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im considering asking for a new filter for christmas for my 55g. i prefer to "over filter", im looking for a hang on back filter that is atleast semi-quite and most importantly has cheap cartridges! ofcoarse id love to hear about any excellent filters that dont fit those specifications, so tell me, what is the best filter?

I like the Marineland Emperor filters. I have 28o's on my 29 and 30 gallons, they are nice. the cartridges are a little expensive but you can clean the carbon out and reuse them or just regular filter floss. Plus they have the bio wheels, i think they are the best kind of biological filtration out there. Top of the line if you ask me.

I have an Aquaclear HOB that has been running pretty much constanty for around 12 years and still going strong.

I really like that the media chamber is regular shaped - you can pretty much put whatever media you want in there, it doesn't strictly have to be AC brand, you can layer the media in whatever order suits you and it's not cartridges (the constant replacement of those things annoy me!).

Can I ask why you are going for a HOB instead of a canister? IMO a canister (even a realtively cheap brand) gives you more bang for your buck with increased media capacity and flexibiliy, and as a bonus you can put it out of the way uner the tank with only the intake and outlet pipes visible.

G_T



Never be afraid to try something new. Remember that a lone amateur built the Ark. A large group of professionals built the Titanic.

I like Aquaclear, but if you're into overfiltering, it's going to be a lot more economical for a large tank to use a canister filter.

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If you want some thing that is reliable, quiet, and will over filter why not have a look at the Eheim range either the Classic or the Ecco fit into the bracket you require.

There is no such thing as good cheap filter, if you want quality and reliability you have to pay for it.

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Keith

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An Ehiem Ecco 2236 is good. THey are great canister filters from what i hear, and they are quiet too. Ehiem is the best brand of canister filters, also from what i hear. I am going to try out an Ehiem when i get my 30 or 40 gallon long.

Another choice is the Marineland Magnum Canisters. They have the Biowheel HOB connecting to a canister. They are not too expensive, and they look cool. Ive never had one though...

And if you truly and completely do want an HOB (Which is strange, because the cansiter, for the same price, does more and has better flow and media capacities) then the aquaclears are really nice. They are like the most generic of generic HOB you can get! Completely Versatile! The Marineland Emperors have speccifically designed slots for their cartridges. It will be hard to get a cartridge without carbon. And if you empty the carbon out of it via ripping the floss, it kinda lowers the efficency! You could make your own though.....

Another substitute for the aquaclear and the emperor HOBs is the Cascade series. They water fall design helps improve bacteria colonization, and creates a smooth tricking sound.

Its all depending on what you are focusing on. I would get a canister, but its up to you.

Good luck!



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i could go canister i chose a HOB because they have more flow and i need to fill the hole in my hood. want kind of media do you put in your canister?

i chose a HOB because they have more flow

Flow is nothing compared to the quality of the filtration. Copies of Eheim often have a greater flow rate but no where near as efficient.

The media depends of the filter I have the big Eheim Pro11, it has two baskets and each is filled with different media the bottom basket is actually fine scoria (red rock) the top is a ceramic ball, on top of the top basket I have two filter pads one finer than the other. Between the two baskets is a thick very course filter pad.

I have replaced the top pads several times I bought two sheets and cut them to shape myself. The thick pad is as good as new.

My small internal Eheim has a one piece foam filter and it has been replaced it after 6 months.

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Keith

Near enough is not good enough, therefore good enough is not near enough, and only your best will do.
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aquaclears imo are in a class of their own when it comes to HOB filters

as far as canisters go eheim have a very good reputation but are way overpriced (especially in Aus) personally im a fan of unimax canisters which are a fair bit cheaper then the eheims and IME abit more reliable then the Ehiems, also look alot better IMO

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for the canisters, is ehiem the only acceptable brand or is it just a little bit better then the rest? id like to over filter but i know that passing $80 for a filter is not going to be likely for me. it seems if i go with eheim i get better quality but less filtration, where as if i go with say magnum i get less quality but more filtration... can someone help balance out these odds?

Well, the GPH of the Ehiem may be a bit lower, but filtration is the best out of the best. I have never heard of Unimax, but ehiem is the best cansiter filters out there. In fact, Ehiem was the guy who made the canister filter. The slower GPH i guess means that there is less bypass than a similar rated brand with a higher GPH. It is better to get the Ehiem, than other brands. Also, Online Purchases are really affordable! Not a bad price, and its awesome too!

Canisters are just better for your money. GPH isnt really all that matters!

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ok so ehiem has got a few supporters. can anyone voach for the magnum series? if i go ehiem is the ecco or classic series a better option for me?

For a tank this size I would always go with a canister filter, gives you also much more options with respect to filtration material. Now you get a third option: Eheim Pro II. They came down pricewise considerably since the company introduced the Pro III recently. Eheim has a fairly good web site describing the different filters, if you are undecided which one to buy. Personally, I am with Keith and would never buy any other brand when it comes to canister filters. They are more expewnsive than competitors but you pay for quality and reliability as well as convenience of use.

I like AquaClear 20, 30, 50. I also have an AquaClear 70 - but feel that it's too big for a HOB. And the waterflow control for 70 doesn't work well like it's small brothers.

meself, I really like the TetraTec PF-300 & PF-500 (I have both) the initial price can be a little on the high end of the spectrum, but both of these filters feature a internal heater capsule ( HC-100, some models come without heater, read packaging closely)adjustable flow controls on the siphon intake, which also is telescopic to adjust for depth in tank, the filter cartridges (4) the 300 uses the "large" size 4 1/2X6in, the 500 uses the "xtra-large" 6 1/2X8 1/2 in, the filter cartridges are configured 2 side-by-side, and 2 deep, there are 3 water discharge ports 2 of them are multi-directional ( independent of eachother) and 1 of the 2 can be utilized as a " tidal flow" discharge, the 3rd dumps straight down into the tank but can be closed to add more flow to the other 2 directional discharges. The cartridges are spendy, so to keep cost down ,I use Seachem's " The Bag" a reusable filter sock, agin, not cheap, but has been worth the investment for me. oh yes, almost forgot, both filters also have a block of bio-foam just above the discharge ports. also the water capacity in the 300 is just under 2 gal, the 500 is just over 3 gal.
both of these filters have preformed flawless for me.
bang-for-the-buck... these are tough to beat !
hope this info helps.

thanks for your opinions everybody, they have helped me alot. the pro 2s are still way to expensive for me im looking at either the ehiem classic 2213-37 maybe the 2215-37 or maybe the ECCO 2234

I own both Emperor and AC HOB filters and I like the AC's much better! easier maintenance, and much quieter! Both are very good and reliable though. ON my 55 FW community, I use a AC 110--it is 6 years old, and going strong!