I have a 200g with overflow on the way, and I was considering going with a Tidepool 2. I think it's max recommendation is for 120gallons w/the suggested media, however, I was thinking about putting a top layer mechinical and the second 2 layers with Cellpore which has mass bio-area. Anyone used one these, and do you think this would be sufficient? I'll probably have about 4-5 cichlids in there...
Marineland Tidepool Wet/Dry Filter- 2
- Thread starter Scottfree
- Start date
JMO, but I think "Tidepool" filters suck. The sump is too small, and made of cheesy plastic. The "biowheel" is too small for a large tank. You could get better bio filtration by using lots of media. The cell pore will help for sure. If you like them, that's cool, personally I think for the money you could get a much better wet-dry, or build one yourself.
I run a tidepool II on my 75 gallon & it does a superb job. One male JD, 3 male cons & a 6" Royal plec (cichlids are all full sized adults).
I find that the plastic it's made of is quite durable really.....in that it has a rubber like flexability to it that's less prone to cracking than some acrylic sumps I've seen IMO. The sump accomodates a 250 watt ebo jagar heater (18" long) & a mag drive 7 pump with room to spare (for what, I don't know).
Three roomy drawers that are extremely easy to access allow many combinations of media. I personally just use mechanical media here but you could fit a lot of cell pore there if you wanted.
The bio-wheel is fricken huge compared to anything on a power filter. One thing I like about it is.......during water changes, when I shut it off, the wheel becomes submerged which preserves the bacteria. My output to the tank is situated below the surface just far enough to backfill the sump enough to allow this.
With a bioball chamber I would need a bypass so I could keep it running so the balls wouldn't dry out. Another plus is full utilization of the biomedia via the design of the wheel. With bioballs, some of them scarcely even get wet depending on drip tray efficiency.
All in all, I like the Tpool. Mines been in service for nearly 3 years continuous so far. One thing I would advise is to make a cover for it to decrease evaporation. I just cut one to fit out of the styrofoam lid from a fish shipping box. Works great.
I find that the plastic it's made of is quite durable really.....in that it has a rubber like flexability to it that's less prone to cracking than some acrylic sumps I've seen IMO. The sump accomodates a 250 watt ebo jagar heater (18" long) & a mag drive 7 pump with room to spare (for what, I don't know).
Three roomy drawers that are extremely easy to access allow many combinations of media. I personally just use mechanical media here but you could fit a lot of cell pore there if you wanted.
The bio-wheel is fricken huge compared to anything on a power filter. One thing I like about it is.......during water changes, when I shut it off, the wheel becomes submerged which preserves the bacteria. My output to the tank is situated below the surface just far enough to backfill the sump enough to allow this.
With a bioball chamber I would need a bypass so I could keep it running so the balls wouldn't dry out. Another plus is full utilization of the biomedia via the design of the wheel. With bioballs, some of them scarcely even get wet depending on drip tray efficiency.
All in all, I like the Tpool. Mines been in service for nearly 3 years continuous so far. One thing I would advise is to make a cover for it to decrease evaporation. I just cut one to fit out of the styrofoam lid from a fish shipping box. Works great.