H.O.T. Canister Filter

[jencheung]

Anyone have any experience using the H.O.T. Magnum Pro System Canister Filter? I'm looking to upgrade from the regular H.O.T. Marineland Biowheel I currently have on my 29 gallon planted tank and was wondering if this is a good option. The stand the tank is on is a wrought iron stand, not a cabinet so I don't really have anywhere to put a regular canister filter. I thought this was an interesting idea if it actually works. Any thoughts? Here's the link (http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3578+3579+3580+3598&pcatid=3598). Thanks!

[Kashta]

I have one. It came included with the extras I got when I bought a used tank and stand through Craigslist. I wasn't familiar with this brand of canister and didn't expect it would be very good after looking it up and finding out it wasn't very expensive to buy new. But it works great... holds a lot of media.. makes no noise.. no leaking.. and has pretty good flow. I'm not going to rely on it as my primary filter. I have a Fluval for that. But I'll run it as a secondary one. I like it a lot.

[jencheung]

Kashta - What size tank do you run it on? If you don't mind me asking, why would you not trust it as your only filter? It's rated as 250gph which should be more than enough for my 29 I think, but I could be wrong on that... Thanks!

[DeputyChiefJR]

Only downside is if you use CO2 for your plants, it will gas off due to surface activity. Also, I use a cast iron stand with canisters and it works fine, why would you be concerned?

[jencheung]

Deputy - It's purely an aesthetic thing, there's nowhere to hide the canister or tubing etc. I don't currently use CO2 for my plants (I dose excel daily) so it won't make a difference there, though it's definitely something to keep in mind in the future if I move up to a pressurized system one day. Also, the price tag on this unit versus most canister filters makes this one more attractive at the moment.

[chiphead]

I currently use one and it works well for what it is. I have it along with a Cascade 1200 filtering a 125g Oscar tank. The media surface it presents is insufficient for the bioload I have. It would probably be awesome on a 29g tanks. My two cents.

[RodInCALIFORNIA]

i use a hot magnum on every tank just to polish the tank water with the micron cart they are excellent filters i have 14 of them. i buy them on ebay and have never paid more then 37.00 for each one including shipping not bad price for a new filter.

[Kashta]

Kashta - What size tank do you run it on? If you don't mind me asking, why would you not trust it as your only filter? It's rated as 250gph which should be more than enough for my 29 I think, but I could be wrong on that... Thanks!

Hi jencheung,

From what I've seen of my filter... yes, I think it would work great for a 29 gallon tank. I'm really impressed with it. I also like the micron filter that works as a water polisher. So I think that's a good reason to run one as a primary or as added filtration. I really like sparkling, clean water.

My tank (the one it came with) is 110 gallons. For that volume, it's pushing this filter way too far by itself. And I use at least two filters anyway, which is recommended to do for anything larger than 50 gallons. Plus, mine is stocked with goldfish.. so I pretty much quadruple the advertised gph rating for that reason too. Goldfish are messy and carry a much higher bio-load than tropical fish.

Another thing about gph ratings.. don't rely on that promised performance figure too much. Those are really just marketing figures and aren't a true measure of what the filter actually does for you in real life. So if I see 250 gph on the specs, I figure.. well, maybe... if the water is running downhill and there's no buildup of slime inside the tubes and the filter media isn't full of muck. Lots of things will slow down that water flow. In reality, it might only be pushing 100 gph through the tubes but we can't tell the difference. Another reason then to make it a habit of over-filtering.

I'm also sort of a filter snob, too. I don't mind cheap tanks or lighting, but I'd rather upgrade to a more top of the line filter like Fluval or Eheim if I can afford to. Then, just use the more economical ones like this one as a secondary.. or a backup.. or just to run for a while collecting beneficial bacteria so I can move it over to new tank that needs to be cycled.

[jencheung]

Thanks so much for the feedback everyone! One more question for ya. There's two models of this filter, one that comes with a bio-wheel and one that doesn't. Does it make much of a difference do you think? Is the bio-wheel worth the extra cost (roughly $20 from the places that I've seen so far)?

Rod - Where are you finding these filters for that cheap? The cheapest one I saw (new) is $45 before shipping. Which is still a great price for them, but boy do I wish I had your ebay skills!

[RodInCALIFORNIA]

i scan ebay all the time and the ones i usually find cheap are sold as 'buy it now' auctions and they go fast since there is no wait time you bid the asking price and you bought it. i just bought 2 last week from a guy in NY he had them listed at 12.99 each they were 6 months old and had the store recipt when i got them they looked brand new and he even threw in extra gaskets and 3 new micron carts so i got a excellent deal in fact they are up and running now. so i ended up spend 40.00 with shipping for them. that was a great deal to me.

[DeputyChiefJR]

For aesthetics, I would recommend a nice piece of fabric and velcro dots.

[jencheung]

So for those of you that are using them - yea or nay on the Bio-wheel?

Rod - That's an amazing deal. I guess persistence will be the key - daily searches starting today!

Deputy - I actually like the look of the wrought iron so if this filter works out I'll get to keep that look. If not, off to the craft store I go :)

[Kashta]

Yes on the bio-wheel. And never clean it. It's supposed to get brown and yucky looking.

[rnocera]

I know a lot of people love the biowheel, but personally, I think it's a waste. I've never tried one with a HOT Magnum, but I've used the HOB ones with bio-wheels for a few years. I honestly don't think the bio-wheel filters work any better than the old style filters that have the coarse sponge cartridge that comes after the floss cartridge. I've had problems where biowheels numerous times. A little while back I had a tank almost completely cycled (with nitrites coming down, and 0 ammonia present), and I came home one day to find my biowheel not moving at all. It wasn't clogged, it didn't have anything built up on it, it just wasn't working. As soon as I touched the filter, the wheel jarred loose & started spinning again, but it had been dry long enough that a lot of my BB had died, and I had a spike in ammonia & nitrites for a few days. I've had it happen on other tanks, too, and it always seems like it's most common while the tank is still cycling. I hear the HOT magnum doesn't do this because it works with a spray bar, but, I still wouldn't trust it.

I'd think you'd be far better off with a sponge prefilter than you would with a bio-wheel. Look at the "filter max" sponge prefilters. They all have fittings to make them go over round tubes- I'm sure one of the fittings in the box would fit over the HOT's intake. If you did this, not only would you get the BB colonization here, you'd also have a pre-filter that would help with the HOT clogging. I haven't tried this yet, but I'm anxious to!