TetraTec Filters

[Alia]

Any thoughts on these filters? I'm setting up a 29 gallon.

 

[Great Lakes]

I have never used them Alia. Someday William will give me a budget so I can but and test all the new hardware on the market.

When in doubt, go with what you know.

 

[marineland-man]

For a cheap filter they will work but if you are looking for good bio filtration and something more than average chemical filtration I would look elsewhere (such as bio wheel products - im not tryin to be a salesman @$$hole but its based on fact) The Tetra "bio bags" are what some would call....sub par...and there are several reasons why.

1) the bag is the mechanical filter and the bio fliter all in one. The same thing that catches the grunge is supposed to harbor the beneficial bacteria...that doesnt make much sense...versus the penguins or emperors that have the mechanical and chemical filtration first and then the clean filtered water passes under (or over) the bio wheel for the optimum bio filtration.

2) All of the carbon sits at the bottom of the bag and as we all know water takes the path of least resistance...so probably about 80% of the water skips right past the carbon without contacting it, If i was walking down a path and i had a little area filled with marshmallows and the rest just wide open...I sure wouldnt try and walk through the marshmallows...unless I had a sweet tooth =) whereas the carbon in the Rite-Size cartridges from marineland, the cartridges have ribs in them to evenly disperse the carbon througout the contact area to make the most water contact the carbon. If you look into the emperor line there is even an extra basket that is also ribbed to add more carbon.

Well I guess there are only 2 rasons but those reasons cover all aspects of filtration. Overall the TetraTec filters are a low end filter and will work fine if you want something that is cheap and you are keeping a tank of goldfish or something liek that, but I wouldnt trust your 10+ dollar fish each with one.

The choice is yours, choose wisely between the red pill (marineland) and the green pill (tetra) (matrix hehe)

 

[Alia]

Thanks for the input.

I have the Whisper bio-bag type on my 10 and the Penguin bio-wheel came with my 28. They both seem to work well enough. I do wish the carbon was optional on the Penguin as it is with the bio-bags. When I was medicating for ich, I had to take the cartridge out and stick a bio-bag filter in sideways (for a better fit) so there would still be some filtration.

Your points are well-taken and I probably will go with the Emperor 400 I hear so much about in these forums, but I think that heating capsule is a neat concept. I hate having the heater in the tank, both for esthetic reasons and safety concerns.

 

[Tanked]

alia,

I have a penquin system on my 10 gallon and what I do during medications is take an old carbon filter, rip the blue mesh off of the front, dump the carbon out and cut a piece of fliter floss to fit the cartidge and then slide it back in. this worked so well I have gone carbon free in all my tanks and use this method with my emporer 400 as well.

 

[marineland-man]

For the penguins and filters with the carbon built inside them, many stores sell cartridges that do not have the carbon in, the stores themselves take old cartridges and take the used carbon out and put new foam on and sell them for medicating purposes.

The heating capsule is a neat concept, it kindof draws off of the heaters being in the sump filters of bigger tanks but doesnt really make it that much safer...if it busted it would still cook just about everything same as if it were in the tank because there is still a complete circuit between the filter and the tank when the water runs off. I guess me being a guy i want to have the biggest heater i can find in plain view but hey thats just me *grin*

 

[Tanked]

I agree with MM halfway. as a guy I want th biggest baddest heater available, but I want it invisible so I run It horizontal at the bottom of my tank right above the bubble wand and then put rocks and plants infron of it so all you see is decor and

 

[marineland-man]

I did that for a while but you still have to see the cord running down to the bottom and if your going to see that mite just as well see the heater =) =)

 

[Tanked]

no visable cord, the plants reach the top of the tank

 

[marineland-man]

Ah! good deal

have to say I like your fish in your signature.