Diatom vs HOT Magnum??

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
I prefer the Diatom over anything else I have tried. The Magnum can't come close to the Diatom from my experience.
 
I have found the Diatom to work best after a tank cleaning, used for a 1/2 hour or so (depends on tank size). The HOT just cant do as good a job, but it makes a decent mechanical filter if you already have one.
I would wait for more responses but my Vortex XL has been in use since 1998 and my only complaint is the back-Flushing required after use. i would recommend not taking it apart to clean it, back flush it instead.
 
And yes, it has such a fine particulate cature ability that it can remove free floating ICK /Algea blooms, anything at all for that matter. You can turn a Pea Green tank crystal clear over night with the Diatom Vortex XL.
 
Strictly looking at results, not much is going to beat a diatom for polishing. However, I prefer to use an HOT Magnum for my water polishing duties because its cheaper to buy & easier to setup, plus I can move it around to whatever tank I want to polish. It flows a lot more water & I can also use it for simple mech filtration if one of my other filters dies (just switch to the blue pad instead of the micron filter). Again, I can't think of anything that would polish better than a diatom, but I had to weigh in the versatility of the unit. I just couldn't justify that much money for a single-purpose diatom when the HOT mag polishes almost (95%) as well. I can't even see the difference in my small tanks, but it may be more noticeable in a monster tank...
 
For me the vortex XL is king for sure. It really cant get beat for polishing. And it comes with a carrying strap and is easy to recharge and can be carried from tank to tank rather easily.

Sexy water pic :)
DSC00275.jpg

Thats a vortex XL on my 90 gallon bichir tank. About 30 minutes after its first use I believe.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
MonsterFishKeepers.com
Top Bottom