Equipment Review and Discussion :: filter brand

[mkeric1]

i just got an aquatech filter that came with my 30 gallon tank.
i'm not really happy with it.
what is general opinion on aquatech brand?
if it's not that great which replacement brand you guys recomend?
thanks marko

[marisa]

Don't know much about that brand. A filter that's rated for about 3X a 30-gallon tank would be good, though. For your size tank, I've had good luck with Aquaclears (I'd get the 70 for a 30-gallon, unless you plan on upgrading the tank soon).

[cam722]

I have one of those filters for my baby convicts tank. It's not one I'd ever recommend for turtles. I use Aquaclear filters too and love them. I needed a filter in a hurry and it was the cheapest one I could find locally. I guess I should always keep a spare aquaclear around the house..

[adammaxis]

I suggest Aquaclear filters.

[Buslady]

Aquaclears are best for small baby tanks, and fish. I had 2 power and one internal filters on my 20g L when i t was a baby tank...still got dirty...but it was cleaner than with one filter.

[TinySlider2]

We have two aqua-tech brand filters. The big ones with the double water fall. I think it does good.

[marisa]

I'd use the Aquaclear 110 for up to a 50 gallon for smaller turts. (It can, however, be used as a supplementary filter with a canister on larger tanks). The Aquaclear 50 in a 10-gallon and the 70 in a 20-long are working really well (however, attaching plexi-glass on the lip is good for taming them and making them less noisy).

[Giddy]

What is the GPH on the aquatech? That is the only real way to tell if it is strong enough for the mess volume in your tank. One brand's 30 gallon GPH can be very different than the next brand's GPH.


Isn't Aquatech a walmart brand?

[TinySlider2]

Yes they are a wal-mart brand. Ours are rated for 60 gallon tanks.

[Giddy]

But what is the GPH on the unit? Different brands will vary on the GPH. So a 60 gallon on one brand may only pump 240 while the next brand will pump 400.

[TinySlider2]

I really don't know. But we have 2 on our tank and they do a great job.

[Giddy]

Which model is it?

[TinySlider2]

Model 30-60

[Giddy]

FYI for people, the Aqua techs at Walmart are made by Marineland. They are basically the same as penguins, but do not have the bio wheel.

I am trying to find what the GPH is on some of these and I have a call in with Marineland. Evidently it is kind of hard to find on these models..odd.

From what I can gather, the 30-60 gallon size Aqua tech does around 300 GPH.

I have heard a lot of good things about the Aqua Tech brand though.

Here is a review page of different filters that give the GPH as well.


http://www.theaquarians.net/Filters/power.htm

[Giddy]

I just got off the phone with Marineland. You can basically use the GPH stated on the Penguins and the Aqua techs will be the same.

http://www.marineland.com/products/cons ... ilters.asp

Basically Penguins name their filters after the GPH they have, which is an easy and accurate way to get the right filtration.

The Penguin Minis are the same as the Aquatech 5-15 with 100GPH, actually good for about 10 gallons of water.

The Penguin 125 is the AT 10/20 with 125 GPH, again, good for a 10 gallon tank or a little larger.

P 170 = AT 20/40, good for about 15-20 gallons but this is where it can get ugly, they rate this good for a 50 gallon tank. This is actually no where near what should be in a 50 gallon, even more most fish types.

Then the Penguin 330 = the AT 36, and they rate this for a 70 gallon tank.

So you can see how much the filtration fluctuates. It can get real confusing....sigh