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I really like these filters, cheap, easy to maintain, dependable, and a sponge that you can rinse time and time again without replacing, this cuts down a lot in cost. There is also more than adequate space for benificial bacteria to grow.

What filters do you all use on your tanks? Whats your view on the issue at hand?

17 years experience with freshwater.

Yeah aquaclears are definitely one of my favorites. They are nice and simple and work well. I am also a fan of Whisper Power Filters. Great design and very dependable.

All my whisper filters have died. Most of them randomly and 1 of them resulted in the death of the fish. I would definitely not call whispers dependable. A good cheap backup filter or temporary filter but I would not trust them to run for years or possibly even months without issue.

Aqua clears have been proven to be one of the best power filters along with marineland filters. The marinelands usually rank 2nd best only because of the lack of media options. To avoid replacing the cartridge you either have to cut the carbon out and rinse the rest or use your own media over the frame. Which does work. I've reused the cartridges for several months before replacing them. I do much prefer a fabric type mechanical filter over a sponge. Sponges work best for biological filtration.

I agree with you Sham on everything you have wrote,what I like to do is with my Aquaclear I put filter floss between the two sponges in it. Thats one thing else I like about the AquaClears, so many different options for filter material. I mean there are ways to do a lot of different options with other HOB filters, but with the AquaClear those options are easier to setup.

17 years experience with freshwater.

i personally use a whisper 30-60, i have used this for a several years in my 25 gallon. it works great and i haven't had any problems with it. if i get more tanks i will have to try out some other types of filters.

Renegade545,
king of the frontosa

My Emperor 280 is 7 years old with all the original parts and runs like new, so no reason it seems to switch, other than the old complaint of the cartridges being expensive.

I used Aquaclears almost 15 years ago, but biowheels really sold me.

~Michael

I like the Emperors with the biowheels too, but mine were always noisy and more expensive to operate. With my AquaClear Im getting the same water quality as I did with the Emperor. 0 ammonia, 0 nitrites, and of course because i do proper regular water changes and feed right my nitrates are below 10 ppm. So even though I like the Emperors I dont see the need to run a more expensive filter when I can conserve my money for more needed things and get the same water quality.

I no longer run emperors.

17 years experience with freshwater.

I've had two aquaclears now and can't say enough good things about them. The only thing I don't like is that it often takes a long time to prime them when starting them back up after a cleaning.
I've also had a biowheel filter and disliked it immensely.
My whisper also crapped out on me, and when it did work the flow was so slow it left a film on top of the water.
The one filter that is my favorite though is the TopFin that came with my 29gal starter kit. Over two years and still runnin like a top. The small one that came with my ten died on me, so I replaced it with the biowheel which in turn I replaced with an AC. Easy to clean and maintain too.

AquaClear filters rock.

17 years experience with freshwater.

Aquaclear HOB... love 'em! My speed technology-wise.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~ My fish blow kisses at me all day long ~~~

I have a regent HOB power filter. I resurrected it this summer after years in storage. It's doing real good so far & has lots of room inside for sponges or whatever you all are talking about. I bought the premade filters to go in it, but I just keep rinsing them off & reusing them, so not much expense involved there.

I prefer Aquaclear filters, also. The last biowheel I bought, did not work that well and I gave up on it.I have had no problems at all with the Aquaclear filters.

Another thing I like about these AquaClear filters is not only do they have a great value price and do an excellent job, they also have a good warranty. A 2 year guarantee, a lifetime guarantee against defects in meterials and workmanship.

I have heard some rumors of overflow problems from the filters clogging and the sponge being force out poping the lid off, I can tell you though that this is not the fault of the filter, this is the fault of the owner who doesn't maintain them and the aquarium properly. I rinse my sponges once a week in old aquarium water and do a 25 % water change vacuming my aquarium gravel and make sure I dont overfeed the fish. I also am sure to keep the other parts clean and have had no problems at all with this filter and have been using them for years.

I mention this in general because of comments I have heard in other places on the net.

17 years experience with freshwater.

Hi,
I've had the same one running on my 30G tank for going onto
14 years now. Just use sponge medium.

Frank


-->>> The Confidence of Amateurs, is the Envy of Professionals <<<--

I have two AquaClear HOB filters. One of them occasionally wouldn't start after a water change. But all you have to do is to take the impeller out and clean it. They are great filters for the price.