500's. Every AC500 I have though takes a long time for the flow rate to slow down and takes quite a while to become clogged. So, just for clarification's sake, when I speak of AC filters I'm primarily speaking about the AC500. I have 6 of them running on various tanks and the only one I have that's smaller is the 1 AC200 I have on one of my 20 gallon tanks and this one does clog more often.

So all that being said, I'll rephrase my original post and say that for larger tanks, the best HOB filter you can get, imo, is one or more AC500 filters. I'm still undecided on brands of filters for smaller tanks. I do at the moment like the AC200 the best but I haven't tried any smaller Penguin, Emperor or any other filters you guys have mentioned.


Jason

Sorry to bump up this old thread but I just bought my new 75G a few days ago. I think I've decided to go with the Emperor 400 and the Penguin 330 for a total of 730gph. Will this be sufficient for a 75 gallon community or should I just spend a few more and go with a canister filter? Possibly the RENA Filstar XP 3. Also, I'm going with two 250 watt ego jager heaters.

can never have too much filtration. I run a magnum 350 and a bio wheel 220(i think) for 570gph on my 29gallon tank



chris

be inventive. you can put sponges in any filter. just because they make a cartridge for it doesn't mean you have to use it! in my emp. 400 i use the cartridges for like 6 months each, just rinse them out in the water when you do a change. i also squish sponges in the extra empty cartridges they give you. ACs are ok...they do burn out if there is a power surge or something though...they have a tough time priming. i don't know anything about cascades.

a 330 or a 400 for a 75g alone is not enough. for example, i use a penguin 330 on my 40g! on a 75g, i'd want at least 2 large filters...probably an emperor 400 and some sort of canister.

yeah thats a great point on the backups. I've been reading up on the XP3 and it's only somewhere between 350-400gph (dont recall the exact number at the moment). That's not even close to the same gph as having the two power filters on the back for less.

Am I missing something...? If that's the case why are canister filters better, or do you still need two to have adequate fitltration on a 75?

Canister filters don't need to push as much water because the volume of filter media is so high. So, less water goes through the system, but it passes through a lot more media and thus filters pretty well. That's an advantage if you are keeping fish that aren't particularly happy in a strong current. I have a friend who has an XP3 on a custom-built aquarium (somewhere around 100 gallons) and it works well for him. He has kept discus and cardinals at various points, so his fish aren't ones that can tolerate poor water conditions.

I was thinking a little more about your plan and was wondering if it might be an advantage to get two of the same kind of power filters. The reason is that then you only have to stock one kind of replcaement pad.

Ohhh.. great point. I never even considered the having two different filter pads.

Now that I've decided to go with two marineland products (Emperor 400/Penguin 330) do you think they might use the same filter pads? I've been reading on the various online fish stores but none have said for sure.

EDIT: And basically one XP3 would be as good or better then one Emperor 400 and Peng. 330? If that's the case I might just throw in a few more dollars and go for the XP3. Won't the XP3 create less surface movement too? The tank is going to be planted at the moment and it'll be a while before I can get into doing anything with Co2 so the less Co2 lost to surface movement the better.

Last edited by Rewd at 13-Oct-2004 16:43

I don't know if this will help, but I just bought myself an 80G tank and to filter it I bought 2 emperor 400's. But I paid a total of $77 dollars for both. I found out if you order thru petco.com the emperor 400 costs only $44.99 and there is free shipping currently included with tathat. On top of that, IF you have never purchased online from them before they give you an additional 20% of eeverything you buy on that purchase. THAT IS AN AWESOME DEAL. I tried purchasing mine from the store directly but eeach emperor 400 cost 76.99 + tax. Anyways, just my 2 cents worth. Good luck on your 75.

The Emperor and Penguin definitely use different pads, even though they are both made by Marineland.

If you're willing to spring for the extra dollars, you might really enjoy the XP3. Your thinking on the water movement and planted tanks sounds right to me. And, if you found that the XP3 wasn't quite up to the task or you are stocking fairly heavily, it would be a pretty simple matter to add an Emperor or an Aquaclear or something for some added filtration.

This is sounding like one very nice set-up!

XP3 it is then! And you're right... if it can't do the job 100% I'll just throw on an Emperor or Penguin filter at some point in the future.

luisprado, they are $37.99 on bigalsonline.com but they aren't offering free shipping at the moment so that's a pretty good deal. It's insane how much different the store prices are compared to the online prices too. Sometimes we're talkinga $20-30 difference for some of these things.

I use the fluval 404 it has two large baskets for bio beeds and keeks my 100 gallon very clean . they are a little more than some others but ive been running the one in my 100 for years with no problems and it still makes no noise. good luck with your tank.

I have a 72 gal tank with a Fluval 404 and for the last 4 years it has been silent and works great good luck!

"Won't get into lighting, co2 equipment, etc"

please do! I have no experience with CO2 but I'm assuming on a planted tank this large (which mine will be) simply using flourish excell won't be enough. Also, any opinions on lighting would be nice. At Petsmart their 75g tank comes with light and hood but I'm not sure if it's a twin tube strip light which is what I want.

"So, I think I'm going to get one of each so I have the best of both worlds."

So you're going to use BOTH filters? Having either the Emperor or the Aquarclear isn't enough for a 75g? If that's the case why not just go with a canister filter? Aren't they superior to power filters?

Thanks to all who's offered their advice it's been extremely useful..