What HOB filter is the BEST??

[v3n0m]

The penguins have a design flaw though and that is that the bio wheel is spun by water after it has flowed through the filter. This has 2 down sides. The first is that as the fillter gets slowly clogged the wheels spins slower and slower and sometimes stops and kills the bacteria colony. The second is that the water flowing over the biowheel is filtered water so ammonia has already been partly removed by the bacteria in the filter so the bacteria colony on the bio wheels is limited. The emperors have this problem solved as the wheels are turned by the unfiltered water pumped through spray bars. I never worry about my emperor 400 where my penguin I was always checking the bio wheel. I like my emporer but the aquaclears and fluvals IMO though cannot be beat as far as HOB media capacity goes.

I have seen the bio wheel stop moving with a couple of mine when I first got them. The problem was that the media got clogged so the flow slowed down which in turn made one of the wheels stop. However, if they are maintained as they are suppose to this will NOT happen. I can also see how they may not get as much ammonia to the biowheels but the difference between it and lets say an emp 400 would be very negligible IMO. I believe that the AC110 and the Emp 400 are equals as far as media "capacity" goes. Again, I'm in no way saying its a better filter than an AC110 or even an Emp 400, but I still stand behind that it is the best value on the market as far as HOBs are concerned.