opinions on different cannister filters?

[irene]

Specifically, fluval 4 series and magnums.  Anyone had good or bad experiences with them?

Irene

[darkdep]

Fluvals are general purpose and, in general, do a good job.  You WILL hear plenty of "Fluvals suck!" opinions; but I've never had a problem.  Most of those who hate Fluvals are fans of Eheim; alas Eheims are 3x the price.

Magnums I would not necessarily suggest for a beginner, as they are a little more complicated than a lot of canisters.  There are some great advantages tho.  There is no canister anywhere that can match the mechanical filtration capabilities of a Magnum, especially when you use their Micron filter.  The downside?  Superior filtration means it clogs quicker.  You'll clean a Magnum FAR more often than any other canister...alas, there is no canister as easy to clean as a Magnum so that helps offset it. 

There is more to a Magnum than most filters but they do many things very well.  If you want to set up your canister and forget it for a couple months at a time, don't get one tho.

[irene]

Thanks for the quick reply!  Yeah, set up for a few months and forget sounds pretty good.   So I guess I'm leaning more towards the fluval now.

Irene

[Laura]

I have a fluval and ignore it for months at a time.
I let it go 6 months last time and it was fine when I cleaned it.  I do keep a sponge prefilter on the intake which gets swished out every weekly waterchange, so I'm sure that makes a difference as no larger particles get into the filter.
I found my fluval a little fussy to set up, but once up and running I can't complain.

[PaleoFishGirl]

Only problem with leaving your Fluval for months at a time (and yes, I've done it too) is you have to watch your nitrate levels.  They're pretty good filters but I must say after using one for over a year and then switching to Eheim, I'll not go back to Fluval (okay except maybe for an FX5).

[hamstercaster]

It is true that there are Pro Fluvals and Pro Eheim.  Personally I have to Eheim 2213 on my 75 and I am quite please with the results.  There are many set ups you can do with them in terms of media arrangements and all.  I paid 110$ a piece but don't know how much their Fluval counterparts go for.  I went the Eheim route because of the leaking stories that were circulating around on the forums and those of friends who have had that happen to them.  It may be exceptions to the rule and it may or may not be that common but since I had yet to hear of similar problems with Eheim, I preferred taking my chances with Eheim.  That being said, from what I have read on these forums, both companies seem to produce pretty good filters.  It all boils down to what options you like, look perhaps and money.. and all of us telling you about our own experiences with any given canister filter 

[Zoe]

I know no one asked but... I hate Eheim for the simple reason that it was nearly impossible to put together 

I'm a Rena girl at heart. Woo!

[darkdep]

You thought an Eheim was hard to assemble?  Don't try a Magnum then.  lol

[PaleoFishGirl]

I never had *major* problems with the Fluval, but a couple I did have included:

1) the seal was so strong that it was very difficult to get the canister open for maintenance - didn't want to force the clips too hard because they would have busted off

2) leakage - had to replace the o-ring once

3) the ceramic impeller shaft busted once, which was a real pain to replace at 8pm on a weeknight (thanks again, mseguin, you're a lifesaver!)

[bitterman]

I love how nice my Xp3 works, but be warned they are prone to the clip on the out side of the canister breaking. This results in a leaky unusable filter till you replace the cansiter with the integrated clips.

Bruce

[BigDaddy]

BigDaddy inserts is obligatory

EHEIM ALL THE WAY

Now back to our regularly scheduled program already in progress

[Laura]

I never had *major* problems with the Fluval, but a couple I did have included:

1) the seal was so strong that it was very difficult to get the canister open for maintenance - didn't want to force the clips too hard because they would have busted off

Yes!
And thanks for the nitrate tip - I'll watch for it.

[darkdep]

For those dealing with the Seal issue; (not sure if you've tried this) but the seal for me was always easy to break if you opened the valves first.

[BigDaddy]

Yeah, same thing holds true on the Pro II Eheims.. can't open 'em unless you open up the ball valves on the quick connect first.

[BigDaddy]

Only problem with leaving your Fluval for months at a time (and yes, I've done it too) is you have to watch your nitrate levels.  They're pretty good filters but I must say after using one for over a year and then switching to Eheim, I'll not go back to Fluval (okay except maybe for an FX5).

That's my girl    Another successful convert. 

[mseguin]

For the same money, an Eheim will beat a Fluval any day, same as a Volks beats a Ford. Thing is, they're not in the same price range. If yuo want a cheaper filter that's easy to set up, clean, and run, go Fluval. If yuo have the money and want primo filtration, and don't mind a bit more work in setup (with some of them), go Eheim. I have both.

[darkdep]

I've had Fluvals, Eheims, and Magnums.  My next tank will use a sump; but whenever I need a canister again it'll likely be a USED Eheim or a NEW Fluval.  That's the only way to get them in an even close price range.  The full prices of Eheims are utterly ridiculous.  I'll build my own out of a bucket before I pay for that.

[beowulf]

I never had *major* problems with the Fluval, but a couple I did have included:

1) the seal was so strong that it was very difficult to get the canister open for maintenance - didn't want to force the clips too hard because they would have busted off

2) leakage - had to replace the o-ring once

3) the ceramic impeller shaft busted once, which was a real pain to replace at 8pm on a weeknight (thanks again, mseguin, you're a lifesaver!)

And twice since!!!

I have two fluvals, one has no issues the other has seen the impeller shaft break twice.  I do find them kind of hard to prime at times.

I have one Rene, an Xp 2, it is about a year and a half old now and have had no issues with it so far.  easy to prime and seems to do a good job.

I just got my first Eheim, a used Pro 2028 and I should be using it as soon as I get my 125g for my africans and I hope it is as good as everyone says.

[kennyman]

I was comparing these a few years ago and decided the Rena was right for me. The Ehiem was too costly and the Fluval is made by Hagen who are not exactly known for quality but rather for cheep price.

My Rena has run for proably three years now and like Bruce said, You can not force the clip closed. If it doesn't pop down easy it is because the media basket is not aligned. But this thing is so quiet and troublefree. I think highly of Rena's manufacturing standards and still affordable price.

[woodendude]

I use  Eheims (2213, pro 2028) and 2 Rena xp3's and I honestly can't say whether I prefer one over the other. I know that the snails I have seem to prefer the Ehiems, there's probably twice as many in them as the xp3's...does this indicate better suction ?