Monday, July 1, 2013

Marineland Penguin Power Filter

Marineland Penguin Power Filter, 50 to 70-Gallon, 350 GPHDid my research and people couldnt tell the difference from the Emperor 400. So i bought this since it's price tag was way cheaper than the 400. Ive been running this for about 2 months on my 75 gallon tank. I have an Oscar and they're messy eaters and leave particles in the water from some certain types of foods. The particles dissapear after 20 minutes due to the power filter's water gallon suction ratio. I completely love how silent it is. You need to fill the tank up to at least the waterfall lips of the filter so you wont hear the water splashing. Good good stuff here.

I have a 55 gallon community tank with angels, pleco's, clown loaches, and cory cats. Some messy fish, but this filter carries the load. My only recommendation is to clean the intake tube with each water change. It gets pretty gunked up, very easily.

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I think this is an ok filter, it definitely does its job of providing chemical and mechanical filtration, but heres a tip.

I do ALOT of work with fish tanks and supplies. One thing I have noticed from cleaning, fixing and modifying aquarium supplies is that in the last few years, maybe a little longer, marineland has started using cheaper parts.

I have an older model of this filter and it has adjustable flow and a bit better construction. I liked it, so I bought a new one. The newer one is noticeably cheaper in construction and components, no flow control knob and after four months it periodically grinds and it is LOUD! I hear it across my decent sized home.

So bottom line, it does its job as a filter, and in my opinion its a great filter. Just has a few things it could improve on.

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I have had my Penguin 200 with the bio-wheel for about a month now. Before I bought it, I did some research and read the reviews about this particular model. I saw all the bad press people were giving it about it's "restart problems" and "Bad Connections" etc. etc. and I have to say, the only problem with the P-200 are the short-bus riders who don't have their water ALL THE WAY UP TO THE BOTTOM OF THE OUTPUT AREA.

5*s*t*a*r*s, the bio-wheel is super, it isn't noisy (you know it's on, but it doesn't stop you from reading a book), and my fish have personally told me that they love it. My fish talk to me.

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The best I have ever used . I have two 30gl. African Cichlid set-ups that I keep over crowded to cut down on the fighting for territory and a 30 gal . community tank and these filters do a great job with the bio-load of each . The bio-wheels do a great job of polishing the water , and a great place to grow good bacteria, this is why they slow down after they been used for awhile , the Bio-wheels build up bacteria and muck , simply rinse them off in dechlorinated water that is the same temp. as your tank water so you do not kill off the bacteria and they will continue to serve you well . Easy to change filters , which I change only one at a time so as not to remove all the bacteria in my filters . And even after my own laziness of going weeks without cleaning it , it will run smooth and whisper quiet . I have never had a problem with noise on any of my 3 Penguin 350 filters , after a water change or power outage just a little shot of water in it to prime it and it starts right up just as quiet as before , and sometimes that is not even needed as the water that was left in it will prime it for me . I will never use any other filter .

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Aquatop Aquarium Glass Submersible Heater, 300-Watt

Aquatop Aquarium Glass Submersible Heater, 300-WattI purchased this heater for my 65 gallon aquarium of mixed tetras and angelfish. Easy to set and read dial, easily seen light when the heater is on. Very happy with this item as it is replacing a much harder to use Fluval heater.

This is a great heater at an affordable price. The 300 watt has no trouble keeping my 65 gallon aquarium at a constant temperature. I highly recommend.

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This heater keeps water temp at a very constant temp. It has a fast recovery after water changes. i would recommend this product.

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it work very well, easy to use very cheap if you have a large fish tank not notice much, perfect

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Heater works fine. Temperature scale not to accurate.

Suction cups come off glass too easily. Does the job just fine.

Komodo Kricket Keeper

Lee's Kricket Keeper, SmallI have this cricket keeper, have used it for years and love it! I didn't have crickets escaping at first, so when it first happened I thought that they had escaped between the plastic bag and the keeper itself. I finally realized that some were escaping through the tiny square hole just above each of the tubes. The holes are so small that you wouldn't think the crickets could squeeze through, but they do. I solved the problem by putting a small piece of scotch tape over each one of these small holes. It doesn't hurt the crickets at all; as a matter of fact, they now last longer, due to the fact that none are escaping! There are apparently no toxic fumes from the tape, they still have plenty of air, etc., etc. This is one of the most useful "critter" keepers I have ever had.

I've owned several cricket-keeping devices and to date this is my favorite. Although I have several reptiles ranging from Leopard Geckos to a Box Turtle, I don't buy very many crickets. This is a great product for keeping 1-2 dozen medium or large crickets. So if you're feeding 6 or 7 reptiles, this is NOT for you!

The problem: If I put any more than 1 or 2 dozen in, they escape. I don't know how, but I don't have a problem with "escapees" if I keep less than 2 dozen. I still deal with the occasional escape artist though, but consider the fact that you are keeping insects in your house and there are bound to be at least a few running loose in your house anyway.

The Kricket Keeper is easy to clean (especially when you line it with a small clear plastic bag), easy to access for feeding/watering, and easy to get the crickets out with the wand. A great "starter" cricket housing item, or for those of us who use very few crickets and only feed them as a treat!

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I have various sizes of Lee's Cricket Keeper's and they don't even come close to the quality of the Exo Terra Cricket Pen's

Both have the same Removable ventilated lid, however Lee's (feeder) tubes slide into the lid rather then the body of the Keeper like Exo's does. A BIG minus.

Both have "Cricket dispensers" Lee's is round while Exo's is square, no biggie.

Here are the BIG differences:

Lee's has these "Lame" round flaps that (suppose) to cover the tube opening when pulled out and almost all of the time they (flaps) fall off!

The Exo Terra Cricket Pen has a drop down "Flapper door" built into the the inside of the pen's sides (not the lid) that will never fail.

Simply slide the tube out of the Exo Terra Cricket Pen and the flapper drops down automatically to prevent escapes and easily reopens when the tubes are reinserted.

The Exo Includes a cricket food tray and water bowl tray with tapered steps (that includes a sponge to retain water) held in place by the (inserted) square tubes that keep the trays from sliding around. They can easily be removed for refilling and cleaning. A very nice touch!

At the time of this review both are eligible for "Prime" with the Exo costing ONLY 22 cents more!

Plus the Exo has a nice shinny Black cover.

I removed the sponge from the water tray and fill it with Fluker's Cricket Quencher

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I bought this item to house my crickets for my hungry beardies and panther chameleon. Unfortunately though crickets CAN and DO escape from this item. My son was wondering what was crawling on him in the middle of the night and we discovered crickets all over his room. I tried placing the cricket keeper in the bathtub and sure enough when I returned later there were crickets in the tub that had escaped (and yes the lid was snapped tight and the two tubes had their covers on them). Now I have to keep the keeper tied up in plastic bags when crickets are inside until I can find another cricket keeper. So unless you want to be a Kricket Wrangler .....

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I bought the Kricket Keeper to hold crickets for a juvenile leopard gecko. It did a fair job. I had read about the escapes, we might have had one small cricket escape through the small square holes above the tubes, but we're not sure. Once the gecko grew a bit and could eat the larger crickets that was not a problem anymore.

The part I'm unhappy with is that the clear plastic covers used to cap the black tubes break relatively quickly. We would take the caps off to clean the tubes when we cleaned the keeper. After a few cleaning cycles the caps would crack in half. They give you a few extra caps to use as "dishes", but instead I just used them as replacements as the caps broke. Eventually we just used clear plastic wrap and rubber bands to cover the tubes. The Kricket keeper once fell from the chest of drawers it was on and the clear plastic container cracked (no crickets were in it at the time, we had just finished feeding the last ones to the gecko). The good news is that the container it is a standard size, so I was able to buy a replacement base for a small amount of money.

As the gecko grew we needed a larger keeper to reduce the number of trips to the store. We picked up the Exo Terra cricket pen, Large. I couldn't find it on Amazon, so I ordered it from another online retailer. That one works better, no small hole above the tube to escape from, and the caps are a more flexible plastic which have not broken yet (much longer that it took the Lee's caps to break). I'm not sure how Lee's Kricket Keeper was able to become so ubiquitous (petsmart, petco, amazon), the Exo terro cricket pens are better products. I just wish it were easier to find them. But I guess is doesn't matter for us as we have all the cricket holding pens we need for now.

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Perfecto Full Recessed Hoods 30in Black

Perfecto Full Recessed Hoods 30in Black
  • Fixture has a 90 day warranty against defects in materials and workmanship.
  • Hood is 29.25" l x 11.25" w x 3" high.

The hood fit perfectly, included the light and looks great. I am glad I did not spend much more for it at a local pet store. Thank you!

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I had previously bought a Marineland LED hood for my 29 gallon aquarium, it looked pretty but had very flimsy hinges which broke after six months rendering the hood useless as it fell off every time I tried to raise it to do anything. Since I really needed a hood to keep my aquatic turtles in, I resigned to having to go back to a conventional fluorescent unit to replace the broken LED hood. I read the other reviews here for this unit and they are accurate. This hood is very well made, fit my tank perfectly. I was a little concerned with having to cut out the plastic in the back to fit my filter tubing, heater, etc. but after carefully measuring it was easy to do with almost no gap space, so not even a small crab would be able to get out now. I am very happy with this purchase. If Perfecto ever makes the same hood with an LED I will be their first customer.

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5 stars! This hood is exactly like the 29 gallon hood it replaced. That hood was the original one from that "save money. live better" store.

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It's nice. It does what it says it does. I especially like the no drip feature. I'm thinking of upgrading the lights and don't know how hard that would be if it's even possible.

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The other reviews I thought sounded planted, but they are actually true. This is a very nice feeling hood. It just feels well made! I definitely recommend it. It fits perfectly on top of my 29 gallon tank. The only thing I guess I can say that wasn't the best was the difficulty I had in removing the tabs on the back to make space for the filter, air hoses, etc. I ended up having to use tin snips to cut the plastic tabs out of the way. But if anything, maybe that's just a testament to its solid construction!

Ultralife Reef Products, Red Slime Stain Remover, .71 Ounce

Ultralife Reef Products, Red Slime Stain Remover, .71 OunceI had my nano cube up and running for about 6 weeks before I got hit with a red slime outbreak. Still not sure exactly what caused it as my water flow/quality was good and I wasn't overfeeding because all I had were some cleaner snails and hermit crabs in there, but regardless, when the outbreak hit i went to my local fish store to search for a cure. It's only been 12 hours since I applied the dose but almost all of the red slime has been killed so far. The guy at my fish store said it would take 24-48 hours to completely do the job. But, this same sized vial cost $17.99 at my local fish store, so I would highly recommend purchasing it at Amazon at this low price if you can.

I was skeptical about ordering this product. I've used the competitor's chemical with little success. The redslime algae would return with a vengeance! I was constantly fighting it. I read the reviews about RedSlime Remover and decided to give it a try! After the first treatment I could see good results, but was able to retreat after 48 hours. I did a second treatment and much to my surprise the red slime has vanished!!! AND no water changes necessary!!! Kept my carbon in the filter and the protein skimmer going! I highly recommend this product!!!

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I have been trying to manage red cyanobacteria in my 26 gal reef tank for months with no success. Even after a thorough cleaning and water change, I would have red slime on my live sand and live rock again within 24 hours. After adding this product the first time, I saw no immediate results. I cleaned the algae and added a second dose 48 hours later (per the instructions), and have not had any red slime since. My protein skimmer is on a timer and runs at night (due to the noise it makes in the living area of our home), but I never had to turn it off. There has been no negative impact to my water quality or the health of my fish. I am extremely pleased with this product.

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I wanted Red Slime remover, and was misled by box as this is Red Slime stain remover? Don't know if there's a difference as it seems to have worked regardless.

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if you have red slime and can seem to get rid of it, This is the Holy Grail. 3 days and my red slime problems were gone. although it took 2 weeks for my protien skimmer to go back to normal.

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Filter Pads for Eheim 2226, 2228, 2026 & 2028 Filters

Filter Pads for Eheim 2226, 2228, 2026 & 2028 FiltersThese filter pads fit excellently in the Eheim filter system. My tank is sparkling clean and the fish look great! Would highly recommend.

Everything is exactly as mentioned. The box was slightly squished but I blame the post-man for cramming it in the mailbox. I will definately buy again.

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Coralife 00232 Digital Thermometer

Coralife 00232 Digital ThermometerI bought this for accuracy but it isn't really. I went online and found a ton of blogs where people were going off on this thermometer. Basically everyone was saying how it was always showing a cooler temp than the tank actually was. Everyone was "cooking" their fish and or plants because they kept turning up their heaters to compensate. Be careful. I bought four different mercury thermometers to test this out. They all read warmer temperatures than the digital one was showing.

All the blogs I found started from around 3 to 4 years ago to present. I guess the company hasn't quite got the quality control corrected yet. Some people's digital thermometers were way more off than mine. Some people said they bought several more and kept getting incorrect readings.

Mine always showed 2 degrees cooler than was the actual temperature. Be careful. Be warned.

This is the most inaccurate thermometer I have ever used.

I own 4 of these and they are all at least 4 degrees off from each other, most are 7 degrees off.

I actually have two of these on the same aquarium for the past 2 months and they read as follows right now:

One on the right corner: 73.4

One on the left corner: 77.8

You decide how good these are and if you want to chance it. Me, I'm replacing mine with something a lot more reliable.

If you are used to using something like the stick on ones on your freshwater aquarium this will be fine. If you have a saltwater reef system like I do you will not be happy with it at all.

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I bought this thermometer for my reef tank about 4 years ago and find it to be extremely inaccurate. I've experienced the same problem with the thermometer as others have already commented; lower than actual temperature readings. It wouldn't be that much of a problem if the difference between the actual temperature and what is displayed were constant but it's not. There are wild swings in the temperature reading. Right now, the actual temperature in my tank is 82F but what is displayed is 72.1F almost a 10 degree difference. Yesterday it was reading around 78F. I have two other thermometers in my tank and they are reading the same temperature +/0.1 degree. I can't figure out what makes the coralife have such varying temperature readings since it's been in the same location in the tank from day one and I have one of my other thermometers no more than an inch away and that one reads accurately. Bottom line, don't buy it but if you do decide to purchase this product, compare the temperature reading with another thermometer for a week or two.

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The probe side suction cup doesn't stay where I put it in the tank and keeps coming off. So the probe just floats in the middle of the tank...not fun. The off button is a pain also. This is a poorly designed thermometer and I would not recommend it to others. I will look for a better one for my tank.

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I just purchased this thermometer, and it is a full 5 degrees off! I have 2 other thermometers and they are matching each other, thank goodness, otherwise I'd be cooking my fish right now. Bad product.

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