Reddit mentions of Marineland Emperor 400 Pro Series Bio-wheel Power Filter - Up to 80 gallon, Rite Size "E"

I’m sorry to say the above comments are right. Common goldfish get over 1 foot in length and are incredibly messy fish. They really belong in a pond, but you could theoretically keep one in 75 gallon (but a 90 gallon is the same footprint with a little more height, offering more water and therefore easier to keep clean). Really, they should have a tank that is at least 6 foot long and 18 inches wide, but a 75 (4 feet and 18 inches wide) would be the bare minimum. Anything narrower and the fish will have trouble turning around as goldfish get over 12-14 inches long if they are healthy. They will stay smaller if their growth is stunted, but this is extremely unhealthy for them and results in a much shorter lifespan. With a 75 or 90 gallon, be prepared to do 30-50% waterchanges every week (which should be pretty easy with a system like the python. You won’t need a heater, but you will need a great filter. I recommend a canister filter, but if that is out of your price range two of these or better yet two of these will work well. Goldfish are plant eaters so you won’t have to worry about plants, so you can get whatever light you like/what’s cheapest. Big tanks are expensive, but you can often find them used along with the stands (which saves a ton of money). You can also get a 75 gallon half off from Petco during the dollar-per-gallon sale, and then build your own stand (tons of plans online). For substrate, I would buy pool filter sand (very cheap and great for goldfish, it can’t get stuck in their mouths like gravel and it looks awesome, it’s easy to keep clean too). There are a lot of ways to cut costs, especially with a goldfish tank that doesn’t need a filter or fancy light. Feel free to ask any questions, and please do some research on the nitrogen cycle (introduction ) it’s the most important thing you can possibly learn as a new fishkeeper! You will need a test kit too, to test your water. Don’t bother with test strips as they are very inaccurate, go ahead and get this. If you want to cycle the tank quickly and without a hassle, this is the only one that really works. Welcome to the wonderful world of fishkeeping! Best of luck with your pet! Goldfish are lots of fun.


Edit: petsmart has a 75 gallon tank with stand, lid, and light for half off today for Black Friday (at $249 a screaming deal for a brand new tank!!) if you are interested.

Mostly if there is a space for custom media.

• Seachem Tidal: new kind of power filter, looks like water flow adjustment has wider range, built in surface skimmer, in tank motor (should heat water in the summer, but will auto prime after power outage), clip as heater holder, insert for custom media, similar to AquaClear.
  
  
• Bio wheel filters (like Penguin, Emperor) have, well, bio wheels, splashing sound, need to replace them from time to time, they could stuck and stop rotating, this is rather drawback for me. Cartridge and not much space for custom filter media.
  
  
• Tetra Whisper power filters: cartridges, not much space for custom media, but still possible, motor is outside (no heating water in the summer), but if water level drops at power outage, you might need to add water to the filter to increase level and start it working. I didn't have them, but like them (on photo) more than Emperor I had.
  
  
• Aqueon: motor is inside tank, more space for custom media (have smallest version of it), hate "balcony" at the time of reassembling filter after cleaning, but could live with it.
  
  Reliability was the same for me (Emperor, AquaClear, Marina S10 - S20, Aqueon, smallest old Whisper HOB, small Biomaxx-like HOBs).

Here is the mobile version of your link

I'm running 2 Emperor 400's on mine with zero problems.
http://www.amazon.com/Emperor-Series-Bio-wheel-Power-Filter/dp/B000HHOI8G

He has a 55 gallon long with a fairly high waterlevel 3/4 tank filled. The filtration has been giving me some trouble lately -- it's an emperor 400 w/ biowheel (the impeller started giving me trouble last wednesday, only moving a fraction of the water it was before, but that doesn't fit the timeline of the issue). Foam basking dock, water temp is fluctuating between 76 - 79 in the day to night cycle.

I use the big rubbermaid basket in the picture as a feeding tub, filled with aquarium water.

His diet before I got him was 1-2 shrimp and about a tablespoon of turtlefood 5 times a week. That seemed like a lot to me.

I'm cutting that way back to a teaspoon of turtlefood every 4 days with treats once a week. I leave dried cranberries in his main tank for 2 days at a time, but that's part of his diet inspection. And I plan on doing a once a week calcium supplement, since this guy seems to be packing on 5-15% more new grown than what the literature says I should be expecting.

I'm considering switching him to goldfish since I'm so worried about his shell growth, but realistically I won't be able to tolerate that for more than a few months. Messy eaters.

The aquarium lights are special but I don't know their spec. Nor do I know the spec of the heating lamp. I know the previous owner was well aware of the lighting requirements, I'll try to get that info as soon as possible.

Thank you so much for this info! I actually looked into the aqua clear 50's and also 70's. Another user, MoistDiapers mentioned that I could use 2 or just 1 powerful filter, so I was thinking about using just one, the Marineland emperor 400, what do you think about that?

EDIT: This is the filter I read many good reviews about, along with the 50's that you recommended.

The dimensions of most filters can be [found] (http://www.amazon.com/Emperor-Series-Bio-wheel-Power-Filter/dp/B000HHOI8G) on their Amazon page for future reference!

I haven't given that much thought. I would like to spend under 200 bucks if I can (on the stand only). I live in a very rural area so I'm limited to amazon or building something myself. I assumed 50 bucks for a filter and I wasn't sure what the lighting would run, though.


Probably one of these two.

*https://www.amazon.com/Aqueon-06079-QuietFlow-Filter-400-GPH/dp/B004GX47TW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1475069578&sr=8-1&keywords=75+gallon+filter

https://www.amazon.com/Marineland-Emperor-Bio-wheel-Power-Filter/dp/B000HHOI8G/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1475069578&sr=8-3&keywords=75+gallon+filter

Do you have a recommendation? I need to buy one. That and a hood. I was looking at this even if I have only one fish.

edit: screwed up the link. It's late.

So this is what i have gathered so far if you don't mind double checking for me.



Light



Tank



Filter (the 280)



On a sidenote i realize that the filter is a little big and the light may be overkill for this tank but i also don't plan on giving up at this and plan on moving up to a bigger tank down the road.