Planted tank filter

[zolta]

Looking for opinions on best canister filter for my planted tank.  The Marineland c350 I have is dying a slow death and becoming a royal pain in the behind.  thinking maybe Fluval FX4 or Eheim Pro 4

thoughts?

[charlie]

http://ovas.ca/forum/index.php?action=classifieds;sa=view;id=4823

[lucius]

Not sure if you bought your filter or not but Big Al's online has the FX4 for sale.

[Al]

if fluval fx floats your boat, 299 IS a good price on sale
but 389 regular price that big als quotes is a bit of a BS price
pets and ponds regular price, every day is 309

Best filter??  ask 10 people and get 10 different views but- either of your original suggestions are excellent choices with some small variances that have to check off your personal boxes of like/dislike - higher flow?? or slower flow?? with more bio?? spraybar or no spraybar? green hoses or ribbed hosing?, etc
Good luck with your selection.

[lucius]

Keith, what size tank is this for?  The Fluval FX4 is rated for 250 gallons.

[wolfiewill]

I agree with Al. Everyone has their own favourite filter brand. I have mostly Eheim and would always choose one over any other brand if everything was equal. But, I also have two Marineland c360s, and except for the problem seating the trays and the filter head when putting back together, I am thrilled with the performance - quiet, lots of flow, good filtration and lasts a good length of time if the fish load isn't too high.
I also have a Fluval FX6 (relatively new) functioning as a polishing filter on a very large tank. It does a good job filtering and has a good flow even when dirty, but it needs to be cleaned more often than I expected 'cause it will burb a huge dirty cloud after restarting from the twice daily shut down to get rid of air. The cleaning process is far more time consuming with the FX6 than with Eheim or Marineland filters, and the configuration of filtration media doesn't allow for much flexibility. The coarse filter pads (there are 6) are lined up vertically in a specially designed set of interlocking trays. I cannot increase the polishing filtration media as a result. The fine filter floss can be placed in the biological filtration tray (as I have done) if for polishing only, but there is relatively little space for fine floss even then. Also, there is a very thin carbon filter which absolutely needs to be in place to hold the fine filter floss from blocking the pump, which is at the bottom of the filter canister. Forget to replace this carbon pad and you'll be reconstructing the innards a second time.

[zolta]

Thanks for the input and discussion.  In the end after consulting with Greg who has the same filter as I, I decided to keep it and get some parts for it which i have now have and got the thing running well. 

I ended up finally getting around to hooking up my Ehiem Classic to the tank as a polishing filter, and removed all the polishing stuff from the Marineland and added a bit more bio rocks to that.  I hope in this configuration I will not have to mess with the Marineland for many many months, The Ehiem as we all know is pretty easy to take apart to replace the filter floss.

[wolfiewill]

I think this would be a great topic to have a Plantaholics meeting or a series of OVAS presentations. I would be a real educational experience to have people show how to take apart and reinstall a series of filters. If I were to show how to do this with the FX6, I think people would have a better idea on whether to buy one or not. The same would go for a Marineland c series. Eheim are clearly, in my mind anyway, the bench mark for ease of cleaning. But I don't have experience with many other brands. I would like to propose this as a future possibility.

Any thoughts on this?

[exv152]

I think this would be a great topic to have a Plantaholics meeting or a series of OVAS presentations. ........ I would like to propose this as a future possibility.

Any thoughts on this?

I like the idea.

I personally prefer eheim classics (not the pro series, but the classics) over all other brands.

[Mike L]

 Great topic.  Why not start now. Question.  Why do people polish. No hidden insult intended,  but I  don't so asking why others do.  Many of us run smaller tank as well  as bigger tanks. I used to run polishing on bigger tanks but couldn't on small tanks because the tank would have been more filter then tank, astetic wise.  I  never saw a benifit, water clarity wise so I stopped using them.  Less maintenance for me. 
Mike

[transporter8367]

I have a Fluval 406,they are very easy to open and close for cleaning and price is right although now that Petsmart is selling Eheim canister filters, maybe I will try one and if I dont like it I will return it with their 100% 60 day satisfaction return policy.

[sanny]

I bought my Fluval 406 from Petsmart last year, couple weeks before Christmas for $169.99. Waiting is always the best choice. I always get awesome deals.