Will this hob fit on my 180

[Fishguy679]

SO I just bought a used 180 gallon aquarium. I don't have much cash right now and wanted to get a cheap filter to cycle it with then get a larger canister filter later on. I was thinking of the aquegon quiet flow 55/75 because it has a great bang for buck and cost less than 30 dollars and is rated for 90 gallons(yes I know the ratings don't mean much but still.) so I was just worried the filter wouldn't fit on the rim of my 180 gallon. anyone have first hang experience using hobs on larger aauariums?? also the empeor 400 and penguin 350 are rated for less than 90 gallons and cost more but I know that the ratings don't mean much so would a penguin 350 be better than the quiet flow 55 75 that cost less?

 

[Frank Castle]

SO I just bought a used 180 gallon aquarium. I don't have much cash right now and wanted to get a cheap filter to cycle it with then get a larger canister filter later on. I was thinking of the aquegon quiet flow 55/75 because it has a great bang for buck and cost less than 30 dollars and is rated for 90 gallons(yes I know the ratings don't mean much but still.) so I was just worried the filter wouldn't fit on the rim of my 180 gallon. anyone have first hang experience using hobs on larger aauariums?? also the empeor 400 and penguin 350 are rated for less than 90 gallons and cost more but I know that the ratings don't mean much so would a penguin 350 be better than the quiet flow 55 75 that cost less?

go with the Emperor 400 if it fits......I think they are the strongest HOBs out there, unless i'm mistaken. IDK if it will fit though, TBH

 

[Beetlebug515]

Whatever you do, DO NOT under any circumstances buy the aqueon quiet flow. It may be cheap, but offers zero biological filtration. It is a complete waste of money unless you want to buy one for mechanical filtration only. For a 180, I would say a minimum of 3 aquaclear 110's if you want to go the hang on back route. Otherwise, 2 fx5/fx6, or a sump are the way to go. My advice, leave the tank dry until you have the budget to filter it properly. Skimping on filtration will only cost you money in the long run. Money for 2 or 3 filter upgrades, money in random bits of stuff you always need, and money in dead fish. I recommend checking out the DIY section of the forum and looking in to some DIY sump options. This is going to be the cheapest and most effective option. Lastly, welcome to MFK!

 

[Yuki Rihwa]

Yep, I'm second to vote wait until you have extra money and DIY or buy better filter for long run also most filters you are listing don't offer much in term of biological, to cycle a tank best HoB is AC110 but it's quite pricey so just save your money and get at least a FX6 to get it running and depend on your stock you might need to get a second one.

 

[Rsc89]

If you shop around on craigslist you can pick up fx5/fx6 for rather cheap. Your going to spend at least $135+ for something used. You might get lucky and find one for $100 but you have to jump on them fast because they dont last long. As far as HOB filters... Ac110 are hard to beat, i even have a old Ac500 around here somewhere before they became the 110.

 

[Deathinnumbers]

I use the emporer 400 on my tanks and love them. I used to use ac110 but the motors always become noisy. I have 3 in my closet and use for back up purposes.

 

[predatorkeeper87]

I'll be the odd man out here. The aqueon 55/75 filters are great. I use two of them and a fx6 on my 150. They don't break down easily so far, and have plenty of room for either bio or mech....these people above me apparently have never used them or got real unlucky.

For the price they are a great filter.

also the pump/motor housing has some give to it so you can jimmy them over most tank lips.

 

[Beetlebug515]

I'll be the odd man out here. The aqueon 55/75 filters are great. I use two of them and a fx6 on my 150. They don't break down easily so far, and have plenty of room for either bio or mech....these people above me apparently have never used them or got real unlucky.

For the price they are a great filter.

also the pump/motor housing has some give to it so you can jimmy them over most tank lips.

I used them. The problem is that in their "out of the box" state, they can not biologically support a tank unless that tank has a very very light bioload. The big ones do have plenty of room for bio media, but they don't come with any and none of the literature suggests adding any. In your case, you are supplementing with the FX6 which I can guarantee is supporting the bulk of the tanks filtration. Because of the design and flow pattern the these filters, I couldn't recommend that a tank be run solely on them.

 

[Yuki Rihwa]

I'll be the odd man out here. The aqueon 55/75 filters are great. I use two of them and a fx6 on my 150. They don't break down easily so far, and have plenty of room for either bio or mech....these people above me apparently have never used them or got real unlucky.

For the price they are a great filter.

also the pump/motor housing has some give to it so you can jimmy them over most tank lips.

I used Aqueon in my 40B purely for mechanical filtration only, I used different filter and load it up with all bio media for bio load, his tank is 180G so those aqueon pretty won't offer any goods to his tank even the price is cheapest out there. Also, your FX6 alone logically would be more than enough for the 150g, thing would be different if you don't have that FX6 there

 

[predatorkeeper87]

I used Aqueon in my 40B purely for mechanical filtration only, I used different filter and load it up with all bio media for bio load, his tank is 180G so those aqueon pretty won't offer any goods to his tank even the price is cheapest out there. Also, your FX6 alone logically would be more than enough for the 150g, thing would be different if you don't have that FX6 there

fx6's in all honesty are only good for bio...mech filtration they are complete garbage.

I ran that tank with only those two filters for months, one mech, the other bio, and a scaped tank so technically more bio area in the main tank as well. My params were good that whole time, I got the fx6 for cheeeeap lol so I threw that bad boy on there too lol.

For the money, the filters turn over some water. that's all I'm saying lol. he needs more than that for a 180 but they are a great start.