looking for Honest input. Are they worth it? Getting rid of aquaclears due to cheap flismy plastic broke two in last month cleaning them and I heard marineland is good Long trac record and thicker unbreakable plastic. please let me know i need to change filters soon that disgusted with poor quality plastic crap. Thank you.
Marineland pro filters
- Thread starter jft
- Start date
If youre referring to the penguin and emperor hang on filters, then i would say no. In my experience, while the emperor is somewhat quieter than the aquaclear, it is nowhere near as powerful or effective and holds less than half the media of the aquaclear/fluval 500/110. I personally consider the aquaclear 500 to be the only hang on filter of any use for my tanks, everything else simply being just too weaksauce.
I have also broken the flimsy parts on the aquaclear filters, usually when i forget to drain them before removing them from the tank or making some other negligent maneuver. Frustrating, but i get it, you can only make a hang on filter so heavy before it is too heavy to hang on the side of most smaller tanks. I dont think youll find marineland products any more durable, in fact i would say they are decidedly less so. Ime fluval products>marineland products all day.
I have also broken the flimsy parts on the aquaclear filters, usually when i forget to drain them before removing them from the tank or making some other negligent maneuver. Frustrating, but i get it, you can only make a hang on filter so heavy before it is too heavy to hang on the side of most smaller tanks. I dont think youll find marineland products any more durable, in fact i would say they are decidedly less so. Ime fluval products>marineland products all day.
Check some reviews for the Seachem Tidal 110, a worthy competitor to the AC 110, but with some design advantages, including quality, flexible plastic, better flow control, and a submerged pump, meaning none of the restart/priming issues the AC is sometimes known for. On the other hand the AC rates at 500 gals per hour vs 450 for the Seachem. The AC looks bigger sitting on a tank, but the Seachem is deeper (taller), so not much actual difference in media volume. I don't run them now but I've had both, and both are good filters ime. The Seachem wins for me due to the priming and better flow control, but, like anything, I'm sure there are varying preferences between the two.
I love Aquaclear and have a number of 110's, 70's and 50's in use (some under the older numbers). Yes, the plastic has become flimsier, but the filters continue to be just as good.
I have had Penguin 330-350 and they are Ok, but cannot compete with Aquaclear.
The new models (submerged motor) are said to be quieter and more powerful, but I have not owned them.
Emperors are good filters, but are temperamental, and cannot compete with Aquaclear.
I hear good things about Tidal but cant say personally.
This is just my opinion.
I have had Penguin 330-350 and they are Ok, but cannot compete with Aquaclear.
The new models (submerged motor) are said to be quieter and more powerful, but I have not owned them.
Emperors are good filters, but are temperamental, and cannot compete with Aquaclear.
I hear good things about Tidal but cant say personally.
This is just my opinion.
Thanks I Know people using Marineland for greater then 10 years and Love them guess it depends on who u talk too. I am done with aquaclear and tidal not a fan of the grinding motor issue if ur water level drops. Hopefully Aquaclear will change their cheap plastic . Also Not all that convinced aquaclear is REALLY all that better at this point.
I have four Marineland Emperor 400's. They do the job just fine. I also have two old AC 110s that I have packed in storage.
I agree with all positive endorsements regarding the AC's. They do have drawbacks. Mine were noisy and I don't like the rising sponge action when it gets dirty.
I pack my Emperors with sponges, ceramic media & keep the bio wheels running. I know the wheels are kind of a gimmick, but I believe they work.
My Emperor 280 ran non stop for 23 years. Never a problem. It was still limping along when I replaced it.
I've had to replace a few impellers on the 400's which was annoying.
The Emperors don't hold as much media as the AC's, but they hold enough.
I've heard good things about the Tidals, however they haven't caught on here. Not available at any LFS.
I agree with all positive endorsements regarding the AC's. They do have drawbacks. Mine were noisy and I don't like the rising sponge action when it gets dirty.
I pack my Emperors with sponges, ceramic media & keep the bio wheels running. I know the wheels are kind of a gimmick, but I believe they work.
My Emperor 280 ran non stop for 23 years. Never a problem. It was still limping along when I replaced it.
I've had to replace a few impellers on the 400's which was annoying.
The Emperors don't hold as much media as the AC's, but they hold enough.
I've heard good things about the Tidals, however they haven't caught on here. Not available at any LFS.
Ive heard good and bad reviews of the seachems but havent tried myself. They have some neat features, but most of the criticism i hear/read is that they dont hold up well with larger, messy fish. Having observed them in action, i find it hard to believe they move nearly as much water as the ac110. I think theyre probably an excellent option for a lightly stocked tank though cause they are commonly reported as quiet and reliable.
I swore off Fluval filters after two duds in a row, and switched to Aqueon LEDs (though I don’t use the LED function and can’t comment on that) and tried out a Marineland Penguin on my 75. Of the two the Aqueon didn’t have adjustable flow, which sucked, but there was something about the Marineland that just felt off. The plastic wasn’t chintzy or anything but nothing really went together securely. It felt like just shoddy molding almost. My fish knocked the intake tube off quite a bit. The Marineland didn’t have a loud motor but the water splashing can be loud depending on your flow. That wasn’t much of a concern though.
On my main tank I’ve switched to a Penn Plax canister and I am happy with that. On smaller tanks I’m making use of the couple of Aqueons I had lying around and a few top fin generic ones that came with tank kits. I don’t miss the Marineland at all. If I had to go to a new HOB for anything I’d personally probably go with a Tidal and call it good. In fact I plan to use a Tidal on a saltwater tank I am setting up next.
On my main tank I’ve switched to a Penn Plax canister and I am happy with that. On smaller tanks I’m making use of the couple of Aqueons I had lying around and a few top fin generic ones that came with tank kits. I don’t miss the Marineland at all. If I had to go to a new HOB for anything I’d personally probably go with a Tidal and call it good. In fact I plan to use a Tidal on a saltwater tank I am setting up next.
I have five overstocked tanks ranging from 40G to 125G in size. I have a number of Tidal 110s, Marineland Emperor 400s and an Aquaclear 110. My favorite filters by a long shot are the Tidal 110s. They self prime, are very quiet as long as you keep your aquarium filled close to the top, hold a lot of media, and are built like tanks. For a couple of decades I only operated Marinelands and they easily last over 20 years. The issue is they are relatively noisy, need their impellers replaced every ten years or so, do not self prime and hold less media than the Tidal or Aquaclear. The Aquaclear holds a ton of filter media but is my least favorite of the three because it will overflow onto the floor if you wait to long to clean it, does not self prime, and it’s components seem cheaper than the Tidal or Marineland.
I guess Its what you believe works best. I am done with aquaclears for now too cheap plastic and I am going to try the tidals 75 and 110 for my new tanks.Thanks. Not sure about the grinding noise issue if water levels drop too low but Nothing is perfect and always there is a trade off.