Looking To Replace Old Penguin 350 Filter - Suggestions?

I have a 55 gallon tank with one Marineland Penguin 350 on it. It’s pretty old at this point and I inherited it from someone, so I’m thinking of replacing it.

I’m not opposed to getting another Penguin 350 because I do like it, but I’m wondering if there’s something similar yet better out there. I have an internal canister filter in my 10 gallon - would I be able to use two larger kinds of those for my 55g?

Any ideas/suggestions/advice would be appreciated!

 

I like the Aqua Clear HOB filters a AC-70 OR AC-110, would do nicely on your 55. You'll save money in the long run with the Aqua Clears. No more replacing expensive filter cartridges.

 

I have aquaclear 70's for my 55's but wish I would of gone with the 110 like I have on my 75. At one point I swapped them since my 55 was getting crowded with convicts.

 

The basic rule of thumb is your fish tank should turn over your water volume at least 4x per hour for best efficiency. All manufactures rate their pumps at the head level only. This means their ratings do not include head pump lift (canisters typically 3 feet), filter media baskets, filter media itself, tubing length, U bends from the input tube and output tubes or even the 90 degree bend for your spray bar. All this alone will reduce the flow by at least 25% right out of the box.

Now add all your media which is jam packed with course, medium, fine pads, bio rings/balls, hard media like Matrix or lava rock and now it gets dirty and clogged in weeks. This adds another 25% reduction. So now you have a 50% restriction in water flow. Which now leaves you at 2x your flow rate and you need 4x to run correctly. This is why you should get a filter with at least 8x flow rate (manufactures spec) because of this 50% reduction will bring you to the 4x recommended flow. Canister filters hold a lot more media than a HOB, they can have a little less flow if you want but 8x will cover both types. Always best to have less water flow over your media than more, so the water stays in contact with the media longer to promote bacteria growth and still keeps good water movement in your tank.

With that said…

You will need about 440 - 550 gph for your tank. I suggest two filters to get to that level.

 

I like the Aqua Clear HOB filters a AC-70 OR AC-110, would do nicely on your 55. You'll save money in the long run with the Aqua Clears. No more replacing expensive filter cartridges.

Thanks for that! Is it quiet? And how often would you say it needs to be cleaned?

I have aquaclear 70's for my 55's but wish I would of gone with the 110 like I have on my 75. At one point I swapped them since my 55 was getting crowded with convicts.

So one 110 would be the better option than getting two 70s? I was thinking of getting another Penguin 350, but I feel like 700gph is a bit overkill for my 55gal. Plus, I want to replace this current Penguin 350 anyway. It just isn't keeping things as clean as it used to.

The basic rule of thumb is your fish tank should turn over your water volume at least 4x per hour for best efficiency. All manufactures rate their pumps at the head level only. This means their ratings do not include head pump lift (canisters typically 3 feet), filter media baskets, filter media itself, tubing length, U bends from the input tube and output tubes or even the 90 degree bend for your spray bar. All this alone will reduce the flow by at least 25% right out of the box.

Now add all your media which is jam packed with course, medium, fine pads, bio rings/balls, hard media like Matrix or lava rock and now it gets dirty and clogged in weeks. This adds another 25% reduction. So now you have a 50% restriction in water flow. Which now leaves you at 2x your flow rate and you need 4x to run correctly. This is why you should get a filter with at least 8x flow rate (manufactures spec) because of this 50% reduction will bring you to the 4x recommended flow. Canister filters hold a lot more media than a HOB, they can have a little less flow if you want but 8x will cover both types. Always best to have less water flow over your media than more, so the water stays in contact with the media longer to promote bacteria growth and still keeps good water movement in your tank.

With that said…

You will need about 440 - 550 gph for your tank. I suggest two filters to get to that level.

Would one AC-110 work?

 

Would one AC-110 work?

I would go for the new sheriff in town, the . Quiet, no worries from starting after a power fail, adjustable flow rate down to 80% easier maintenance with a removable basket.

 

I would go for the new sheriff in town, the . Quiet, no worries from starting after a power fail, adjustable flow rate down to 80% easier maintenance with a removable basket.

This looks awesome - I’m going to look into it! How new is this? Did Seachem just start making filters in general or more specifically this model? The only product of theirs I use is Prime.

 

I would go for the new sheriff in town, the . Quiet, no worries from starting after a power fail, adjustable flow rate down to 80% easier maintenance with a removable basket.

This looks awesome - I’m going to look into it! How new is this? Did Seachem just start making filters in general or more specifically this model? The only product of theirs I use is Prime.

 

I would go for the new sheriff in town, the . Quiet, no worries from starting after a power fail, adjustable flow rate down to 80% easier maintenance with a removable basket.

This looks awesome - I’m going to look into it! How new is this? Did Seachem just start making filters in general or more specifically this model? The only product of theirs I use is Prime.

 

Their a fairly new design. So time will tell how they hold up. The aquaclear not restarting after a power outage is way over hyped. We lose power all the time and mine always restart. Now if you do a big water change and they lose the water in the tube then they will not re prime.

 

This looks awesome - I’m going to look into it! How new is this? Did Seachem just start making filters in general or more specifically this model? The only product of theirs I use is Prime.

Been out over 3 years now. Seachem is a huge company, most trusted name in the aquarium business. They have 3 models, the 55, 75 and 110. I have the 55 and 75.

 

Their a fairly new design. So time will tell how they hold up. The aquaclear not restarting after a power outage is way over hyped. We lose power all the time and mine always restart. Now if you do a big water change and they lose the water in the tube then they will not re prime.

The all use a standard pump of which Sicce has been making them for like 40-50 years.

 

Here is a LINK to pics of my AC110 and cichlidude's Tidal !