"Squid" wrote in message
...
I was thinking about getting a Diatom Filter and got a little
sidetracked by the H.O.T. Magnum which I guess comes with a Micron
Cartridge that polishes the water. Considering the H.O.T. is priced
rather low I was wondering what you guys thought of that as an
alternative to a Diatom Filter right?


I was wrestling with the same decision recently. Just this past Friday I
ordered the H.O.T. Magnum Pro setup from Big Al's. Hasn't arrived yet, so I
have no experience with usage to offer, but for what its worth I'll tell you
why I went with it.

I was looking to replace an old whisper 20. I wanted
biological/chemical/mechanical filtration, and something to help with gravel
cleaning, and water polishing would be nice a nice plus. I started out
looking at the Emperor 280. Then considering that plus a Vortex. Finally the
HOT Magnum.
Extensive NG and web research showed all three having pretty positive
reveiws and comments, so I felt good about any of the three.
Since I was replacing my main filter and needed bio/chem/mech filtration, I
thought the Magnum was more cost effective for me. I have only one tank. I
have read that the micron filter does a decent job (not as good as Vortex)
but also read in several places about charging it with diatom powder (thanks
for the specifics Randy) and thought I could try that if I wan't satisfied
with the polishing by the cartidge alone.
I liked the Magnum's price, flexibility, the separate chemical media
cartridge (which is one reason I passed on the Emperor), and the Pro kit
added the Bio-Wheel ( and Big Als currently adding a free 3 pack of filter
sleeves).

If water polishing was my primary requirement, and I had a chem/bio filter
system I was happy with, or if I had multiple tanks, I might have gone for
the Vortex. But for one tank and looking to upgrade all my filtration the
Magnum won out.