Fluval U4 or Marineland Emperor 400 Bio Wheel?

Hi,
I'm getting ready to buy a new 55 gallon tank and not sure which filter to get, Fluval U4 or Marineland Emperor 400 Bio Wheel. I have two other 55 gallon tanks with the Fluval U4 and a 29 gallon tank with a Fluval U3, but I hate when I pull the cartridges out, or the filter out completely, and all the waste goes back into the tank, plus the brackets seem to break easily. I've had cheap HOB filters in the past, and Fluval underwater filters recently, but never a HOB Bio Wheel. Also, I have a Fluval 306 canister filter for turtles, does good, but more massive than I'd want for a 55 gallon tank.
Any suggestions or advice?
Thanks!

 

Aquaclear! Quiet...great filtration, allows for Bio Media, low maintenance. ,

The suggested gpn for a 55 gallon tank is 8 to 10 times the tanks gallons. 55 X 8 = 440gph or 55 x 10 = 550gph. These are specs for a HOB filter.

The Marineland Emperor filters 400 gph. Just one is a bit anemic for your filtration needs.

The Aquaclear or Fluval Aquaclear..(same filter) in the 110 max's out at 500gph.

With that said..no matter which one you select..although I feel the Aquaclear is by far one of the best..and it looks a lot sleeker. Plus..I hate the Bio wheel feature. I prefer bio media in a bag. No problems with operation of a bag of media. The wheels however..require cleaning and maintenance to allow the wheel to spin freely. I digress....you should get two. One for each side of the tank.

You could go with 2 AC110's that would offer EXCELLENT filtration or 2 AC 70's which would suffice. OR...you could just get two Emperors. Either brand..you really need two.

That is MY recommendation!

 

Aquaclear! Quiet...great filtration, allows for Bio Media, low maintenance. ,

The suggested gpn for a 55 gallon tank is 8 to 10 times the tanks gallons. 55 X 8 = 440gph or 55 x 10 = 550gph. These are specs for a HOB filter.

The Marineland Emperor filters 400 gph. Just one is a bit anemic for your filtration needs.

The Aquaclear or Fluval Aquaclear..(same filter) in the 110 max's out at 500gph.

With that said..no matter which one you select..although I feel the Aquaclear is by far one of the best..and it looks a lot sleeker. Plus..I hate the Bio wheel feature. I prefer bio media in a bag. No problems with operation of a bag of media. The wheels however..require cleaning and maintenance to allow the wheel to spin freely. I digress....you should get two. One for each side of the tank.

You could go with 2 AC110's that would offer EXCELLENT filtration or 2 AC 70's which would suffice. OR...you could just get two Emperors. Either brand..you really need two.

That is MY recommendation!

I agree! Two aqua clear or two of the fluval is much better. I hate the marine land filters personally, very noisy and the bio wheel is a hassle and stops spinning all the time.

 

I agree! Two aqua clear or two of the fluval is much better. I hate the marine land filters personally, very noisy and the bio wheel is a hassle and stops spinning all the time.

I bought a Penguin Bio wheel as my first HOB filter. Funny...but I go to sleep every night with ESPN on at a moderate volume. I couldnt hear the TV as I tried to go to sleep. All I heard was wwrrr..wwrrrr..wwrrr! Took it back three days later. A BOMB could go off and I wouldn't wake up. This filter kept me from getting to that point!

 

Yeah, the Marineland is a loud filter. I've heard of people having trouble restarting the filter, since the wheel seems to get jammed each time it is turned off. I definitely recommend against cartridge filters like it as well.

AquaClear does a great job in well... Clearing. I have a small tank with big fish and they need tons of filtration to handle all of the waste.

 

Okay, so right now my 55 gallon tanks have one Fluval U4 each. What I gathered is Aquaclear is the best, but regardless I need two filters, that each support a 55 gallon tank, in each tank, is that right? I love fish, but I just buy the stuff, I'm no expert

 

Okay, so right now my 55 gallon tanks have one Fluval U4 each. What I gathered is Aquaclear is the best, but regardless I need two filters, that each support a 55 gallon tank, in each tank, is that right? I love fish, but I just buy the stuff, I'm no expert

Get a pair of AquaClear 110's for each tank.

 

DING DING DING!!! Aqua clear it is ! Best filter for the money! You will be really happy!!!

 

Okay, I just bought the whole set up, including two Aquaclear 110s (60 to 100 gallon), just gotta wait for it to be shipped to me. Excited and can't wait to see how much better it works than one Fluval U4. I have a feeling I'm gonna end up buying four more! Plus, I'm sure my Bala sharks will appreciate having a bigger tank! I'll post back soon. Thanks for all of your help! Now I just need to figure out how to maintain live plants

 

Okay, I just bought the whole set up, including two Aquaclear 110s (60 to 100 gallon), just gotta wait for it to be shipped to me. Excited and can't wait to see how much better it works than one Fluval U4. I have a feeling I'm gonna end up buying four more! Plus, I'm sure my Bala sharks will appreciate having a bigger tank! I'll post back soon. Thanks for all of your help! Now I just need to figure out how to maintain live plants

Congrats!! You got yourself two GREAT filters! Live plants are not that hard to keep if you use the right fertilizers and lighting..but that is a topic for a different thread

 

Okay, I just bought the whole set up, including two Aquaclear 110s (60 to 100 gallon), just gotta wait for it to be shipped to me. Excited and can't wait to see how much better it works than one Fluval U4. I have a feeling I'm gonna end up buying four more! Plus, I'm sure my Bala sharks will appreciate having a bigger tank! I'll post back soon. Thanks for all of your help! Now I just need to figure out how to maintain live plants

When cleaning the AquaClear, take out the biomedia bag (the BioMax ceramic pellets) and just set that aside. Don't rinse or clean it as that is where your BB are. The sponges can be rinsed and squished about in a bucket of tank water, and the carbon insert can be rinsed in tank water too (though it should be replaced to renew the chemical properties of the carbon. Cleaning won't do much except clear out any solid gunk inside.)

 

I started with canisters fairly early in my fish keeping hobby...so I never had too many HOB filters. But when I set one up on a 29 gallon...I tried 3 or 4..and then I came into the Aquaclear. LOVED IT!!! It is so easy to clean..and it doesn't look bad on the back of your tank! One day..I may switch out to HOB filters just due to the ease of maintaining them. Yes..you have to do it more frequent..but its fast and easy to do. When I start cleaning out my Fluval FX6,,it is a darn project. First,,drain the water. disconnect the hoses...try and lift it over up and out of the stand...loosen 10 very tight nuts...then..6 course sponges...2 bins of Bio media...2 more bio sponges....3 specialty sponges...and then replace the polishing floss. Put it all back together...add 2 gallons of water...and then attempt to put it BACK under the stand without messing up the stand...reconnect the hoses. Then all the that was in the output tubes gets blown back into the tank. SIGH!!!!

With all that said...it IS a great filter. However...3 Aquaclear 110's could be maintained in 1/2 of the time. It just wouldnt look as clean on the top of the tank.

 

I just added a Penguin Bio-wheel 200 to my 25 gallon tank. It was very noisy. However, a simple mod will make it almost silent. Just cut a piece of filter sponge in the shape of a rectangle to fit in the outflow trough and fasten it with a rubber band. It reduces the noise from the water splashing. Now all I hear is the noise from my air stone.

 

I just added a Penguin Bio-wheel 200 to my 25 gallon tank. It was very noisy. However, a simple mod will make it almost silent. Just cut a piece of filter sponge in the shape of a rectangle to fit in the outflow trough and fasten it with a rubber band. It reduces the noise from the water splashing. Now all I hear is the noise from my air stone.

It's the WHEEL that Makes all the noise in my case. I am also a firm believer, that if I have to modify a new product to make it good..then I need to look elsewhere. However...with that said..there are a lot of people with Biowheel filters that are very happy with them. BUT..I also like the LOOKS of the Aquaclear. It doesn't show all the hard water deposits and crud as bad as the Penguin since one is a matte black and the other a clear smoke color.

 

The AquaClear is better because it doesn't have that stupid wheel that keeps breaking. Plus, you can customize the AC's inserts without changing the flow pattern. The Penguin has only one cartridge that will fit.