Personally I always use more than one filter if at all possible. anything can and occasionally does happen even with the most reliable equipment. No mater what brand you choose it's better to stick with the same thing all around so that its much easier to keep a stock of repair parts and even back ups on hand. I like the emporer bio wheel filters myself and have quite a few but it's hard to beat the price...reilability...and versitility of the AQ's. To me a cannister is a nice addition to your system but I dont like to use one as the only filter on a tank.