Hang On Back filter

[bjlled]

I bought a 10 gal tank for a QT, so I will use my filter from my main tank on it.
This will allow me to replace the main tank (29 gallon) filter with something better? What should I get? I see a lot of people on here don't have a lot of good things to say about the Penguins or Emperors.
I really don't know which HOB filter to buy.
I have about 40 lb of live rock, & 40 lb of live sand in the tank. I still would like a good filter.

 

[marine fanatic]

Personally I have always liked the Penguin/Emperor filters. I did decide to go with a canister filter on my secondary tank but that was mainly due to limited space behind the tank. A Penguin 280 would work well on a 29 gallon tank. If you have a sandbed in your tank, make sure that if you go with a HOB that the water inlet is at least 3-4" above the sand, otherwise it can suck sand into it and HOB power filters do not protect the impellers very well and the sand will wear out the impeller shaft causing it to become very noisy.

 

[bjlled]

Whats the difference between the emperor and penguin?

 

[mandarin w]

I really liked my emperor. I think they are the best HOB filter you can buy. I wouldn't get anything else. I have had mine for over 7 years, and I have never had a problem with any of them.

 

[russy pelican]

Not to confuse things, but I strongly prefer the Aquaclear over any filter with vertical filter cartridges. The Aquaclear has a large foam sponge that can be cleaned and reused for years, and more surface area that water has to go through if you run carbon. With most of the other filter models, the carbon in the pouch all settles to the bottom of the cartridge, and becomes the path of greatest resistance for the water... so little water flows through the carbon. Also, they are easy to repair if the impeller (the only moving part) wears out, and the molded plastic is thick, so can be taken apart and cleaned many times without breaking. I still own (the long since discontinued) AquaClear 2000's from the early 1990's that run.
Most people I know who have purchased the Aquaclear 500 never go back to other HOB's. I worked at an LFS for years and have tried 'em all. I know Penguin and Emperor have made a big push in the market with the "bio-wheel," but I find them to be an inferior product based on performance. My 2 cents.

 

[bjlled]

I did notice the Aquaclear ones at the LFS. They looked nice. I was like "wow this is really functional". Other opinions?

 

[dadszx7]

I've got a basic aquaclear on my 30 gallon hexagon QT. Works great and is pretty quiet. I paid somewhere around 35.00 at my local lfs. don't remember the model number. But I do tear down the qt, when I don't need it. When I restart the tank for the next new addition, I just add a new filter bag, and it works like a champ.