Logan Bright
- #1
Has anyone ever used petsmarts topfin filters? If so what was your experience like?
Depends what your using it for and what tank size. The one that comes with the 5 gallon is made for a 10 gallon and has way to much current! In a ten gallon it works great for some fish. DO NOT use for bettas as their fins can get stuck in the filters!!! Also to start it you have to fill it up with water and then plug it in.Has anyone ever used petsmarts topfin filters? If so what was your experience like?
But is it as good as other filters like Aquaclear and Marineland?Depends what your using it for and what tank size. The one that comes with the 5 gallon is made for a 10 gallon and has way to much current! In a ten gallon it works great for some fish. DO NOT use for bettas as their fins can get stuck in the filters!!! Also to start it you have to fill it up with water and then plug it in.
Never will be! Aquaclear has many sizes and different things to put in it. As Well as marineland. I haven't used them as I have sponge filters for my bettas and one for my community tank but I researched it and they seem awesome!But is it as good as other filters like Aquaclear and Marineland?
So a top fin will suck a betta's fin up but an AC won't ? There's some logic.Never will be! Aquaclear has many sizes and different things to put in it. As Well as marineland. I haven't used them as I have sponge filters for my bettas and one for my community tank but I researched it and they seem awesome!
They are ok. But I don't like the media inserts.Has anyone ever used petsmarts topfin filters? If so what was your experience like?
Like I said ive never used a aquaclear. Same rules go with putting some nylon over it or a sponge on the intake.So a top fin will suck a betta's fin up but an AC won't ? There's some logic.
Well the tank cant be hurt but the fish can. Bettas fins and some filters are a disaster. That's why I ask what type of fish for what filter.All I can say is: It's not the filter brand that will hurt your tank.
Ok, what model top fin, and remind me the tank size? Sorry if you mentioned the size of the top fin earlier, I missed it.Well the tank cant be hurt but the fish can. Bettas fins and some filters are a disaster. That's why I ask what type of fish for what filter.
Top Fin 20Ok, what model top fin, and remind me the tank size? Sorry if you mentioned the size of the top fin earlier, I missed it.
So now that I replaced the marineland, what do I do with the biowheel?Without knowing exactly which model 20 Topfin is fine. The HOB Topfin Silentstream 20 HOB says it filters 100 gallon per hour. That is a 10x roll over on a 10 gallon. Probably good for normal fish, maybe a little high for a betta, especially a new one. I have used Topfin hobs, I have used the topfin 10 HOB and a little internal by them. As to quality, it's not a good as a name brand only in name. The design is comparable to quite a few others on the market. The Aquaclear is best for cusomization, the marineland are pains to deal with the wheel, and the Topfin HOB is not customizable but will do the job.
As for fins getting sucked in, meh not so sure about that with a healthy fish. Unless you put a rather large filter on a small tank, maybe.
The key is a healthy fish. Size the filter for the tank. Everyone on Fishlore has an opinion on brand name.
Deal with it. It is your bio home for bbSo now that I replaced the marineland, what do I do with the biowheel?
I believe the top fin flows back-to-front not bottom to top so layering your media doesn't do any good, it gets bypassedWhen I was younger, in the late 60's and 70's my parents did a lot of fish. I remember probably 30 tanks in the basement. I remember they sold the babies to local fish stores. Anyway, they used mostly hang on back and sponge filters. But the HOB's then were not the same as today. They were only a box with a water pump. No cartridges. You would use your own media. Which back then was some quilt batting on the bottom, a sponge in the middle, and a mesh bag (pantyhose if I remember) full of activated charcoal on top. They worked fine. By the way, did I say no cartridges?
Anyway, that to say I have a Topfin 100 I am trying to build/cycle (newbie alert). I have removed the cartridges and replaced them with---batting on the bottom, a sponge in the middle activated charcoal in a mesh bag on top. Does anyone use panyhose and are they aquarium safe? I will probably lose the plastic blue bio insert sheets they use as I can't imagine they do much.
I would have liked the Topfin to have a larger or more square space for my own media. I don't think I need to upgrade anytime soon if my modifications work. So...newb alert... I know mostly nothing about fishkeeping except what I learned from osmosis from my parents. But I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express.
And Logan Bright, it seems that discussions about which filters are the best can make peoples heads explode. At least on youtube.
I believe the top fin flows back-to-front not bottom to top so layering your media doesn't do any good, it gets bypassed
Its all good. I need all the help I can getYes leftswerve, I see several things that I did wrong. I did some remodeling on the filter last night. On the standard topfin 100, the water come in thru a hole in the bottom rear and then flows up and forward through the vertical cartridge filters with about a 2 inch square vertical bypass area on the side. What I did was place a shelf of egg crate just higher than the input hole and it runs the length of the filter. I then blocked off the bypass with a piece of plexiglass. Then I put the batting, sponge, carbon stack back in on top of the egg crate shelf. The water then exits the input hole freely under the shelf and is forced up the stack of media and out the top. I will attempt to draw a diagram or take a picture. Then I will start my own thread Apologies to Logan Bright thread owner for partially hijacking the thread).
What kind of Pre filter sponge do you have because I was looking to get oneI have a Topfin 10 on my 10 gallon (just completed fishless cycle so no inhabitants yet). It is nice and quiet, and self-primes pretty quick after being turned off for water changes (great when the power goes out briefly too!) I've got a pre-filter sponge on the intake so I don't have to worry about anyone;s fins getting sucked into it.
The only downside is that the media compartment is tall and thin (as opposed to a more 'boxy' compartment in my Aquaclear) so you have fewer options for what media you put in there. I've currently got 2 of the floss cartridges that are designed for it, plus a tall flat plastic screen with bumps (this is supposedly the bio filter) and I've added a trimmed piece of a Fluval flat square sponge that I'm seeding for eventually cycling my 20 gallon. That's pretty much all that will fit in there.
That said, it's done a great job of keeping the tank clean (as much as possible anyway) during my fishless cycle. I've stirred up the sand a bunch of times, and had some plants die in there, but it's done a great job.
If I was buying a stand alone filter in the future, I'd likely go with the Aquaclear, it does a great job too, but only real difference to me is the amount of space in there for media.
It's a Fluval, seems to be the 'standard' one in all my lfs and Petsmart. Was about $4. Does the job!