brian s.

I see that the Emperor 400 is almost twice the price as the Penguin 330. I
figure that I most likely will get a larger tank in the future so I will buy
the bigger filter for my current 29 US gallon aquarium.

Anyone have any preference to these two filters and what are your
recommendations?

Brian S.

the drunken lord

With the Emperor you can adjust the flow--which you might need to do
with a 29 gallon tank--that is, you might have to turn it down on low.
I don't know what other differences there are. I'd imagine there's
more difference than just that though.

The biowheel is not just a gimmick though. I don't know why anybody
would buy any other kind of power filter.

the drunken lord

You can download the manuals and read all about these filters.

http://www.marineland.com/products/consumer/con_emperor.asp

http://www.marineland.com/products/consumer/con_penguinfilters.asp


You might be just fine like you are--or you can do what that other guy
suggested--but the biowheel is not just some gimmick. For all I know,
it might be overkill, but a tank will most definitely cycle faster in
the beginning with a biowheel. Anything else seems to take FOREVER.

frankrkay

There is not much difference between the two, but for the money, I would not
think twice about getting two Penguins. ........
Frank

brian s.

But two of those sized Penguins most likely would be a very tight fit on the
tank. Wouldn't see why you would want two of them anyways to be honest...

Good thought though.

Brian S.

marazul

They're essentially the same filter, IMO... I run the penguin and have had
no probs..

--
Mar
-----------------------
Total Fishkeeping
http://totalfishkeeping.co.uk/index.php?

The Blood Parrot Forum
http://www.bloodparrot.aquariahobbyist.com/forum/

dick

I have two 330 filters on a 75 gallon tank. If you buy one 330 now
for your 29 gallon tank, you can add two or more for the larger tank
in the future.

You can also consider not buying additional cartridges. I have
removed the filter and charcoal and use only the skeleton of the
cartridges to support a filter pad. I see no reason to pay for the
new cartridges when I can get all the filtering I want from much
cheaper bulk filter pads. Forget charcoal.

****

frankrkay

Did not you say you were going to upgrade to a larger tank sometime down the
road? If not, if it was not for the single bio-wheel on the 170, one of them
for a 29gal. tank would be enough, but - can not beat the surface of two
bio-wheels! ..........Frank

gene heitman

I looked at getting the Pengiun BIO-Wheel 330 and the Emperor 280 for my 30
gallon freshwater tank that is moderately planted. I wanted to replace the
Tetratec PF 150 filter I had in the tank because it became a prolem to keep
the filter adjusted properly for the wave action to occur. I decided to get
the Penguin over the Emperor because it was cheaper and it used the same
filter cartridges as the Penguin BIO-Wheel 170 that I have on another tank.
I have been very happy with my choice. You can adjust the flow on the
Penguin 330 by moving the intake tube up and down.

I highly recommend using Seachem's Matrix biological media
(http://www.seachem.com/products/product_pages/Matrix.html) to fill the
media baskets in your filter and I have recently started using the new
SuperCartridges (http://www.magnavore.com/bioforever.html) in place of the
Marineland 'C' cartridges.

Gene Heitman

brian s.

Thanks ****.

I know that Whisper makes those cartridge kits where you have one frame and
3-6 of the actual fiber. They are cheaper this way.

Brian S.