So i got a new 55gal tank and this one has a center brace (which is a good thing) but the bad thing is that and only two holes in the lid, i can only run two filters where as before on my old tank i was running three so my question is: I have a panguin 350 running on one side and on the other side should i put my pengiun 150 with a bio wheel or my AC50 packed with sponges and filter floss? Any other suggestions?
bio wheel or AC?
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I'm a bio wheel fan but thats just my opinion. If you want to run three filters, you should get a canister filter. I run 2 HOB's and a canister filter in my 55g with no space problems. The canister sits in my stand and the tubes are set along side each HOB.
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Trust me, I can understand that. Well until you can afford one, I would run the 150. Nothing wrong with the AC50, I just never used one. I know many are fans of it. Between the 150 and the AC50 which has the best GPH? Maybe that will help make a decision. Also don't forget to check ebay and craigslist.org for good, cheap, used canister filters.
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For mechanical filtration I'm a big fan of the AC filters. I've both had AC300 (they've a new designation now... AC70? Not sure, it's the 300gph one though) and Emperor 400 filters. Imho the way the AC is built allows better mechanical filtration, as sometimes I saw water flowing *over* the media cartridge in my Emperor, whereas the AC design pretty much forces the water to flow through the media, plus the AC design allows for more flexible media deployment.
On the other hand, though, the biowheels give massive bio filtration capacity! It all boils down to what sort of filtration you're looking for. Adding additional bio filtration once you have "enough" doesn't accomplish anything other than redundancy (in case you accidently drop your biowheel in chlorinated tapwater, etc
). I would tend to lean towards the AC myself (and, in fact, I ran 2x AC300 and one Emp 400 on my 5'x1'x2' 75 gallon tank way back when).
In the end it really doesn't much matter, as I'm suspect either combination will give you a sufficiency of filtration.
-Rick (the armchair aquarist)
On the other hand, though, the biowheels give massive bio filtration capacity! It all boils down to what sort of filtration you're looking for. Adding additional bio filtration once you have "enough" doesn't accomplish anything other than redundancy (in case you accidently drop your biowheel in chlorinated tapwater, etc
). I would tend to lean towards the AC myself (and, in fact, I ran 2x AC300 and one Emp 400 on my 5'x1'x2' 75 gallon tank way back when).In the end it really doesn't much matter, as I'm suspect either combination will give you a sufficiency of filtration.
-Rick (the armchair aquarist)
i decided to run the big pengiun and the AC50 with sponges and filter floss and added two more cartiridges to my large pengiun. I do like the AC filters a lot. you can put almost anything in them where as with the pengiun i am kind of limited
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