# Deciding On Filters



## jon. o (Sep 30, 2010)

Hi

I am interested in owning piranhas. I am trying to find a good filter, and I was wondering if 2 Emperor 400 bio wheel power filters be good for a 75 gallon tank. Since I am new to this I would also know how many Red Belly Piranhas I could fit in it. The Dimensions of the tank are 48 1/2"L x 18 1/2"W x 21 1/8"H.

Jon


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## FEEFA (Nov 19, 2007)

Hello Jon and welcome to the site.

Do you have any filters yet or are you starting from scratch?
Your 75gal is good for 4-6reds max and will require at least 5x turnover filtration.
If you dont have anyfilters yet I would look into a canister filter or 2.
Personally I would run atleast 2 eheim 2217's or one fluval fx5.
You could also run a canister Hob combo which also works well, either an emp 400 combined with a 2217 or ac110 with it.
Just remember that with these fish more is always better so if you can try and shoot for 10x turnover rate.


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## jon. o (Sep 30, 2010)

Thanks!


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## jayscollision (Apr 11, 2010)

Fluval FX5, There is no substitute.


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## CLUSTER ONE (Aug 2, 2006)

id do somethign like an eheim 2217 and mayby a hob for good measure. A fx5 would be good if you wanted to upgrade tanks and not have to upgrade filters much but its not needed on a 75g tank


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## Soul Assassin (Nov 21, 2006)

****** said:


> Hello Jon and welcome to the site.
> 
> Do you have any filters yet or are you starting from scratch?
> Your 75gal is good for 4-6reds max and will require at least 5x turnover filtration.
> ...










and


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## jayscollision (Apr 11, 2010)

Yeah this makes sense, lmao."id do somethign like an eheim 2217 and mayby a hob for good measure". Instead of running one filter that would kill 4 eheim 2217's . GL bud. Yeah why not hang hobs all over your tank and add some flashing lights too, christmas is coming anyway. I have 7 of the messiest 8" reds you have ever seen banging out babies every week, plus 2 13" plecos and I clean my fx5 every 4 to 6 weeks and my water is crystal. Maybe I'm wrong but I thought filtration was key to maintaining a clean healthy environment for your fish, FX5 is 2 much you wouldn't want something that does too good of a job lol.


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## jon. o (Sep 30, 2010)

Hi

I am only a 15 year old student with a part time job so I don't have tons of money. Could an AC 110 and an Emperor 400 due until I can upgrade to an eheim 2217? It would only take about a month to a month and a half before I could buy the eheim 2217. Once I did acquire a eheim 2217 would you recommend running it and the AC 110 and the Emperor 400 at the same time? The last thing I would like to know is if its expensive to run a eheim 2217 once I have it?

Jon


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## jon. o (Sep 30, 2010)

Can anyone recommend a heater for a 75 gallon tank?


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## CLUSTER ONE (Aug 2, 2006)

jayscollision said:


> Yeah this makes sense, lmao."id do somethign like an eheim 2217 and mayby a hob for good measure". Instead of running one filter that would kill 4 eheim 2217's . GL bud. Yeah why not hang hobs all over your tank and add some flashing lights too, christmas is coming anyway. I have 7 of the messiest 8" reds you have ever seen banging out babies every week, plus 2 13" plecos and I clean my fx5 every 4 to 6 weeks and my water is crystal. Maybe I'm wrong but I thought filtration was key to maintaining a clean healthy environment for your fish, FX5 is 2 much you wouldn't want something that does too good of a job lol. [/color]


Not everybody wants to shell out 300$ plus for a filter. Its also a commonly accepted practice to run a cannister hob combo. Cannisters are good for bio HOB are good for mech. Sure he could also go all out and get a sump/ wetdry but is it needed? No. Will it work? Yes and it would be great but from experience ive seen most new comers to the hobby dont want to drop a ton of money. Filtration is the key, more is better but for a 75g i dont think a fx5 is nessisary as there are other filters that will do the job fine that are cheaper. If the op wants to upgrade to a larger tank id say go with the fx5, but for a 75g tank its not that hard to filter with a smaller cannister

Once you get a cannister i would keep the ac110 but take off the emp 400 (personally i prefer ac over emp but i know of others that are the opposite). If you decide to spend the cash on a fx5 you could take off both or mayby just leave one for current/ surface adjitation.
other then electricity it shouldnt cost really anything to run any cannister filters. Alot come with all the media you need (though some won't-rena xp series for example doesnt come with bio media) and the bio media and mech media can be reused after periodic cleaning (mech media not including fine filter floss media). You will want to replace chemical media every few months if you decide to use it. Personally i dont run chem media and i probably havnt bought anything new for my filters for a long time.

you should clean canister filters every couple months


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## jon. o (Sep 30, 2010)

Thank you!


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## PiranhaMike661 (Jul 9, 2010)

jon. o said:


> Hi
> 
> I am only a 15 year old student with a part time job so I don't have tons of money. Could an AC 110 and an Emperor 400 due until I can upgrade to an eheim 2217? It would only take about a month to a month and a half before I could buy the eheim 2217. Once I did acquire a eheim 2217 would you recommend running it and the AC 110 and the Emperor 400 at the same time? The last thing I would like to know is if its expensive to run a eheim 2217 once I have it?
> 
> Jon


Check craigslist for a filter...you can find great deals, and as far as electricy usage goes...let your parents worry about it, they get the bill.


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## RuthlessCarnage (Apr 1, 2010)

jayscollision said:


> id do somethign like an eheim 2217 and mayby a hob for good measure. A fx5 would be good if you wanted to upgrade tanks and not have to upgrade filters much but its not needed on a 75g tank


I agree, I would of suggested an eheim too. FX-5's filters up to 400 gallons of water and would only be ideal for big tanks i.e. 180 gallons or more.


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## Ja'eh (Jan 8, 2007)

CLUSTER ONE said:


> id do somethign like an eheim 2217 and mayby a hob for good measure. A fx5 would be good if you wanted to upgrade tanks and not have to upgrade filters much but its not needed on a 75g tank


Eheim 2217 with an AC110 would be a home run combo.


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## CLUSTER ONE (Aug 2, 2006)

Also your emp ac110 combo if you have it already would be good for a bit when the p's are small. If you wanted to go fx5 you could just go straight to it, but if you wanted a smaller cannister and mayby hob combo you could get one then get the other later as small p's dont make that much of a mess in a large tank. Fx5, emp400 ,ac110 and eheim 2217 are all often found on craigslist or kijiji for cheap if you want to save some cash on used. Often times you can find filters under 6-12 months old for sale.


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## Soul Assassin (Nov 21, 2006)

jayscollision said:


> Yeah this makes sense, lmao."id do somethign like an eheim 2217 and mayby a hob for good measure". Instead of running one filter that would kill 4 eheim 2217's . GL bud. Yeah why not hang hobs all over your tank and add some flashing lights too, christmas is coming anyway. I have 7 of the messiest 8" reds you have ever seen banging out babies every week, plus 2 13" plecos and I clean my fx5 every 4 to 6 weeks and my water is crystal. Maybe I'm wrong but I thought filtration was key to maintaining a clean healthy environment for your fish, FX5 is 2 much you wouldn't want something that does too good of a job lol.


LMAO, one fx5 would kill four ehiem 2217s







maybe in your dreams. fx5s are great for mech, but they can only support 1.5g of bio which is a joke on a heavily stocked tank.

ONe ehiem 2262 supports 4.5g of bio which is equivalent to 3 fx5s, not to mention the proven reliability of eheim and the power consumption/clutter of hoses of one vs. three


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## wisco_pygo (Dec 9, 2009)

Larry Dallas said:


> id do somethign like an eheim 2217 and mayby a hob for good measure. A fx5 would be good if you wanted to upgrade tanks and not have to upgrade filters much but its not needed on a 75g tank


Eheim 2217 with an AC110 would be a home run combo.








[/quote]










some can say what they want about the fx5, it is a good filter, but runs on a microchip, which some do not like, and its about $100 more than the eheim 2217. jon says he's talking with his parents about getting into the hobby, which could mean there are budget restraints. eheim's are the most reliable, efficient, and simple canister filters, imo. adding AC110 (Hang On Back) filter will ensure your water will be spotless, bc you'll have great mechanical and bio-filtration.


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## Sanjo Eel (Aug 21, 2008)

Stay away from the emperors imo. If you do go with an emperor plan on adding some more biomedia because the biowheel is a joke, and recycling your own filter cartridges cause marineland will suck you dry for replacements.
And avoid penn-plax heaters and cascade filters. 
I like the AC 110 for HOB. 
For a cheap canister, my SunSun 304b is still humming along just fine. 
Basically you want a filter combo that filters 8-10X your tank volume per hour.
75 gallon tank = 750 gph worth of filtration.


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## marco (Jan 2, 2003)

Larry Dallas said:


> id do somethign like an eheim 2217 and mayby a hob for good measure. A fx5 would be good if you wanted to upgrade tanks and not have to upgrade filters much but its not needed on a 75g tank


Eheim 2217 with an AC110 would be a home run combo.








[/quote]

i cant agree more. emp 400 filters are the worst and you just cant compare them to the aquaclear 110. definatly go with the aquaclear over emp anyday


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## D.D.Denham (Aug 13, 2007)

For a heater, I would recommend a Rena SmartHeater - they are unbreakable, which is a HUGE plus when it comes to skittish, darting pygos! 
As for filtration, I would've recommended Eheim - but if you are budget conscious, I would recommend you look into a Rena xP3/xP4. If you go with a Rena SmartHeater you can hook it into the intake on your Rena xP3/xP4, it reduces the amount of tubes (translate, things for your fish to smack their heads on) in your aquarium - and if you paint the back of your aquarium black, you will barely see the SmartHeater against the background.
Here is some more info for your consideration...
Rena xP4
...be sure to watch the video on the link at the bottom!


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