tom rapids VS 501 canisters.

[Danyal]

which would you guys suggest? they're about the same price but i have no experience with either filter and haven't found much about them.

[kitokatlin]

Any particular reason you are looking into those filters? What size aquarium are you trying to install it on? My personal preference depending on the size of your aquarium (if you are set on a mini-canister vs a full size) is:

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=16742

[Danyal]

i've got a 1/2 10g(20x10x6, i know only 5g but every time i say it's a 5g everybody assumes 16x8x10) and the reason why i want a canister is because i've never used one before and it'll take up less room in the tank. i could DIY shorter intakes for a pair of AC20s and that'd be great but i want to do something different. the canister you posted was the tom rapids, if it's one you're using i'd love to hear about any pros and cons you've noticed.

[kitokatlin]

I used to have one on my 10 gallon for a short period of time. I liked it but not sure it was any better/worse than an HOB. I can certainly understand keeping everything out of the tank though. The only nice part is that it has bio media unlike the HOB's standard pad. I'd recommend it. I never knew it as a Tom's Rapids though, neat.

[Cory Keeper]

Toms would be great for that tank, I prefer canister of HOB in just about any tank, even more so with planted.

[kitokatlin]

On that website I posted, there are a couple of testimonials. Here is a link to them.

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/supplemental/customer_comments.cfm?pcatid=16742

[Icom]

I have one of the Rapids,its "ok"..the flex hose plain and simple-suck,they mention 3/8" I.D. hose,but it does not fit on the U pieces that go over the tank as those are 1/2".. I assumed that all I had to do was go get some 3/8" tubing and stick it on there,wrong..I gave up on it and just put the filter in a cabinet.

I'm gonna order the 501 next week,the 501 looks like a better filter to me

[OhNo123]

I also own a Tom's Rapids filter and its running on my 5g cube. Works perfect and is completely quiet.

I agree with Icom with the tubing. The stock tubing they give you are ridged = Slower water movement. I'd suggest replacing the tubes with something else such as Eheim tubing.

I'd personally get the 501. It is definately higher quality, but I was low on cash back when I got the Rapids.

[Icom]

http://www.reptilesupply.com/product.php?products_id=404


I've seen the 501 for the same or lower $$$ than the Rapids

What size Eheim tubing did you get that actually fits over the U pieces ??

The fittings are 2 different sizes on the Rapids I have ,3/8" fits perfect on the motor/pump head,but there is no way it fits on those other fittings

[Danyal]

hmm, i was kinda hoping the tom rapids would turn out to be the better filter, i was going to place my first order from dr. foster and smith(they stopped sending me catalogs after a year of not ordering anything) but the 501 sounds like it might be better. the only price difference is that the 501 is $3 more, not a problem.
hmm, i was kinda hoping the tom rapids would turn out to be the better filter, i was going to place my first order from dr. foster and smith(they stopped sending me catalogs after a year of not ordering anything) but the 501 sounds like it might be better, will it be more quiet? the tank is right at the foot of my bed and filter noises annoy me, especially when i can't fix them. the only price difference is that the 501 is $3 more, not a problem.

[Danyal]

well, just ordered a 501, hope it's quiet. i'll post an update when i get it w/ my first impressions and another after i run it for awhile, this tank is going to look amazing, i've already got it partially done and it looks sweet.

[Just Prince]

I have both but haven't used the Tom Rapids yet. The Tom Rapids appears to be a clone of the 501. You should be able to set it up just like the 501 and use 501 filters. I would buy a filter bag and some active carbon to swap out with the active carbon bag that comes with the 501. I use it on a planted 20GL with three Dwarf Puffers, three otocinculis, three Rasboras and 6 Endler Livebearers. My levels are always at or near 0 with 25% water changes once a week.

[Que]

I got a Toms rapids filter and did an out of the box, set up and run review in my blog. I've had 2 running on my 29 for awhile now and they are silent once they get settled in. I don't like that this filters inlet goes right into the bio media and so I modded mine with a sponge prefilter in the canister and one on the intake tube. I also ditched the media bag with some strange stuff in it and got some more bio media in there. I haven't run a GPH test on it yet but for a planted tank where 2 times the tank volume should be turned over every hour then one of these filters should be fine. I'll be continuing to test this canister and update my blog in a few months.

Q

[vampie]

I like the Tom rapids, but I had to make a lot of alterations. I changed the tubing to Eheim, I replaced the ceramic rings with floss, the carbon pad with Bio-Max, and completely removed the core tube and flow indicator.

[Danyal]

2 times the tank volume should be turned over every hour
lol, the only tank i've got that has a turnover that low is my 1/2 10g(it doesn't have a filter) that i'm buying the 501 for, i prefer to run my tanks at atleast 10x turnover and usually higher.

I would buy a filter bag and some active carbon to swap out with the active carbon bag that comes with the 501.
i haven't ran carbon on my tanks in years, never saw a need for it. however since this tank has a very large chunk of driftwood in it that appears to be really leaching out tannins i may change that and run carbon. i also don't usually have bio-media(except what came with my AC20s, which i've lost) my standard filter media is simply a wad of 100% polyester pillow stuffing, provides great mechanical filtration and doubles as biomedia. i may do it differently with this tank though, i like experiementing too much not too.

[Que]

I like the Tom rapids, but I had to make a lot of alterations. I changed the tubing to Eheim, I replaced the ceramic rings with floss, the carbon pad with Bio-Max, and completely removed the core tube and flow indicator.

I was thinking of removing the flow indicator too and I wanted to drill out the internal structure of that tube to increase flow but I would only do it if I could get a replacement or if I could get some other fitting to screw into the filter.

Q

[Que]

i prefer to run my tanks at atleast 10x turnover and usually higher.


Do you have flows that high in planted tanks? What kind of fish do you keep that need that kind of flow? With flows approaching even 5X I have problems with plants waving all around and the growth can be altered by the plants being push constantly by the flow... to each his/her own I guess. I also indicated that 2X turnover should be fine but every tank is different. I'm using this figure as a benchmark in reviewing this filter an seeing how it'll perform.

Q

[Danyal]

i have several times before. my 5.5g cube, when it was heavily planted had a 20x turnover(ac20) a 16x turnover(acmini powerhead) and a 36x turnover(ac20+acmini powerhead) that was the only tank i've had heavily planted and never had issues with growth, i kept white clouds(a stream fish, love high flow) danio choprae, endlers and a dwarf puffer and currently some dwarf killis and gold australe killis. my 180g has a huge block(about 8 cubic feet) of naja grass in it and has a very low 3x turnover because i haven't done much with it and my 29g had a 6x turnover.

[Icom]

heres a pic of the intake/output "U" pieces on my Rapids..different than the pics of other Rapids I've seen,and these are the reason I can't get 3/8" tubing to work..everything is a different size :wall:

[Danyal]

nice, i guess it's a good thing that i ordered the 501, you can get replacement hoses on ebay for under $10