aquaclear vs marineland

So who has an opinion on this subject ?

 

Opinion on what for what tank, what coral, fowler or reef? There's a lot of criteria that goes with picking one over another.

 

Nether, they are meant for fresh water. Do it right and add a sump

 

That's not necessarily true. Many people have ran saltwater tanks successfully without the use of a sump. A sump really does help out though.

 

A sump does help for sure. My 80g reef that I had was strictly hob equipment. I did have 2 emperor 400 and a CPR bak pak dual pak skimmer and had a very successful set up. You just have more equipment in the tank and hanging on it. I personally like the emperor filters if you are going strictly hob. Just my opinion.

 

I prefer the AquaClear filters as I find them easy to customize.

One thing to consider is whether you are using a glass top on your tank. The Marine Land Penguin filters do not fit behind a standard Versa glass top. Aquaclears do fit.

 

Just remember, they are mechanical filters so they have to be cleaned very often to avoid Nitrate problems.

I know there are nice nanos with HOB filters but they are not ideal for SW.

 

I have to disagree with you on this. ANY form of mechanical filtration whether it be a HOB filter, filter sock in a sump, canister filter, sump full of bioballs, or sponges in any kind media reactor needs to be cleaned frequently to prevent nitrate issues. Some argue that is why you shouldnt have mechanical filtration and should remove fitler socks or fitler floss but then the denitrus just settles under rocks and still breaks down into nitrates.

On of the most important things in our reefs is flow for multiple reasons, one of the most commonly stated is to keep denitrus circulated in the water column until it is caught and removed by our filters. What is the point of keeping it in the water column if you do not have anything to catch it?? A good weekly cleaning of the flossand filter pads is part of my weekly maintenance, change the pads every 2 weeks. Very cheap if you buy large sheets and cut to fit your own rather than buy pre-cut pads.

 

Hob or canister is better than nothing but not the best way. If you want it done right and have a long successful reef, ditch them and use a sump