I've had one of these filters for a while now and..... I'm not a huge fan. What do you guys think of them? Whats a better choice for a 55g?
Marineland HOT magnum
- Thread starter docturtle91b
- Start date
I have a regular magnum. The thing I like about them is the ability to use it as a daimatreous earth filter. I also like that it has an on/off switch without having to unplug it. I like being able to leave the motor at the aquarium instead of taking it with me to the sink when I need to change the media.
I'm running one stuffed with the smaller biomax in addition to an ac70 on a 55 gallon tank and I feel filtration is more than enough.
Meh, Im an overfiltered guy.
I wouldnt run one on a tank larger than a 40B. Just not enough there for me.
The HOT ones are the only ones I would use again, the regular marineland cannisters have caused too much PI(my)A for me to ever give them another chance, and I have owned four.
I wouldnt run one on a tank larger than a 40B. Just not enough there for me.
The HOT ones are the only ones I would use again, the regular marineland cannisters have caused too much PI(my)A for me to ever give them another chance, and I have owned four.
The MarineLand HOT Magnum is $54 at Petco..
Sounds like a Decent filter for smaller tanks to me?
I'd like to try one out on my 29G
Sounds like a Decent filter for smaller tanks to me?
I'd like to try one out on my 29G
Good price. I would recommend it. They are very versitile, push button on and off, lid comes off without even moving the filter off the tank, the output moves around so you can adjust flow how you see fit, have an internal canister you can remove and add whatever media you want and are bulletproof. I have had as many as 8 running at one time on various tanks and never had a failure of any kind.
You will not see any of the other models marineland offers in my house though. I only like these from them. Everything else on larger tanks is either Eheim or FX5(s)/sump combos.
I may just go sponge filter on the 29G though. $9 VS $59.. lol
If I feel spendy, I may still try this out though.
If I feel spendy, I may still try this out though.
Everybody thinks sponge filters are sooo cheap. But... you are only considering the cost of the sponge. Add in the cost of a powerhead or a DECENT air pump to run them and you get a totally different price. I'm talking about Renas or the Tetratec DW or Tetra Whisper DW 150 and 300 model air pumps... not those crappy regular whisper pumps that are only good in the small sizes. For example: I was thinking of getting two Hydro Sponge V's and a Tetra Whisper DW 300 for supplemental filtration on my 125g. Thats around 10$ each for the sponges and around 65$ for the air pump (40$ for the 150 model) to run the two sponges. That's more like 85$ + s/h to run the two Hydro V sponge filter's as it would cost way more from any LFS around here.
Even if you went the cheap route for a 29G and spent 9$ on the sponge and got a whisper 40 air pump around 11-13$ online the price would still be 20-22$, which would be the same price as a aquaclear 30 on amazon w/free shipping (lets not talk about marineland HOB's as we all know they are cheaper)... A powerhead to run it would cost even more than the cheap air pump method... IMO sponges are kinda ugly too.
Sponges do a great job at biofiltration and some mechanical and are great filtration, but in reality when you put the cost together they aren't "cheap"... They can easily be just as "spendy" as the next option. It really only kind of becomes cheap when you are running a lot of tanks and run a lot of sponge filters on a really good pump compared to buying filtration for each tank.
To the OP. If you are not a fan of the HOT Magnums and don't want to run a canister... Look into the Hagen models of HOB filters (Aquaclear and Fluval C series). I have been quite impressed with them. For a 55g though, I would probably run a couple of AC 110's. If you want to be cheap you can just get Marineland Penguin 350's. They are $25.99 on Amazon. You could get two of them and it would only cost you 51.98 with free super saver shipping. They would be enough filtration for your 55gal. You could even customize them so you wouldn't have to waste money on the Rite-Sized cartridges and save more money in the long run. 3$ buys you 1 refillable cartridge (you can fill them with biomedia, cut out sponges, or even carbon or any chemical filtration if you really want) for the 350 (you can fit four of them). 12$ for the four refillable media cartridges would save you pelnty of $ in the long run compared to buying those cartridges you have to replace. I use four refillable cartridges filled with bio media in my 350's, with polyfill batting tied to the plastic of the replaceable cartridges, cut them (replaceable cartridges) to size, and slide them in the front of the refillables. If your stock isnt that high and/or you use gravel (bio-bacteria concerns) you could just fill the refillable cartridges with sponges or polyfil in two of them and bio media in the other two or just sponges/polyfil in all of them. Or you could just go the DIY route for media after you use up the replaceable ones that the 350 come with (cheapest route). If you want more filtration and use gravel you could use an undergravel system with reverse or forward flowing powerheads. You have plenty of options. Its all up to what you want to spend and how much filtration you need/want.