Filter Recommendations

[GinBlack]

Hello All,

I have a 55 gallon, 1 black aro, 3 red parrots, 3 EBJD's, 3 yellow labs, 2 plecos, and one tire track eel. The tank came with an Aqueon 55 gallon filter, and I added my aqueon filter from my old 20 gallon to it as well. Water parameters are ok, sometimes I get a nitrate spike which made me cut back on heavy feeding. I do a weekly water change of 30%, and I gravel vac every wednesday. I am still not satisfied with my filtration though. All my fish look good, aro has a bit of frayed fins (no one nips at her) but I want perfect water quality for my fish.

Any recommendations on a good filter? I get mixed info from one of my LFS, I asked about canister filters and they told me that the hang on filters I have are fine. Another place recommended an FX5.

I wanna know what you guys think?

 

[joedodge]

id go with 1 or 2 ac110 i just put 1 on my 58 gallon and it flows awsome excelent qaulity and eays to maintain, if you like canister filters i have used fluval 404 and they are also excelent but hob are easier to deal with. it all comes down to personal preference

 

[GinBlack]

id go with 1 or 2 ac110 i just put 1 on my 58 gallon and it flows awsome excelent qaulity and eays to maintain, if you like canister filters i have used fluval 404 and they are also excelent but hob are easier to deal with. it all comes down to personal preference

Thanks so much for the info, I heard very good things about ac110 filters as I have been looking up filter ratings (pros and cons)

 

[DustinB32]

My recommendation is get a bigger tank!! I'm guessing the fish are still pretty small. But if you're not considering a bigger tank you should get as much filtration as you can. Personally I usually like to use two hob power filters with a canister filter. In your case I would either use to ac 110's or 2 emperor 400's with probably a fluval 305 canister filter or bigger.

 

[swede]

yeah i would get the 2 ac110's since they are almost like the best of both hob and canister since they hold so much media

 

[GinBlack]

My recommendation is get a bigger tank!! I'm guessing the fish are still pretty small. But if you're not considering a bigger tank you should get as much filtration as you can. Personally I usually like to use two hob power filters with a canister filter. In your case I would either use to ac 110's or 2 emperor 400's with probably a fluval 305 canister filter or bigger.

Yeah in a few months I will be getting a bigger tank I just wanted something I an use for the 55 now, and in case I want to keep the 55 to house other fish. Oddly enough it seems the emporer and the AC are like head to head when it comes to feedback, check this out:

The AC110 (formerly called the AC 500) and the Emperor 400 are the only two viable choices of large power filters on the market. The AC110 has a great flow volume, a huge filter chamber with tons of media, and is invisible in the tank. Unfortunately it has bypass, the body breaks too easily, and the impeller can spontaneously sound like a coffee grinder after only few months of operation. The impressive flow rate, and copious amounts of filter media are very alluring, but they are useless if the unit breaks or becomes noisy, which is why you should not buy this filter.
Water flow rate/bypass:

The AC110’s claimed flow rate is 500 gallons per hour, and is visibly higher than its competition, the Emperor 400. Unfortunately the water is not forced or strained through the filter media; it flows into a huge media chamber where there is room for small quantities of water to flow around the filter sponge, not through it. This is called bypass and it allows unfiltered water to return to the aquarium. The E400 on the other hand, strains water through filter pads, disallowing bypass.


maybe I should get one emporer and one ac110 and put them both to the test? O_O

 

[GinBlack]

yeah i would get the 2 ac110's since they are almost like the best of both hob and canister since they hold so much media

Hmm...thanks for your input. My friend did tell me the more media the better. I just don't want to settle with my fish ya know. Although I am gettin ga bigger tank in a few months, it is unsure what day exactly I will get it so I want to make sure everything is perfect now with the water rather than have the notion that soon I will have a bigger tank with better filtration!

 

[joedodge]

when putting the media in the ac110 they say bottom to top: sponge,bio,chemical.
however i pack mine bottom to top:bio,sponge then poly fill to polish the water.
if you put the sponge in the middle the water entering the chamber has to flow through the sponge first eliminating most bypass

 

[bitteraspects]

The AC110’s claimed flow rate is 500 gallons per hour, and is visibly higher than its competition, the Emperor 400. Unfortunately the water is not forced or strained through the filter media; it flows into a huge media chamber where there is room for small quantities of water to flow around the filter sponge, not through it. This is called bypass and it allows unfiltered water to return to the aquarium. The E400 on the other hand, strains water through filter pads, disallowing bypass.

hahaha
this is a load of crap, its actually the exact opposite. the emp400 does not force the water through the media, while the ac110, filters water much the same way as a cannistwr, pushing the water through all the media from underneath. 100% contact.

 

[GinBlack]

when putting the media in the ac110 they say bottom to top: sponge,bio,chemical.
however i pack mine bottom to top:bio,sponge then poly fill to polish the water.
if you put the sponge in the middle the water entering the chamber has to flow through the sponge first eliminating most bypass

Good to know Joe...thanks!