two Emperor's on a 55 gallon?

[alister]

Hey.. I've finally outgrown my 10 gallon that I've had for about six months so my wife and I are going to get a 55 this weekend. I'm hooked on the Emperor line of filters after seeing what they do for some friends' tanks (my Penguin 170 does well for my 10, too, I believe -- I love Marineland stuff).

I was wondering if anyone had any thoughts on putting two filters on the new tank. For instance, my friends tell me the Emperor 400 would be fine but I like to over-engineer things so I would tend to think two 280's, two 400's, or one 400 combo'd with a 280 would be even better and allow for redundancy.

Oh, and I wanted to jump into the submersible heaters this time and was thinking two 150's -- one for each side of the tank. Does this sound right?

Any thoughts or comments would be highly appreciated! Thanks a lot.

ken

 

[tlfphoto]

One 400 will support up to about 75gal it's all thats on mine and I am very happy with it. Put 1 300w on the opposite end of the tank from the filter.
This is just how mine is set up and it works great.

 

[alister]

Cool. This is pretty much what I've been told so far. I thought it would be better to keep the filter in the middle rather than the end, but I guess this would reduce heat on one side of the tank that was opposite of the one heated. Whew...so many options.

 

[SoulFish]

i wouldnt put 1 400 on a 75 i have one 400 on my 55 its enough 7.5 times/hour

 

[Godzilla]

i think it depends on what your keeping, if it were an oscar or large cichlid. Im hooked on the AC filters but other wise ide go with a single 400 and TWO heaters, (2 150's as you already mentioned). I agree w/ soulfish.

 

[alister]

Thanks again for the comments. I think I will go with one 400 in the middle and the two 150 heaters on each end. Do they make powerheads not for use with undergravel filters that simply create current? I'd like to have more flow if I decide to move my columbian sharks in there.

ken

 

[cholula]

how can you put a emperor in the middle of
a 55g tank? it has a support bar in the middle.

I believe that 2 filters on any tank is good....

I have 2 whisper 3's on my 55g, as well as a
canister and an UGF... The UGF is coming out
real soon. Have started setting up 10g tanks
and transfering fish out now. When I set the
tank back up I am thinking of going with a
pair of 400s only..... use the whispers with
smaller tanks and put the canister on my 150g.

Now I have a Pro 60 I can use with my canister
filter... but not sure yet if I want to mess with
that....

At present i have a wet/dry and 2/400s on my
150g catfish tank.... as well as a couple of power
heads with attached filters....them catfish sure
are messy.

~cholula

 

[SoulFish]

400s make a strong current in a 55 gallon on the one side of the tank, if they were on both sides depending on what kinda fish that would be alot of movement, cichlids would prolly be ok with it but im just gonna get an aquaclear 150 with mine as a small backup if hte 400 doesnt come back on after an outage

 

[TomV]

I guess I'm the ODDBALL here!

On my Community, moderately planted 55, I have a Whisper 30-60 (the new Advanced series with the bio sponge as well as the cartridges) and a Bio-Wheel 330. The 330 makes a LOT of current and I am considering slowing it down somewhat. However, the fish in my 55 don't really seem to be bothered by it much.
All the movement AND the 4 inch airstone I have at that end of the tank is pretty much a recreation area for the cories, gouramis, and the Raphael whenever they feel like swimming in the bubbly currents.

Two days ago, the water fogged after I had installed the Bio-wheel 330. I had rinsed the cartridges thoroughly, so it was a mystery to me why it happened. But, today, the tank is clearer than I have ever seen it. The two filters will allow me to keep more fish than the limit and I plan to plant the tank even more to provide them with more hiding places and shelter. Once I figure out who I can borrow a digital camera from, I will get a couple pictures of the tank and fish to post online. Don't count on a picture of the Raph, tho. He only comes out when it's dark!

Sheesh, I am so long winded!!

 

[alister]

Whew..you guys gave me a lot of good info to think about! I got the new 55 gal tank last weekend and set it up last night with gravel and the two large driftwood pieces I finally found at the LFS. My emperor 400, 2 rena 150 heaters, rena 400 air pump, and a 25ft python kit is scheduled to be delivered here tomorrow..woohoo. Add some super-duper plastic plants, some air stones, Bio-Spira and wah-lah -- instant tank. I did decide to stick with the 400 for now and see how it does to my liking. I really would like to get a backup so if need be I'll get a emperor 280 down the road. Now if I could just find some local Endler's Livebearers..

ken

 

[fishlover25]

i would u a 400 only. just one

 

[cholula]

oh man... I would have done you a great
deal on my 5 fake plants... I bought them
when I first started out, but I have all real
plants now..... oh well.

 

[Somonas]

Alister, cool on the new tank, you will be fine with a 400. Good decision on the two heaters, that way if one dies, the tank will not freeze, also if one sticks "on", it shouldn't boil the tank.

Re: powerheads, any one will do but if you want current, why not couple it with a quickfilter attachment like the Hagen ones seen here : http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_Display.cfm?siteid=6&pCatId=4638

And let us know how the BioSpira goes.

 

[cholula]

I have 2 of those 'quickfilter' attachments on 402
powerheads in my 150 gallon catfish tank....
I dont used the micron filter, I wrap some filter media
I get in bulk around it and hold it with rubber bands....
Great for mechnical filtering and puts a nice current
across the top of the tank.

 

[riceracer2002]

dont over do it.too much flitering is bad. i have a fluvel 303 and it's doing a good job on my tank which is kind of small but i believe one good thing of everything is good enuff.dont wanna make ur tank look all crappy now wit the equitment sticking out and shit.

 

[Somonas]

I disagree with that.