Hi everyone, I'm trying to set up a freshwater tropical aquarium for a friend. It'll be a 55 gallon tank. I used to use the old Marineland Magum 350 canister filter (Canister Filter | Magnum 350 Canister Filter for Everyday Filtration). This was ten years ago. It was nice but a bit difficult to work with; just had the carbon inside and a filter sleeve outside. I'm thinking of sticking with a canister filter but from a different company this time.
I've scoped out the Eheim 250, which seems to only use pads, but it was unclear whether you can replace the pads with the ceramic bio materials or not. The other option is a Rena Filstar XP2, which seems to use pads and various biomaterials. The other company I noticed was the Fluval 306, which is similar to the other ones, but pricier.
I'm looking for something easy to maintain and quiet. What do you guys recommend from the above. I'm aware everyone has their own preference, but it would be helpful to hear what everyone thinks of each of these systems and what they do not like about it. Even though the Eheim is not designed for bio-media, can you just throw it in there? And can bio-media be used interchangeably between different manufacturers?
Thanks.
I've scoped out the Eheim 250, which seems to only use pads, but it was unclear whether you can replace the pads with the ceramic bio materials or not. The other option is a Rena Filstar XP2, which seems to use pads and various biomaterials. The other company I noticed was the Fluval 306, which is similar to the other ones, but pricier.
I'm looking for something easy to maintain and quiet. What do you guys recommend from the above. I'm aware everyone has their own preference, but it would be helpful to hear what everyone thinks of each of these systems and what they do not like about it. Even though the Eheim is not designed for bio-media, can you just throw it in there? And can bio-media be used interchangeably between different manufacturers?
Thanks.