# HOB FILTER!!? Don't know which one to get help!!



## Trofishlore

*Hey there!
I had a post in freshwater aquariums about this and now I have AquaClear stuck in my head.
I just can't choose.
Need a Filter that will be able to fit on my Fifty-five that has two hoods.
Don't think I will be getting Canister Filters until later.

My Top three choices:

Marineland penguin bio-wheel 350B
Marineland Penguin Bio Wheel Power Filter Aquarium Power Filters

Tetra Classic Whisper Power Filter 60
Tetra Whisper Power Filter Aquarium Power Filters

or Hagen AquaClear Power Filter 110
AquaClear AquaClear Power Filter Aquarium Power Filters

I'm going to be needing some serious help here!
All questions and comments welcome!
*


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## mjbn

I say go for a canister. I currently have a Tetra Quietflow and an Aquaclear 150, and have also tried the Biowheel 150B. The spinning of the wheel was kinda annoying so i returned it for the AC150. Now, the two filters have a constant buzzing, even though i have put petroleum jelly around the motor/impeller shaft. I'm switching to a Sunsun 302 Canister filter, since I've seen only good reviews of it and it is $49.99 on ebay. Hope this helps


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## seriosbrad

The Penguin 350 dual-biowheel that came with my dual hood 55gallon is starting to get quite loud. I'm going to be in search of a canister type soon. Moth of my aquariums are in my living room and I'm looking to quite down the area haha.


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## Davefish24

2 tetra whispers, or 1 aquaclear


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## Inga

I have the Marineland Biowheel filter and it works well. There is a little noise from the wheels but not much. If the spray bar is adjusted on them, it keeps it fairly quiet. On my other tank I have an Aqueon filter and it is very very quiet. 

My first choice would have been the canister filter as well but it didn't fit under my tank so I got the HOB type. I have also used a sponge filter with a pump and I like that too. With that, the pump can make a bit of noise and position is everything there.


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## Mikaila31

I would not use a HOB on a 55 gallon. At least not if you want to stock it properly.


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## beetlebz

For the budget range listed, AC110. The Aquaclears arent perfect, but the mech is handled by a sponge filter, which you squeeze out and put back in.

The penguin (and emperor), tetra (which I own and use several of) and most any of the other commercial HOBs have one major draw back. And thats filter cartridges. My penguin is great, but the filter HAS to be replaced periodically. It must have a finer mesh beneath the blue mesh that gets plugged up. You can rinse it, but in another couple days the filter is running on overflow again. Same with the whisper bio bags, but at least theyre cheap (comparatively). 

I would also agree that a canister is the way to go most times, but HOBs arent so bad imho. If the aquarium will not be planted nor have air stones, then maybe 2 smaller would be better than one big one, for circulation purposes. But at that point you are approaching the cost of some smaller canister filters


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## jeaninel

I have all 3 of those HOBs you mentioned. The advantage to the Penguin 350 over the Whisper 60 is that the bio-wheels colonize the bacteria and you can rinse the cartridges (in tank water) without worrying about losing any of your BB. I don't use the cartridges that came with the Penguin 350. Instead I bought 2 Rena Filstar foam pads and 2 of the Marineland media baskets and filled them with polyfiber (bought a roll at Walmart for cheap). I have not had to replace the Rena sponges since I bought them a few years ago. I just squeeze them out in used tank water to clean. Same with the polyfiber in the media baskets... maybe every few months I'll refill with clean polyfiber, but otherwise I just rinse it in used tank water. For the price you can't beat this filter. I bought mine when they were $27 each. I have a total of 4 of them on various tanks.

I like the Aquaclear also (I have a AC110). It has a pretty large capacity for media and I like the flow control feature. Mine is very quiet. It does push a lot of water so depending on what fish you're stocking it might be too much flow for fish that like quieter water.

My Whisper 60 I also use the Rena foam as well as the Whisper cartridges. When I clean them I alternate each week which side I rinse in tank water. My Whisper 60 also has a flow control on it .

Here's a link to the Penguin media basket:

Marineland Penguin BIO Wheel Power Filters Media Basket Fits 200 And 350 - Reviews & Prices @ Yahoo! Shopping


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## beetlebz

I never knew they made media baskets to fit the penguin. Thats pretty fly J 

And it certainly levels the playing field too.


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## jeaninel

beetlebz said:


> I never knew they made media baskets to fit the penguin. Thats pretty fly J
> 
> And it certainly levels the playing field too.


 Yes. Much, much better than having to buy those expensive cartridges. I still have my Penguin cartridges from when I bought the filters so if I ever do need carbon I can use those. And those Rena foam pads work great for polishing the water. I bought the fine dpi ones and you'd be surprised how much muck comes out when squeezed out!


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