Best aquarium filter

[LiLBro]

i was wondering what is the best aquarium filter for the money. i'm setting mine up for spring and looking for a good filter.

[irvingdog]

RBC's, also called Rotating Biological Contactors, are about as efficient as you can get. Commercially, they are sold as Bio-Wheels. When pre-filtered for particulate matter, they are quite convenient.

However, there is NO substitute for regular partial water changes.......

[JollyT]

It all depends what kind of tank you are setting up. Larger show tank would work good with a hang on the back power filter. Several brands out there. If running a bare tank with just fish a basic air driven sponge filter is great. Really cheap and no maintainance costs. If you want to do salt water that is a completely different thing and much more complicated to answer. Water changes as stated above are always important no matter the filtration. I know serious aquarists that change 50% or more each week.

[wayner]

I use a Emporer 280 biowheel filter on a 29 gallon tank. It works great!

[RussDaBuss]

Hello, seen this topic and thought I would add a question. I just bought an Eclipse 6 aquarium system. I have had it set up for a few days and just added 3 black neon tetras. This system has the "bio wheel". All I need to do is change the filter every month. The bio wheel never needs changing. Is this true? Also, since I am fairly new at this whole game, water changes are very important. Every couple weeks I need to change 25% of the water?? That is what I am planning anyway. Also I need to buy one of those gravel suction cleaners they make to clean the bottom. I have city water and add the conditioner for tap water. I suppose I should have a container ready with about 25% treated water (1.5 gallons in my case) when it comes time for me to change water. My real question is, am I on the right track here. It seems like there are some others on this site that have aquariums and was wondering their techniques. For now my tank is small for learning but would like to get bigger eventually. Any other things for me to do, watch out for? Do you ever clean the inside glass?

Thanks for any info.

[JollyT]

You can let the water sit for 24-48 hours or use a water treatment that removes chlorine. Don't overload a new tank with fish as it takes a while for the bacteria to ramp up in the filter (the biowheel in this case). You probably can just rinse the filter pad out really well and reinstall it. Keep a spare around for when it wears out. I think that is an acrylic tank, so use a soft pad to clean the inside. If it were glass you cloud usea new green scrubbie, but that will scratch plastic.

Also, just a thought for people who haven't bought a tank yet. Bigger is easier. The larger amount of water gives you more room for error.

This can become as addicting a hobby as fishing. I should know. For several years, I had 70 tanks, ~2000 gal. Now, I just have four. (Plus a dozen empties or so )

[LiLBro]

hey jolly t,

any aquariums that are about 30 gallons or up that you would sell pretty cheap? i'm looking to upgrade

[RussDaBuss]

Thanks for the info. Yes it is acrylic.. Will be carefull from scratching... Appreciate it..

[LiLBro]

how much do those bio wheel set=ups run, for the whole thing.

[RussDaBuss]

The Eclipse system I bought was $50 for everything. But it is only 6 gallons. They do make bigger as far as i've seen but they are not cheap... As I have stated before I am new at this whole thing and read other places that these are good systems. Everything is contained in the top light fixture... I do want to get a bigger one sometime but will have to take a loan out to do it ..

[JollyT]

I don't have any for sale right now, but a group I belong to has auctions about three times a year. Do a web search on Minnesota, aquarium and society and it should pop up. Next one will be in April sometime. You never know what will show up. I've seen tank overflow at these things where they go for a buck a gallon for tank, top, and lights.

[Bobb-o]

hey rich i run a carbon filter on mine, with the same size aquarium you have, they are $20 at walmart.

[Pete Riola]

Get an Ehiem. Best there are and they run forever. It's a canister system. Or you can make a wet/dry out of a 10 gallon tank. Contact a aquarium geek site to get the skinny. I made a wet/dry 15 years ago for my Africans and it was awesome but it has some maintenence. Eheims have almost no maintenence. My two cents.