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no name canister filter on ebay... for a 55 gallon cichlid tank!

12K views 39 replies 10 participants last post by  jaysee 
#1 ·
hello everyone i have a 55 gallon tank that is currently empty but i want to put African cichlids in it and i was told that since its gonna be a bit crowded i should over filter with like 800+gph so i was originally thinking 2 marineland emperor 400s but now i am thinking just one marineland emperor400 and a canister filter.. cause i hear that they tend to do the best job...

well i was just looking on ebay cause i love a good deal... and i found some no name canister filters 5 stages for like 85 bucks and a Max Flow Rate: 520 GP.... i am not really sure what the best combos would be..any suggestions?

Also i am wondering about leaks, i heard canister filter can leak,how to fix if possible... i am kind of afraid of coming home to water to a half empty tank... and crazy water damage..sigh..anxiety

please let me know if you have any experience with canister filters.. especially no name ones..lol!!:-D


 
#4 ·
Before you decide on a filter, look through various posts here. Folks feel strongly about their filters! A good canister that lasts 3x as long, even if it costs 2x as much, is still a better deal. Also price any media if it does not come with the filter - that can add up if you have to purchase media in addition to a canister.

Personally, I'm using an Eheim 2215 on my 55 gallon, and have been very pleased, but I don't want/need a lot of water flow. I purchased the Eheim 2215 because it had a good reputation for not having problems and replacement parts are easy to find. It was certainly not the cheapest (or most $$). It is very quiet.
 
#5 ·
Cant go wrong with a penn plax cascade 1000 canister filter. Is more then enough for your tank. Not too pricey, has three stages, comes with media, makes very little noise and has yet to leak. Now if you have money to spend, I recommend the eheim. People talk about how theyve had theres for 20 years on this forum.
 
#6 ·
I have a few of the sunsuns - one of each size. They use more power than other filters though. But I really like them. I also have XPs and Fluvals. I really like the XP filters too, but they can get expensive.

I have an XP2 and a 265 gph sunsun on my 55. I prefer two smaller canisters versus one big one.
 
#8 ·
For what it's worth, I recently setup a 60g. I'm going to use two HOB power filters. One will be a dedicated bio-filter and the other a cartridge type filter. The bio-filter is an AquaClear 70 and has two sponge pads and bio-ceramic. The other, right now is a small Aqua-Tech 5-15. Using the cartridge filter, I can easily clean/replace the cartridge and the bio-filter will pretty much run w/o much routine maintenance. I think this is very cost effective compared to many canister filters and HOB has no potential leak issues like canisters. :smile:
 
#9 · (Edited)
You will have to maintain the aquaclear as regularly as any other filter if you have the sponges in it.

And IME aquaclear filters will leak all over the floor if you don't maintain them regularly. The threat of a canister leaking should not prohibit anyone from getting one. Working with water, things are bound to get wet. Thats just part of the hobby. The threat of a canister leaking is on par with the threat of the tank leaking....
 
#10 · (Edited)
You will have to maintain the aquaclear as regularly as any other filter if you have the sponges in it.
I have nylon covering the inlet tube holes so that no solids (waste/food) will get in - the sponges will be home to bacteria only. :smile:

There is no way my AquaClear can leak as the tank side outlet is significantly lower than the back/sides. The canister has connections and seals that can potentially fail far easier than silicone sealed glass. I wouldn't be 'afraid' of a canister for leakage, but many seem to be. My resistance is more cost and maintenance - each to his/her own.
 
#11 ·
For canisters, i would only recommend fluval and eheim canisters. I have friends who have had other brands, ie. magnums, and there was always some kind of complains such as noise, too difficult to maintain, leaks, etc. almost all of them are using fluval and eheims now and none of them have complained since. I use a fluval 305 myself, its amazingly quiet and does a great job.

For HOBs, aquaclear is excellent but requires lots of regular cleaning. When i went to school, my parents forgot to clean it once and it clogged up hard and ended up spilling water everywhere roughly 10 gallons of water for me. Penguins are excellent as well, but not having a modular media is annoying, especially if you want to keep plants.
 
#12 · (Edited)
For HOBs, aquaclear is excellent but requires lots of regular cleaning. When i went to school, my parents forgot to clean it once and it clogged up hard and ended up spilling water everywhere roughly 10 gallons of water for me. Penguins are excellent as well, but not having a modular media is annoying, especially if you want to keep plants.
That's interesting, but I can't visualize it - we'll see. If it does become an issue, I'll switch to all open bio-media, ensuring flow through. With the Inlet tube filtered, I don't think the open foam sponges will plug...time will tell.
 
#15 ·
Sponges are primarily mechanical media with the added benefit of housing bacteria, while biomedia is specifically designed to house bacteria. There is far more surface area for the bacteria to live on with biomax or matrix than a sponge. Sponges are largely empty space.
 
#16 ·
Not exactly. The rough surface of the bio-ceramic does provide a surface structure to hold bacteria, but as we look at open cell foam, there is a plethora of 'surface area' within the labyrinth of the cells - it is not limited to the outside surface, like ceramic and bio balls.

(Apologies to mamatoulouse for the thread highjack)
 

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#17 ·
aquaclears overflow when the sponges stop the water from flowing through it, it fills up on the motor side and the motor pushes the water under the lid and all over your floor. Unless you catch it when it happens, it just leaks water continuously everywhere. Penguins have a secondary overflow that goes into your tank when the media is too clogged, but aquaclears do not.
 
#18 · (Edited)
I'm familiar with sponges. The surface area for ceramics is NOT limited to the outside surface. The ENTIRE thing holds bacteria, since it's made of porous material. Water flows THROUGH the biomedia, not around it.

Again, a sponge is largely made up of vacant space.....that's why it gets smaller when you squeeze it......

Each PIECE of biomax has more than 100 square feet of surface area. Whether a sponge or biomedia has more surface area is not something that is up for debate.
 
#19 ·
An AC110 sponge is a little less than a half a gallon in volume (not squeezed). An equal volume of biomax would provide a surface area of over 3000 square feet.

Squeezing the AC110 sponge cuts it's volume in half.
 
#20 ·
I agree with canister filters. No way I would use anything but a canister on a tank bigger then a 55 gallon. I personally would avoid the china ones. I've heard of Sunsun, the only issue I see is how long they last. The company is entirely in china so I personally would be hesitant about customer services.

Everything leaks in this hobby except internals. HOBs can get jammed and overflow, canister can leak too. Canister there are lots of potential leak points, but IMO the big one is the main O-ring seal. Simply if you put back together right its not a problem. I am very biased though. I owned HOBs before and NEVER again will I. Only equipment I can say I hate with a passion. I had a brand new aquaclear too... replaced it with an internal a week later. had that internal for 3 years.

I don't see the point of a completely biological filter. If your going to run a power filter it might as well be mechanical and biological. I also agree that ceramics have WAYYYY more surface area then and sponge. Gravel would work, but less surface area then even the sponge IMO.
 
#21 ·
I don't see the point of a completely biological filter. If your going to run a power filter it might as well be mechanical and biological. I also agree that ceramics have WAYYYY more surface area then and sponge. Gravel would work, but less surface area then even the sponge IMO.
I agree as well - I don't see the point. However, I can see the value of having a filter devoted to chemical filtration - Easier to change the carbon in an HOB than in a canister
 
#22 ·
I have an aqua one aquis canister and it's been running perfectly for 4 years now. I don't use carbon - if I have a sick fish, it goes into a hospital tank. That and carbon is very little use for me, really - we don't have the range of meds here in Australia that you have in the States, so no need for carbon to remove meds. Don't use meds a lot, either! lol

So, for me, it's about mechanical and biological. :)
Posted via Mobile Device
 
#29 ·
in the case of a septic tank, the waste is broken down in a closed environment no? a filter wastes out the broken down waste back into the tank from the ceramic medium and the plants and algae in the tank absorb it. I have also not changed my ceramic media for years now and they are all still fine.
 
#30 ·
An aquarium is also a closed environment and I'm of course not positive, but I don't think algae can process the organic matter in suspension else protein skimmers would never have been developed. Besides, we're talking about organics trapped in tiny, nearly microscopic pores in the bio-ceramics. If a sponge, which is 1000x more open can plug, what likely happens in ceramic pores.
Like I said, that's not to say they can't be rejuvenated, but I'm betting that in time water does not freely flow through those tiny pores. I'm just saying for maximum effectiveness, they should be periodically replaced or rejuvenated to ensure they continue at optimum performance. Hey, just my $.02 :smile:.
 
#31 ·
Well, im assuming, that we all change our water regularly and that takes out the excess as well making the aquarium not so closed an environment. We dont grow plants in septic tanks, but some water treatment centers do use some plants to help absorb pollutants in wastewater.

Also, i never replace my sponges and ive never really noticed them clogging except when entire leaves of a plant gets sucked into it and the fibers end up coating it like a floss net.
 
#32 ·
Like I said, 'Just my $.02'.
At some point I believe the pores in bio-ceramics will plug with smutz and require cleaning that simply rinsing won't resolve. Although a high pressure spray may do the trick with or without the acid bath.
But of course, you're entitled to your beliefs as well.
I will look at routinely swapping mine out, replacing some with new or rejuvenated media. Of course this will be staged, ensuring sufficient on-going bio-filtration.
:smile:
 
#33 ·
hello everyone i have a 55 gallon tank that is currently empty but i want.....
The cheaper no name may look attractive, but I see you could get a Fluval 305 for $117 on Amazon.
That looks better to me - just saying :smile:
(Again, sorry we all high jacked your thread).
 
#34 ·
Have to disagree with Abbeys Dad!! Sorry but that is what these forums are for. I have been using the same ceramic for years. Both the round noodles!! and the smaller rock type, never had a problem with either one.. This is what makes the hobby so good, we all do it a little different. Great to learn what others do. (all ehiem fiters and filter material except for some floss)
 
#35 ·
I'm sorry, I was speaking of bio max ceramic rings. There are other types of bio-ceramic designs that do not claim that they contain at least 100 square feet of surface area due to their pores. Other types of bio-ceramics rely strickly on surface area which does not change with shmutz.
Regardless, you're entitled to an opinion. :smile:
 
#37 ·
One additional point I wanted to make before we all move on to more important things.
Someone suggested that manufacturers of bio-ceramic rings recommend replacement every three months so they can trick consumers into buying more product than they really need.
I think this could NOT be further from the truth. If/when a manufacturer can claim that his product is better, more efficient and/or will last 2-3 times longer than competitors, he captures significant share of market - and that's how the real money is made. In the case of bio-ceramic rings, the manufacturer, through extensive lab and field testing know the effective run life of the product.

The manufacturer recommends an oil change every 6 thousand miles. Joe says "I haven't changed the oil in my car in 4 years and it runs just fine." Joe brags that he's saved $240 not doing oil changes. :smile:
 
#38 ·
i dont know about you, but i have never seen one ceramic ring manufacture claim that their rings last longer than anyone elses... they just all say the exact same thing, replace after x amount of time... In terms of filters, im pretty sure the ones that have the best reputation just have good quality items that dont malfunction frequently, are easy to use, and dont make people angry. I have never ever heard anyone say, "lets buy this filter because it can use the best ceramic rings!"
 
#39 ·
Ugh the point of a filter sponge is to provide a surface for bacteria and to catch debris. Explain to me why a sponge needs to be replaces after X years? What causes it to apparently not preform these two tasks after a set amount of time? A sponge is a sponge. Its not only pointless to replace ceramics, ANY plain old sponge or cartridge lasts years. Their only function is physical, as long as they are not falling apart there is no reason they should not work. Also why do some manufactures recommend changing cartridges every like 3 months when said filter has only one cartridge for the entire tank. IDK how many times I have seen people cycle tanks over and over because they follow manufacturer's nonsense instructions. I'm pretty sure only the really cheap generic filter floss has no replace every X months on the bag. Its usually the shortest lived of all filter media.

I wish your view was true, I honestly really do. Then we would not have all the completely ineffective products that abound in this hobby.

Seriously in the end you just need something to pull water through.... I know lots of people that use pot scrubbers, gravel, legos, pillow stuffing, cloth, ect... in a canister and there tank is as stable as any other tank.

Oil is not filter media...... if anything filter media is the engine, water is the oil;-)
 
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