finding “the best” for your purpose in equipment…

[Magnum Man]

1st off, I realize all our equipment needs are different… I’ll start, with filters… I like a hang on back or two or three on each tank, depending on the circumstances of the tank, and I power water change, so I like a self starting filter, so I can draw down the water, on most tanks 8 to 10 inches, and with more than a dozen tanks, that means a lot of filters… I started with the Tidal 75’s, and I think they work great for me… however that filter seems to be their best , perhaps it was their 1st, as the size smaller and the size larger, while they both work, don’t seem to excel like the 75 size… I’d be willing to bet the larger one, while being nearly twice the size, doesn’t actually flow anymore water than the 75, half it’s size…

I again, I wouldn’t be surprised if most things aren’t similar, where the other size or variety of offerings of other companies don’t perform as good, as the item that the company started with… I’m assuming Aquaclear falls into the same bracket, and while they have a big gang of fan boys, in the 5-6 I tried, I found them junk, weather they were cheapened from what made them famous, or they switched manufacturing and the new team is less skillful at assembly, or the size I chose, was junk from the start… if I had started buying the Tidal 150’s, instead of the 75’s, I’d likely not own 20 of them, and may still be looking for a “best” filter for me…

Heaters… I’ve also tried several brands, but they seem to be a revolving door, only lasting a year or a little more on average, at least the ones I’ve had, generally don’t stick on, and overheat… I’ve only had one little one do that ( which was harder to actually diagnose, as the temp just slowly crept up ) the controllers seem to be most of the problem, as they seem to fail before the heating element… I know this is a problem for other hobbyists, as I’ve seen several posting about using external controllers… it’s a shame the manufacturers can’t seem to make them reliable enough that we don’t need external controllers, when they include one with the heater…

Lighting is also a sore spot for me… I’ve now gone away from aquarium specific lights all together… the LED’s seem to last reasonably but again, the controllers only a year or so, and I’ve tried a half dozen different brands… being integrated is not a good thing for the lights… as they have special connectors, and when the controller fails the light is useless, by switching to stand alone water proof LED fixtures ( the ones I’m using are advertised for use in wet environments like car washes ) and using a standard timer of your choice, the lights now outlast the aquarium lights, by many years, however you can’t adjust the spectrum as much, but I almost never did that, and the lights are available in different spectrums, to begin with, if you know what you like or need…

in general, I’ve not been happy with aquarium equipment manufacturers, I can’t even imagine if tanks sprung a leak, and needed replacement as often as this other equipment fails… I would have been out of the hobby years ago…

sorry I’m not a blogger, where I could spew my experience, and I don’t keep exact records as to brands purchased and a models and dates they were purchased, along with failure dates…

thoughts???

 

[gwand]

Like you I’m sold on Tidal filters for my 20 gallon and larger tanks. But it’s interesting that my 5 gallon tanks (two are active) are kits that came with HOB filters and heaters. Both 5 gallon set ups are four years old and the filter motors and heaters still work. For my larger tanks I’m using Olushy heaters. They are inexpensive but the four that are active are over a year old and still operational.

 

[gwand]

Addendum. But I must say I’m paranoid that one day my heaters will malfunction when I’m out of town and I will come home to fish stew.

 

[Magnum Man]

if I’m correct, the idea behind independent controllers, is the heater controller is set just a few degrees higher than the independent controller, so in theory, if the independent controller should fail, in the on position, the heater controller should shut it off, if it’s still working… 2 is better than one, but since the independent controllers seem to be thought of as more reliable, maybe… but I would suspect either could fail, and the other not being used, could fail just the same???

I mount my controllers, that all monitor tank temperatures, in conspicuous places, so I would hopefully notice the excess temp, when doing every other day chores, and if we have consistent temperatures where the tank is at, not having too big of heater could allow a little time before fish stew time…

but I also have tanks in an unheated room, so the tanks act as radiant heaters… because it could freeze in that room during the winter, the heaters are bigger, and 2 per tank, but these the controllers are right in may face, so I can monitor them easily, and do, each time I look at those tanks…

 

[bgarthe]

I'm happy to say that I have had much better experiences with my equipment. I have used 10 Fluval AC 110, 70, 50, 20 HOBs wo incident on my 8 tanks for years, Finnex HMX Titanium Heaters for years and switched last year to AquaSky 3.0 LEDs that can adjust lighting spectrum and intensity. I did try the Tidals and they worked fine, but had slightly less media capacity and had too much presence in the tank proper for my liking whereas the ACs had a mere tube hanging down in the tank.
The occasional issue with AC HOBs not starting back up after power outages was fixed (for me) my having my tank water level near the very top (about an inch from top). And….Fluval did a redesign last year or so with an angled intake tube which is supposed to also help the startup.

One thought….I’m guessing that many people who have HOB impeller issues don’t use a prefilter sponge on the intake tube.

 

[Magnum Man]

“my” trouble was during water changes, the AC’s stopped when the water level got 8-10 inches down, and did not restart, when filled… I pump water both in and out, and can do my one group of 8 larger tanks, in 15 minutes, with the Tidal filters, I had to add much more time to water changes having to futz with restarting each filter, during water changes, with the AC’s

as a note, the bulk of my tanks are open topped, with the lights mounted 16-20 inches above the tanks , with plants growing in between, and all the controllers mounted away from the open top of the tanks… the AquaSky, I tried lasted maybe one year..

 

[GaryE]

I like my Aquaclears for their longevity and the ease with which they can be improved. I haven't used tidal HOBs, but they look good. Otherwise, I buy cheap and generally get pleasant surprises. Price decides.

My fluval lights are excellent. I used to do freelaance work for fluval, which made them affordable.

For heaters, it seems 6 or one, half a dozen of the other. I suspect most aquarium equipment manufacturers share Chinese manufacturing facilities. I have zero inside knowledge of which ones, but some of the best equipment I've had over the years has been pretty well unbranded store imported stuff.

 

[bgarthe]

on the AquaSky lights. I really like the phone ap that they use to adjust, but time will tell. So far so good. My oldest one is almost two years old.

With my ACs, I use intake tube extensions allowing for both the debris collection into the filter to be closer to the bottom of the tank and for me to do 50% WCs wo losing the HOB operation or having to stop them and refill/restart.

My tanks are all glass top covered with the LED strips suspended 4” above the glass tops.

 

[Back in the fold]

I like to keep it simple . Air driven filters because I like the bubbles and Eheim Jager heaters . Lighting I do not care about because I have few plants and prefer room light and natural sunlight that dribbles in . With electricity rates climbing I’m always on the look out for economical ways to do this hobby .

 

[Uberhoust]

Over the years I have had mostly good luck with my equipment. I have a number of AC hob filters that all work well, (other than restarting after dropping the water level), and a couple of Fluval Canisters that I use exclusively now. I have a mix of older Jager heaters I still sometimes use but currently using a Fluval E series for my current tank that works well for a number of years. Lighting has been working well too, I have a few Nicrew lights with Nicrew ramp timers which always seem to work. Over the last 7 or 8 years I haven't had any real issues with any of my gear except a very cheap heater from petsmart that started leaking. Currently I only have one tank setup, but I have had up to 6 running in the past few years. Looking for a big piece of wood to knock on now.