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Which Filter to Buy????

3K views 10 replies 5 participants last post by  LisaC144 
#1 ·
ok, i have a Marine land 350 HOB filter for my 55g tank. It just doesnt seem to be able to handle the tank by itself and has very little water flow, so i decided to deal with the noise of the Top Fin 60 that came with the tank and run both.......Well the Top Fin took a dump yesterday, the impellor gets jammed within 10 mins of startup, ive never used it before, its CLEAN!! and i cant get it to work.

Im looking into getting 1 canister filter to do my whole tank so i can get rid of the HOB filter.

Ive never used a canister and dont know much about them. I dont have much money, looking to spend less than about $90 ( i can get a brand new canister at petsmart for $88)

I dont need all the bells and whistles, just one that does what my HOB does and has a high flow, that is powerful enough to clean my 55g by its self.

Any suggestions?? Maybe ebay?? Ones to stay away from??? Thanks!!!
 
#4 ·
In terms of what the filter does, yes, a canister is similar to the HOB. By this I mean that the water flows through various media--pads, biological "rock" material, ceramic disks--and these remove suspended particles from the water and encourage colonization by bacteria.

The advantage to a canister is that it is away from the tank with just the intake and outlet hose entering the aquarium. These can be positioned at opposite ends lengthwise to create a good flow. Canisters can be used with various media beside what comes with them, or some of the media can be omitted as in a planted tank. You can direct the flow of water entering the tank, and many canisters now have control valves to adjust the flow as well. For most "larger" basic community and planted aquaria, a canister filter is about the best filter you can have.

As Lisa mentioned, Eheims have a proven track record for reliability over years of use; I've had Eheims running continuously for more than 12 years with never a problem or failing. I also have a Rena canister, it does a good job as well, it is less expensive but Rena have not been around as long as Eheim so it is difficult to compare durability. But I would recommend either from my experiences. Fluval canisters are very similar, but a bit less expensive. If you can get a good used Eheim or a Rena, I would go with those first.

For media, the Fluval media works fine in all of them, and it is 1/3 the cost of Eheim media. The only thing that should be specific to the canister are the filter pads, as these will be made to fit the respective filter. But the ceramic disks and rock media (BioMax by Fluval) is good stuff, I use it in my Eheims and Rena.

Byron.
 
#5 ·
In terms of what the filter does, yes, a canister is similar to the HOB. By this I mean that the water flows through various media--pads, biological "rock" material, ceramic disks--and these remove suspended particles from the water and encourage colonization by bacteria.

The advantage to a canister is that it is away from the tank with just the intake and outlet hose entering the aquarium. These can be positioned at opposite ends lengthwise to create a good flow. Canisters can be used with various media beside what comes with them, or some of the media can be omitted as in a planted tank. You can direct the flow of water entering the tank, and many canisters now have control valves to adjust the flow as well. For most "larger" basic community and planted aquaria, a canister filter is about the best filter you can have.

As Lisa mentioned, Eheims have a proven track record for reliability over years of use; I've had Eheims running continuously for more than 12 years with never a problem or failing. I also have a Rena canister, it does a good job as well, it is less expensive but Rena have not been around as long as Eheim so it is difficult to compare durability. But I would recommend either from my experiences. Fluval canisters are very similar, but a bit less expensive. If you can get a good used Eheim or a Rena, I would go with those first.

For media, the Fluval media works fine in all of them, and it is 1/3 the cost of Eheim media. The only thing that should be specific to the canister are the filter pads, as these will be made to fit the respective filter. But the ceramic disks and rock media (BioMax by Fluval) is good stuff, I use it in my Eheims and Rena.

Byron.
Thanks, i saw a cheap one on ebay, for $58 i think, it was an off brand, said it had 520gph, and 3 stage filtration, but it didnt look like you could add your own media, looked kinda like it used only filters??

This is why im wanting a canister, here is a vid i made of my Top Fin 60, lol

YouTube - Noisy Top Fin 60 Aquarium Filter
 
#7 ·
Gotta go with Byron. I am definately not the authority on canister filters but I always get compliments on my water clarity and the water here comes out of the tap cloudy. I have two tanks running right now, a 10 gallon and a 50 gallon. The 10 gallon has a 10 gallon internal whisper filter with a floss pad and a foam pad this tank has an adult male blue convict cichlid, a mystery snail, anacharis, java fern, and money wort and its stays crystal clear despite being what some would consider overstocked. On the 50 I have an Aquaclear 50. The fitler is all the way to one side, there is little water movement on the other side of the tank this tank is also crystal clear. Of course, I do weekly %50+ water changes on the 10 and bi-weekly %50 on the 50 and I watch how much I feed them all carefully, I know Byron does %50 weekly water changes on his tanks as well. This may be how we get away with having filters that are rated exactly for the tanks.
 
#8 ·
I'll add two cents for the Cascade company. Their well known for their HOB filters but I grabbed a Cascade 1000 from bigalsonline.com and it's working great. It cleared up what was a murky tank and is a snap to put together. I paid about $80 for it ($10 less than the equivalent Eheim on their site). They even have online discount coupons if you do a google search for them. I'm happy with my purchase.
 
#10 ·
Many filters will do the job of filtration reasonably well. But it is the water movement issue that is critical. I don't like tokeep harping on this, but many simplky do not realize the effect water flow has on fish (and plants if these are in the tank). This is my big objection to any HOB filter; unless you have a directional outflow (as opposed to the normal waterfall) and the ability to reduce the volume, they are not the filter of choice. When you are planning from scratch, so to speak, select what will do the best job bearing flow in mind.

Fish that are constantly (and it is constant, 24 hours every day) forced into currents are using energy needlessly. Some experience stress as well because it is not natural. This is why I always advise aquarists to know the fish you intend to have in the aquarium before deciding on the equipment. Build the tank to the needs of the fish, rather than expecting the fish to "adapt" to what you provide.
 
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