Help me decide...please :-)

[F8VRT-HBY]

Hello everyone,
Well as ushual I was looking at ways to make my tank set-up "better" and easyer to maintain. I currently have a Penguin power filter, which i can say i love the quality, but it is a real PITA to clean on a normal basis. I was thinking about going with an Aqua-clear filter instead.
Do you see any reason why i wouldn't want to switch filters?? Im mainly going after an easyer filter to keep clean. I do three water changes a week so i don't see why i realy need the bio wheels. ( I have 5 small discus in the main tank and 20 cardinal tetras in quarantine rite now)

Also, if i do go for the switch do think the easyest way to cycle the new filter would be to run both filters at the same time for a few weeks and just turn down the water flow on the filters so i don't creat a whirl pool in the tank??

Thank you everyone!! :)

[Eddie]

Yes F, run the both of them for while (3 weeks), together and then drop the penguin. I use the penguins also. I actually have 3 of them and only two tanks. I have one extra that I keep super clean (box and intake tube). I can just swap the wheel and the cartridge over to the cleaned filter when I want. This way I can thuroughly clean the one that isn't being used. I like the wheels quite a bit.

[Cosmo]

I too like the bio wheels, but the AC seems to be the one preferred by most on the forum. Not sure why you think the penguin is a PITA to clean though :confused: Could you fit the sponges from the AC inside your penguin? That would seed them and you wouldn't need to worry about the flow.

If you run them both, and your penguin has double wheels, maybe take one off after two weeks to force the AC to cultivate more colonies.. then wait another week or two to remove the penguin..

Like Bassheads idea though :)

Jim

[Eddie]

Also F,
What type of penguin do you have? I use 170's and I'm using a super cartridge in the slot where the carbon cartridge is supposed to go. The super cartridge has a slot inside for a carbon foam block but I don't use it. I actually have a bio bag filled with efisubstrate tucked into the super cartridge slot. I then have a filter max prefilter on the intake tube. This filter set-up is working super good and the bio wheel is just an addition. :)

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=11351&Ntt=super%20cartridge&Ntk=All&Ntx=mode+matchallpartial&Np=1&N=2004&Nty=1

[F8VRT-HBY]

I might just be lazy but cleaning the spray bars on the penguin and the fact that useing media can have trade offs, its easyer to use the "media cartridge" but the cartridge allows some little peices of peat to get in the tank, not a big deal, but im kinda picky. The AC uses media bags which are tidey but can be a pain to refill some times.
I have a small AC on my quarantine tank and i can clean it with my eyes closed if i have to and i kinda like that. I dunno, ill prob go witht he AC for now.
I have the new super cartridge on order anyways, just in case i miss my penguin too much :)

Im fickle with my babies can you tell, mabey its just the fact that i like buying em new stuff :o

[Cosmo]

you can also get cell pore bio media that are shaped to fit in the cartridge slots of both the AC's and the Penguins. I have one in the emperor I have on my hospital tank and it works great

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=4169&Ntt=cell%20pore%20media&Ntk=All&Ntx=mode+matchallpartial&Np=1&N=2004&Nty=1

You have a point on the spary bars, but I don't remember them getting so dirty they needed cleaning that often. In the end though, if you prefer the AC's you should probably go with an AC..

Jim

[Cosmo]

Basshead, I'm thinking your super cartridge in the first slot to catch the large debris, and the cell pore media in the second slot of the emperor would make one heck of a combo.. think I'll pick one up.. tks :)

Jim

[Eddie]

That would be a good idea Cosmo but the penguin 170 only has one slot and I have the super cartridge in it. I have the filter max pre-filter catching all the large debreis so it doesn't collect in the box and foul my water. The pre-filter is rinsed daily when I do my WC's. ;)