Filter Died, Time For New

[skiltrip]

so, my Whisper 60 power filter died today. i have a backup Whisper on there for now, but it's too small to use so i'm going to replace it in the next couple days.

i've been a little out of the hobby the past year or so, not paying attention to what's best as far as hardware goes. what's good these days?

tank specifics, it's a 37 gallon tank, housing a redtail shark, yellow lab, pleco, and synocat.

i want to stay with a power filter, and i am definitely on a budget, so i can't spring for the latest and greatest.
are the biowheel power filters the best you can do powerfilter speaking?
I was looking at the Penquin 200, will that be enough for my 37 gallon?

any advice is greatly appreciated... thanks.

 

[Tolak]

I'm no fan of the bio wheel filters, it has nothing to do with the bio wheel, which is a great idea. The filters themselves use cartridges, which limits media flexability, and the pumps are underpowered compared to Aqua Clears. An AC 70 would work great on that tank, seeing as you have some cichlids & cats in there. Stronger pump, and greater media capacity & flexability.

 

[skiltrip]

I'm no fan of the bio wheel filters, it has nothing to do with the bio wheel, which is a great idea. The filters themselves use cartridges, which limits media flexability, and the pumps are underpowered compared to Aqua Clears. An AC 70 would work great on that tank, seeing as you have some cichlids & cats in there. Stronger pump, and greater media capacity & flexability.

honestly, the aqua clears seem a little confusing to me. i'm a real plug n play type of guy usually when it comes to filters. i'm very willing to learn though, just never needed to "customize" my filtration in the past.


what is the "standard" setup... like, what type of media would you put in for a standard, fully cycled established tank? is replacing media more expensive then the single cartridge setup of the whispers?

finally, for my 37g, could i get away with a AquaClear 50? (on a serious budget!) I could also run it alongside my whisper 20 that's presently running temporarily.

thanks for the idea about the AQUACLEAR, just wanna learn a little more about it.

 

[Tolak]

Ac's give you the option of more customization, that doesn't mean it has to be done. The standard setup is usually a sponge, with some bio media or floss. Those sponges last forever, I've got one that is 7 years old & still going. The bio media seems to be ceramic, much like what is found in canisters, which is seemingly indestructable. Both of these are rinsed in tank water, reinserted in a large U shaped clip, which is then inserted into the filter. Floss can be bought on bulk, it's a few dollars a bag, just tear off a piece & put it on top. They start like any other hob, fill with water & plug them in.

Customization isn't as big a deal as it sounds. For water polishing, stuff the clip with floss, for bio filtration, use just bio media. Mechanical filtration is accomplished with 2 sponges, chemical by adding a bag of carbon. Peat can be used for water softening & lowering pH a bit. Any combination can be used, as long as it fits in the clip, & doesn't impede the water flow too much.

Going with the 50 along with your current filter will work fine, I use multiple filters on most of my tanks.

 

[skiltrip]

Ac's give you the option of more customization, that doesn't mean it has to be done. The standard setup is usually a sponge, with some bio media or floss. Those sponges last forever, I've got one that is 7 years old & still going. The bio media seems to be ceramic, much like what is found in canisters, which is seemingly indestructable. Both of these are rinsed in tank water, reinserted in a large U shaped clip, which is then inserted into the filter. Floss can be bought on bulk, it's a few dollars a bag, just tear off a piece & put it on top. They start like any other hob, fill with water & plug them in.

Customization isn't as big a deal as it sounds. For water polishing, stuff the clip with floss, for bio filtration, use just bio media. Mechanical filtration is accomplished with 2 sponges, chemical by adding a bag of carbon. Peat can be used for water softening & lowering pH a bit. Any combination can be used, as long as it fits in the clip, & doesn't impede the water flow too much.

Going with the 50 along with your current filter will work fine, I use multiple filters on most of my tanks.

thanks so much. i went and ordered a Aqua Clear 50 (found it for $17.97!! US) i always thought about having 2 filters.... my old Whisper 60(the one that died) would occasionally stop running... i'd have to pull out and resinsert the tube to make it kick in again. two filters is a good security blanket if i happen to not be home or god forbid on vacation. I guess my long term plan is replace that Whisper20 with another Aqua Clear 50 at the end of the year. Then i'll have dual 50s. I'm liking this customizable media thing more and more. i bet it opens up even more running two filters. i suppose you can always just leave one doing the normal filtration thing and use the other for whatever "special" stuff you wanna do. pretty cool. thanks again for the suggestion.