Best canister filter

[s0me]

I am going to get a canister filter, but not sure yet which one I am going to purchase.

I am fond of the Eheim, but am looking for pros/cons on the other makes out there.

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

[manytanks]

We've never had anything else to compare to, but the Filstar 3 is excellent value for money. Easy to set up, very easy to clean, and doesn't lose its prime while you're working on cleaning it. Roomy enough for a good variety of different filter media and (importantly) also pretty quiet. Bought ours from smiling Andrew at Big Al's in Kanata.

[Marx]

i got a used xp2 filter. just bought it rescently and its bloody quiet lol.. and really easy to set up and prime.. 100X easier then fluval.. which i also own =)

but i lvoe both my fluval and Filstar!!

[artw]

filstars are great just watch the clips,  where they attach to the side of the canister, they are very fragile.

[Marx]

yeah the clips seem very fragile.. they also pop off easy..

but again if i didn't break it you shouldn't either.. lol..

[BigDaddy]

I'm an Eheim guy... so the only pro you'll get from me for the other models is that their cost less money

[Marx]

i use Eheim media tho.. i think its the tops!!

but i couldn't justify the $$..

[TBarb]

Petcetera has the Hagen Fluval 404 for $150 on sale. Good buy if you want to save a few dollars. Eheim are better if you have the money.

[artw]

Mine did break
http://www.myfishtank.net/forum/showthread.php?s=a4a3f5dd3ef08a766a95e489b5b126cc&threadid=18023&highlight=filstar

http://www.myfishtank.net/forum/showthread.php?s=a4a3f5dd3ef08a766a95e489b5b126cc&threadid=18171&highlight=filstar

[JEREMY]

I have multiple EHEIM filters on my AQUARIUMS,,,

They all work very well,,, reliable, tough, easy to maintain.... never been let down by them....
They may cost more,,, but in my opinion they are worth it...

The New ECCO product line of EHEIM filters is in my opinion especially good, cheaper and the filter Media is even more effective at cleaning...
and even less servicing required than the older generation filters...

I agree with Art,, you don't want to take chances on having hundreds of gallons of Aquarium water sitting on a finished basement floor...

[s0me]

I will be going with the Eheim Ecco Comfort Canister Filter- 2236

I sure as heck don't want water all over my new floors

[dpatte]

I seem to have a haphazard selection of filters on my tanks and since we have a filter discussion going here i have a few questions as well.

Are marineland biowheels really all that effective in filtration?

Does anyone one have a table of all the popular canister and HOB filters with their GPH ratings and recommnded max tank sizes?

Why are some filters with low GPH (typically canister filters) recommnded for the same size tanks as some fast GPH HOB filters that circulate twice the water? I dont get it.


I like filters that circulate alot of water and have easy access to the filter material (HOBs typically) - canisters are so messy. What is the general advantage of those expensive canisters?

Im sort of thinking that maybe I should have 2 filters on every tank thats 50 gallons or more. One canister and one HOB.

Which two filters would be good for a 70 gallon (48x18x18)? Which models?

[dpatte]

one last filter question. I used to feed CO2 into an old eheim i had as a means of disolving the C02 in to the tank but it would occasionally air-lock. Who else is feeding CO2 into a filter? Which filter would you recommend for CO2 bubble disolving?

[artw]

uneducated guess -  a canister filter is slower so the water has more time to come into contact with the biological media.

[saltydog]

There are several variables in filters with the same flow-rate which explain the different size-of-tank ratings:
1) volume of filter (bacterial & mechanical) media;
2) effectiveness of the design of the media;
3)  level of oxygen present in the media;
4)  "assumed" stocking level per gallon;
5)  type of fish stocked (some eat more and so...)
6)  marketing philosophies of companies hoping to sell their wares.

Filters with bio-wheels or filters with wet/dry media (such as sumps with bio-balls & the Eheim wet/dry canister filter) put the bacteria into an oxygen-rich environment where they can thrive in greater numbers. Some other filters may have more mechanical media for clarifying water to look nice for the aquarist but this may not necessarily do much to improve the well-being of the fish. All debris trapped in your filter is still in "the system" & is polluting your water by means of dissolved organics.

Theoretically, I like filters which permit you to wash your mechanical media easily & to keep most of your bacteria colony intact when doing so. Bio-wheel filters & wet/dry sump-type filters fill that bill.

[dpatte]

art, thats what i was thinking, but then it occured to me being enclosed there cant be much bacteria living in there anyway as there is no oxygen in it. I thought nitrifying bacteria preferred oxygen rich environments.

[manytanks]

>> I used to feed CO2 into an old eheim I had as a means of dissolving the C02
>> into the tank but it would occasionally air-lock.
>>Who else is feeding CO2 into a filter?
>> Which filter would you recommend for CO2 bubble disolving?

We've been feeding the output of our DIY CO2 generators into the intake tubes of our AC filters for almost a year now, using a 4" nail heated on the stove burner to melt an appropriate sized hole in the side wall of the intake tube. The impellers on these types of power filters seem to do a pretty good job of breaking up & dissolving the CO2.

We're doing the same thing using our Filstar cannister filter with less than satisfactory results, I think mostly because: (1) the CO2 seems to collect (pool) inside the filter housing before being routed through the impeller, resulting in more burps than a steady diffusion; and (2) the spray bar directs the outflow across the top of the tank just under the surface, resulting in a greater dissipation instead of diffusion of the CO2 throughout the tank.

I've been researching this lately and some knowledgeable folks who leave their DIY CO2 on 24 hours/day report that turning on a small airstone at night to prevent a CO2 crash seems to be sufficient to create enough surface agitation to dissipate the CO2 that is generated overnight. (!!) If this is true, then  the output from a cannister filter routed through a surface-oriented  spray bar will certainly be losing at least as much CO2 as is getting into the water column...if not more. I'm intending to replace this delivery system with that of the so-called 'bell' method using a small powerhead and plastic tube from a cheap siphon.

Here are a couple of links that might be of interest:
=> http://www.csd.net/~cgadd/aqua/ah_main/sep1997.html
=> http://www.myfishbox.com/articles/article.cfm?id=4
=> http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Hills/2637/DIY_CO2.html

[artw]

There is oxygen in the water no?
I agree a biowheel is probably a better choice

[dpatte]

I am thinking of putting the following two filters on each 75 gallon

- A Hagen Aquaclear 500 filter.
- A Marineland Magnum 350 Pro - Double Biowheel. Normally it would run the standard medium, but i could switch to the micron filter occasionally when necessary

In the case of a planted tank, i could feed CO2 into the aquaclear for dispersal, and keep the Magnum turned off during the day using a timer to allow the surface to remain calm.