A good filter alternative?

zenway9

zenway9

Member
I am having a problem with my Emporer 400 and the space it is taking up on the top of my tank (50 gal). Is there a smaller filter out there that I can actually put down in the water? I was thinking of maybe replacing my filter by putting filters on each of my powerheads...would that be enough filtration? The reason I want to replace the Emporer 400 is beacuse it is not allowing me to rest the lighting hood flush onto the top of the tank...
Any ideas would be appreciated.
 
zenway9

zenway9

Member
i was thinking about that, but i don't think i am at that level yet. any other filter alternatives?
 
jobob

jobob

Member
what level anyone can have a sump. there great add more water to ur system hide heaters,uv, skimmer, thing like that. but if u really want a hang on, my friend uses a via aqua with skimmer and uv that works good look online or auction sites for one.
 
zenway9

zenway9

Member
if i have a skimmer, can i eliminate the filter? i thought you had to have both. what are some of your opinions on the attachable filters for the powerheads?
 
ophiura

ophiura

Active Member
Good skimmer plus multiple powerheads in the tank for circulation...but it is your LR and LS that is the biological filter. If you DO NOT have LR, then I would recommend still using a filter of some sort. Otherwise the filters don't do much more than circulate the water anyway.
 
snipe

snipe

Active Member
Well since your wanting to save space why dont you find someone that has one of the smaller emperor filters one of the single units and trade them. I like to have mine for the extra water movement it help catch large peices of fish waste and is a great place for me to place salt creep back in the tank. Like I said get a single unit instead of the dual 400 it will be the same thing just smaller and only have 1 bio wheel instead of 2.
 
zenway9

zenway9

Member
here is what i have...
2 powerheads (1 with an attached filter)
emporer 400 hang on filter
25 lbs LR
50 lbs LS
will be adding an aqua c remora skimmer
so, can i take the emporer 400 off, will it be ok if i add an extra filter to the other powerhead?
 
snipe

snipe

Active Member
The powerhead filters IMO arent as good as a hang on filter. You can take it off and run filterless I know bang dose. I like haveing the extra water movement and a place to place salt back in the tank if needed. Like I said try getting a smaller emperor or penguine filter if you dont have space for it or even get a small hang on filter "if you still want one" if not then take it off and dont worrie aout having a filter just run the skimmer and the let the live rock and live sand do the work.
 
zenway9

zenway9

Member
i am seriously thinking about taking it off. i guess i might end up putting more LR in my tank to help with filtration.
 
zenway9

zenway9

Member
i took the emporer off and slpped a filter on my other powerhead (now have 2 with filters). there is ample water movement in the tank and i think everything will work out fine. i am going to be monitoring my tank very closely, as of yet, i still have had no diatom bloom, but i guess thats due to there still being some ammonia in the tank. i hope to be done with my cycle in the next few days.
 
dmc888

dmc888

Member
You will probably need a good detritus cleaning crew if you want to run with no filters.
I would think those ph filters will clog up quickly.
 
zenway9

zenway9

Member
read the first post of the thread. i bought a light hood and the emporer 400 was not allowing me to attach the light hood directly onto the top of the tank. plus, the emporer 400 was making a racket (water splashing). so now i have to powerheads with filters on them, and i will be getting an aqua c remora skimmer very soon.
 
zenway9

zenway9

Member
i will be getting a big clean up crew and a few feather dusters. i think with everything i have, the filtration should be sufficient for a 50 gallon tank
 
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