Bio Wheel or Aquaclear

Ok All I am looking for input here. I am setting up some more tanks and I am curious as who uses which hang on filter. I have always used Aquaclear in the past but I got a biowheel Marineland filter and it seems to work good.
If I get more Marineland filters then I can buy the cartridges in bulk and they are considerably cheaper than the Aquaclear, but I have used and am using Aquaclears to great success. Any suggestions?

I love my Aquaclears. I always found bio wheels noisy and never wanted to mess with the cartridges. I haven't replaced media in my AC's for years. Just rinse at water changes and I'm good to go.


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I have almost finished switch all my tanks to aquaclears

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I'd go with aquaclears. I originally started out using biowheels, and one year later half have broken and the others feel cheap and are very noisy. The flow of water also decreases often, which means I have to clean the whole filter almost every week. I'm slowly replacing all of them with aquaclears, and the aquaclears have better continuous flow, are quieter, and feel better made. I never replace the aquaclear media, and I've only cleaned the filter because of slowed water flow once in 6 months.

Aquaclear all the way!!!

Aquaclears all the way


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ACs are great. Also having good luck with my C4.

While they can get noisey, I have some AquaClears that have been running for almost 20 years.
I recently started changing over some of my tanks to another brand. (not saying) lol. I find them quiet and easy to change material without a mess, and a lot cheaper, but they do not turn over as much water in my opinion.

I have two AC 50's on my heavily stocked 29g. They work great! I use them on grow-out tanks, breeding tanks, and my 75g.


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I have about 15 Aquaclears running right now for the reasons stated above. I have one Marineland running as well (at work) and despite cleaning it often, is noisy and doesn't have nearly the flow rate.

Only drawback I know of is that occasionally, they do not restart as readily as the Marineland filters after a power outage and that they are more prone to overflowing out the back if not leveled properly.

Both issues are easily remedied though with cleaning/servicing the impellers occasionally and setting them up with the little "wheel" that levels them. If you've lost this wheel, a piece of styro or folded paper jammed up between the filter and tank works just fine.

Aquaclear all the way.

This is a frequently debated topic on the various forums on fishkeeping. Like almost everyone here, for an HOB filter, I prefer Aquaclears, although I think the Marineland biowheels are a perfectly fine filter. I just don't like the splashing and the need to replace the media.

Pat Kelly said:

I recently started changing over some of my tanks to another brand. (not saying) lol. I find them quiet and easy to change material without a mess, and a lot cheaper, but they do not turn over as much water in my opinion.

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Come on Pat, share the wisdom!

jonclark96 said:

Come on Pat, share the wisdom!

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Right? lol.

What a cop out!

I am in the minority who prefer Penquin over AC for the following reasons: (1) Penquin restarts more reliably than other brands, which is an important consideration if there is power surges when I am away;(2) I use HOBs for mechanical filtration only, and don't use or care for the negativity of biowheels, (3) penquin box is narrower than AC so I can fit my tank closer to the wall, and (4) Penquin is half as expensive as AC.

IMO, unless you are overstocking fish in a bare bottom tanks, there is plenty of BB in the substrate to provide biological filtration. All you need to provide is good water movement to deliver oxygen to the substrate and any power filter will deliver. The key advantage of AC is its large filter media for biological which I don't need, and the disavantages are wider box, less reliable restart, and less effcicient mechanical due to large foam pore spaces.

AC is equivalent to a hang on back canister, but superior to canister becasue AC is easy to clean, transparent, and open to the atmosphere. I will switch to AC if I run a saltwater tank or keep monster fish in a bare tank that requires extra biological. Presently, I only need good mechanical to keep the water moving and clear of suspended solids.

jonclark96 said:

Come on Pat, share the wisdom!

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Okay, Okay. lol

Aqueon Quiet flow filters.
I like them because they are quiet and the filter material is easy to change.
What I dont like is that they don't have the high flow I need as well as a couple other things.
When I do a water change and go below the intake tube on an AquaClear it keeps running and yes makes a lot of noise. When I fill the tank back up it picks up and takes off again. The quiet flow shuts down when the motor is out of the water. about 3 inches. It also will start grinding its butt off if I don't fill the tank in about 30 minutes. When I do the fish room, it takes me longer to get back to it.
Another thing I don't like is the size of tanks they fit on. I can take the smallest AC and put it on the back of a 40 just for a little extra. I cant do that with the smaller QF. They wont fit on the tank.

Are the Aqueon the ones with the pump on the top of the intake tube inside the tank?

I had one that I ran for a while. Again, I'm not a huge fan of changing filter media, so I shut it down after a bit.

jonclark96 said:

Are the Aqueon the ones with the pump on the top of the intake tube inside the tank?

I had one that I ran for a while. Again, I'm not a huge fan of changing filter media, so I shut it down after a bit.

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Yep thats the one. I like them. Just not my favorite.
I started switching because of price of the AC's. I've been getting the QF's at convention auctions.

I've never used AC filters, but I have Penguins on all 7 of my tanks. I do of coarse have canisters as well for bio, and sand substrate. Has space for extra filters. I know when it's time to rinse the filter when the wheel starts to spin a little slower. I kind of like the sound of the water splashing at the surface, so that's no problem for me.

i had bio wheels... ughhhh

What's wrong with the bio wheels? I like the Penguins too... the Emperors in particular. I have very long days most of the time, and I have found that these are just easier to maintain than the ACs... a lot less messy to clean, so faster to clean. Since I have canisters on all of my tanks, I'm not concerned about it being a bit less flow... I really have them mostly for surface agitation anyway. Like Jamie, I kinda like the water sound in the basement. I kinda find it relaxing. So that's not a problem for me.

-Rich