zizziz

ok so i got a new 125g tank, it came with 2 old nasty looking emperor 400's. looking online i see they are only $55 new, then i see stuff like ehiem filters going for $325!! i read alot about the 400 being the latest and greatest so y would i pay 200-300 or more for that other stuff

pinkfloydpuffer

Is it a freshwater or saltwater tank?

clinton1621

The canister filters are a lot more expensive because of their size frankly... although one canister filter rated for say 50g can do the work of 2 or 3 HOB filters rated at 50g each because they are a lot bigger, so they have more filter media room and better efficiency

zizziz

sorry its going to be a fw tank~!

pinkfloydpuffer

Well, I use an AquaClear on my 20 gal. It has chenmical and mechanical filtration, with lots of places for bacteria, and 3 components that get changed out so the bacteria doesn't drop off. It's also easy to get the replacement media for it, at least in my area. I like it alot, but I don't know how well it works for larger tanks. I've never tried the other brands, so I couldn't tell ya about those.

pepetj

What is the best filter to buy, as with most other things, depends on the stocking you are planning for. If you're going to house two Oscars and tankmates, then you need to aim at least at 10 times your tank's volume per hour (1,250GPH), but if you are going to keep, say, African Cichlids, then you could get by with 4 to 8 times, depending on the fish.

Once you know where you are heading, you'll figure things out. I allways watch for GPH instead of the tank size manufacturers print in the package. I don't know much about Emperor 400, but despite lookin nasty, those filters are likely good work horses, providing 400GPH each, although its media might be a little expensive.

As pinkfloydpuffer, I use AquaClear (quiet, flexible in media handling).

In my 145gal tank I have three AquaClear 110, and looking forward to add a fourth soon since there's no such thing as "overfiltration".

Pepe
Santo Domingo

zizziz

I never read anything about that GPH needing 10x for certain fish etc... where do you read up that that? I am going to have a few balas and some tiger barbs...

clinton1621

Its a standard rule for hang on back filters, you want at least a gph of 10 times the gallons of your tank. For canister filters, you really only need to go by the tank size rating and not the gph, because they are more efficient.

pepetj

I learned a lot about filtering reading info here in fishlore (used the search engine of this site).

The info I shared comes from experienced fishkeepers, fish profile information (which can be mixed) and my limited experience.

I recommend you read this article, although intended for Oscar tank set-up, provides extensive and easy to understand details about different types of filtration:
http://www.oscarfishlover.com/index....ank-setup.html

For Rift Lake Aquarium Set Up (African Cichlids), a 4 to 6 times of volume of water per hour is recommended (I posted 4 to 8, my mistake)

http://www.cichlid-forum.com/article...lake_setup.php

Pepe
Santo Domingo

fishlover777

Here is my advice for you. If you're not satisfied with what you have than get aqua clear brand, they work perfectly, meaning that they're silent and do what every good quality filter has to do. I personally use them in 55 gallon tank, i put 2 of them.

Speedy

I love the canister filters myself. I have two one is a Rena Filstar and a Eheim I love them both. The Eheim was expensive and well worth the money but the Rena was not to bad expensive and it is a good filter as well. But there is a lot of good filters out there it depends on what type you like. Canister,hanging,or trickle ect. and also what is going to be in the tank. I also get the filter for the aquarium volume more then the gallons I have when buying my canister filters. You can also make them biological,mechanical or chemical what ever you prefer. Good luck.