Best cannister filters and why?

[GVT]

I need to know what everyone thinks of the cannister filters out there. I plan to buy in the next few days.

[howlincody]

I've only used one cannister filter, which was a Fluval 204 on a 30 Gallon. It was excellent for keeping the water clean and clear (in part with my weekly water changes). My only dislike is that it's a bit tougher to change the media than a power filter but it's worth it for it's cleaning abilities.

[125gJoe]

I have a Fluval 404 and a Filstar XP3, and I know the Filstar XP3 filters the water just a bit better than the Fluval. ...Fluval's are still a real good product, I just like the Filstar, and its options -- such as variable outlet water flow... directional outlet flow... Another good thing is the use of smooth tubing, unlike the Fluval's corrugated (ridges) tubing. I will change out that stuff sometime..

[125gJoe]

Here's a website for Filstar :

http://www.rena.net/us/rena_filtres_xp.html

[ewok]

80g: i didn't get that myself....... my friends old 404 has clear plastic hoses, my newer ones are corrugated as mentioned, i didnt care for that myself.

to answer the question, all i own is fluval 404's ...... eventually i would like to try an ehiem just for arguements sake, i have no interest in filstar, magnum, or via aqua at the moment though. the ehiems are 2 or 3 times the price of the fluval though.

so far the fluvals have done exactly as advertised, pretty low maintenance and i always have clear water. they aren't the only filters i run on the tanks though. i have no complaints about them at all really, a couple of small annoyances like the tubes i mentioned...... i have been happy with them overall though.

good luck

[Richer]

For awhile, all i've ever ran were fluvals... as there was a lacking of other canisters in the market in my area. I really do not have anything bad to say about them. Some people claim that over time, their fluvals got louder, others complained about them breaking down, but I have yet to experience anything of the sort.

However, a few days ago I went out to the Big Al's grand opening here in the city and bought myself an Eheim 2026 Professional II. After having it run for a few days, I am convinced that Eheim filters will be the only canisters I will ever run. They are built much better than a Fluval, and I like the overall design of the filter.

Just a note, Eheims are known for their biological filtration, not for mechanical filtration since they generally do not move as much water as other filters. Magnums are better known as mechanical filters, and Fluvals are somewhere in between.

HTH
-Richer

[Harry Tolen]

In terms of bang for the buck, I'd definitely go with the Fluvals. I have run both Fluvals and Eheims, and with the advent of the newer Fluval design (the x04 series) I see no reason to spend the extra $$$ on Eheims. Eheim also encourages the use of its proprietary media, which requires constant replacement in order to be continually effective, and is very expensive. As an additional comment, Magnums are just noisy and small with bad hose fittings and I wouldn't use them again regardless of the price differential.

Since this topic tends to generate a lot of, um, enthusiasm from both sides, let me just say that I have 41 years of fishkeeping experience, and currently run (20) tanks, (4) of them with a total of (6) Eheims and (4) with a total of (5) Fluvals, (and (12) with just Aquaclear HOBs), so I have a bit of field experience on which to base my "opinions".

[Slappy*McFish]

I agree with Harry..though if money isnt a problem, buy an eheim...the newer fluvals are decent and the filstars are your best canisters for your buck...very well designed filters.

[AsahiToro]

I have an Eheim Pro 2226(original Pro). It's built great, very quiet, easy to clean and keeps my water sparkling clean. I haven't owned any other canisters to compare but it is a great filter. Put a prefilter sponge on the intake and you'll barely ever have to clean the canister. I bought it at Big Al's a couple of years ago for about $160 w/media.

[Tyler718]

I have 3 Fluval 404's. They do a great job for me. I would by one again. The only problem I ever had was that I had to replace an O-ring on the oldest one. That one is about 2 years old. And it was my fault that I had to replace it. I liked them for the dollar amount I paid. I also am planning to use an Ehiem some time in the future.

[bayoupr]

I have both fluval and eheim cannisters. Fluvals I find are easier to clean the media since the media is placed into seperate baskets which make for easy removal. My dislike about fluval is the new design on the water outlet back to the tank. My eheims are the 2217 models which don't have seperate baskets to put your media in, which means when you clean you have to pull everything out by hand a little at a time. I do like the spray bar return which the fluvals used to have. Both have pros and cons, but I find both do an excellent job at filtering water.

[RTR]

For me it is Eheim and nothing but Eheim. I use their internals and externals (both Classic and Pro). They are better made, last forever, and are silent. Every manufacturer urges use of their own media. I do use some Eheim proprietary media, but I outgrew being overly influenced by manufacturer sugestions long ago. I am fully capable of evaluating my needs for myself, and one of those need is permanent biomedia - which eliminates all sintered or foamed or whatever process glass biomedia. I do have several dozen Eheims.

[AsahiToro]

Originally posted by RTR
For me it is Eheim and nothing but Eheim. I use their internals and externals (both Classic and Pro). They are better made, last forever, and are silent. Every manufacturer urges use of their own media. I do use some Eheim proprietary media, but I outgrew being overly influenced by manufacturer sugestions long ago. I am fully capable of evaluating my needs for myself, and one of those need is permanent biomedia - which eliminates all sintered or foamed or whatever process glass biomedia. I do have several dozen Eheims.

What do you use as a permanent biomedia? I'm using Ehfisubstrat in my 2226 now. I understand that it can get some of the pores clogged over time and it eliminates some efficiency. I haven't noticed it yet(1.5 years now) but I do use a prefilter sponge on my intake that I clean bi-weekly. My Efimech and filter pads stay pretty clean as well. I usually rinse off the Efimech and Ehfisubstrat along with replacing the pads every three months regardless of if they need it or not. My tank is moderately stocked and heavily planted. Is there a better biomedia? Thanks,

Scott

[christopher1260]

my vote is for fluval. i've been running one with a variety of aquatic life for two years and have never had a problem. they are great and i love the possibilities of the multiple media baskets. no complaints from me

[RTR]

Scott - my favorite permanent biomedium is Dupla's Minikaskade, a small version of the W/D spheres. I got into those before they stopped distributing in the USA, then stocked up at that time to carry me over, but they are back in circulation now in the USA. Totally self-cleaning, they last forever.

Eheim's Ehfimech will actually serve as a biomedium also (don't tell Eheim). Not as good as the baffled plastic spheres IMO, but not bad.

Eheim pushes Ehfisubstrat, but are honest enough to admit the clogging. After 6-12 months is is an expensive rock equivalent, external surface only - I don't see any point to that for my practices. I way overfilter everything and separate mech and bio so I can rinse mech frequently and keep bio relatively undisturbed.

Have you seen:

http://www.aaquaria.com/aquasource/cannister.shtml

[Richer]

RTR - Dupla's Minikaskade interests me... where do you buy them? and do they ship to Canada?

-Richer

[AsahiToro]

Thanks RTR,

I'll hunt down the Dupla Minikaskade for my next biomedia. That article is good as well. The Eheim is great and if I can improve my filtration through better media, I'll do it.

Scott

[Slappy*McFish]

you can use ordinary aquarium gravel as a biomedia in your filter...and it's alot cheaper than the regular biomedia sold for Eheims.

[bayoupr]

Anything wrong with a cannister with a couple of inches of cerimac rings followed by several coarse sponges and topped of with one fine pad. Works for me.

[Sum-X]

I've never used a canister.... but I have heard, Filstar, Fluval, and Magnum are hte best types to get. ;)

[Botch]

I use an Eheim 2215 with sera siporax as biomedia. It works great for me.

[RTR]

Scott, Richer - Hawaiian Marine is now the USA importer for Dupla Products, and the list USA dealers is on their site:

http://www.hawaiianmarine.com/

HW does not list any Canadian distribution. Dupla's site doesn't either. but the Minikaskade is pictured there on

http://www.dupla.com/e010.htm

Maybe contact HW and ask, or perhaps Big Al's or such?

[Autumn Chuff]

Love my fluval. Great bang for the buck. I don't think it is hard at all to maintain and it is the most quiet filter I have ever run on any of my tanks. It has a good deal of room for different media types and the media for it isn't that expensive. The only problem I have with it is sometimes it is a little tempremental to prime, but all in all a wonderful product.

[GVT]

I think I will go with the Fuvals. Thanks to all for the info!!

[Harry Tolen]

Just to close the loop here on one particular point. Although RTR prefers Eheims, his recommended media work well in Fluvals as well. I use ceramic noodles on the bottom and then bioballs in the rest of the canister.

[125gJoe]

When the time comes to get rid of my Fluval 404, it will be replaced with a Filstar XP3. There's more options with Filstar canisters - especially control of water flow and the options on setting it up. It's a great filter and it's priced right! :)

[GVT]

Anyone else like the Filstars? Right now I think I will order a couple Fluval 304s. I would like more info on the Filstars first.
I plan to put two 304s on a 100-120gal setup,but not sure yet.

[mckenney]

I just purchased a Filstar XP2 for my 55g community tank and really enjoy it. It's my first cannister filter, and I don't have much experience with cannister filters, but a few features really impressed me:
First off, this filter is nearly silent. There's a hum when I have the stand's cabinet open and that's it.
Secondly, the number of different set-up options out of the box are pretty impressive. The inlet fittings allow you to run the inlet pipe all the way to the gravel if you like, or just below the surface, while the outlet pipe has fittings for a spraybar (settings for horizontal or vertical spraybars) venturi, and a powerhead-style nozzle attachment for more current.
Finally, this filter is really easy to maintain. (Yeah, I just got it, but shortly after it was all set up, I decided that I wanted to tweak the media a little... Doh!) Just unplugged it, popped the hoses off (includes a sort of switch that keeps water in the tubing... no broken siphon or water everywhere) and took the cannister to the bathtub.
All in all, I think it's a pretty sweet piece of equipment. At $70 plus shipping from Big Al's, I thought it was a pretty good deal (media's included).

[crenicichla]

eheim eheim eheim! they are the most reliable canister filters on the market, they also live forevor a good friend of mine has had one running for 13 years now (with proper matinence of course) without any problems, except maybe replacing o-rings and such things.

[Satchmo]

IMO- you can't beat Filstars. From a design point-of-view, they are very similar to the Eheim Pro series, and they don't finacially rape you like Eheim does. I've been running mine for well over a year and so far, I see no difference in form or function from the overpriced Eheims. I'll never buy another brand's canister again.

[goldfish freak]

RTR, how large are these Dupla bio balls. Also what would you consider to be the best alternative if this product is unavailable to me in Canada. Thanks.

[RTR]

Goldfish freak: From the tech sheet -

Material: Polypropylene
Diameter: 22 mm
Surface: smooth 3900 sq.mm each
Weight: 1.2 grams
Color: black

They suggest 70 Minikaskades for each 100 liters water volume.

Packing volume of the Minikaskade is ~120 Minikaskades/liter

I'd check the online major distributors for availability. I have tested and successfully used Eheim's Ehfimech ceramic noodles as an alternate, but I don't think the flow characteristics are quite as good.

[goldfish freak]

Thanks for the info RTR. What about using other bio balls of nearly the same size, would these produce nearly the same result? I was thinking about using these http://mops.ca/cgi-bin/SoftCart.exe/products/FMAM-225.htm?L+scstore+lfmz4823ff841584+1038781079

[RTR]

Is this intended for submerse or emerse use? I could not tell from that or the manufacturer's info site. I have no experience with that one. They do not give the packing volume of these that I could see, so it is hard to do a comparison for area, and flow is different still.

I tested the Dupla Minikaskade because I was using the emerse form, the Biokaskade, in my W/Ds and liked it. The submerse form worked well in my tests. My LFS handled the Dupla line then (the importer at that time was local), so easy to come by. When the importer gave up the line, I stockpiled the leftovers of this product so have a lifetime supply for myself - but it would have been nasty to discuss on the boards when it was not US-available for some years.

[goldfish freak]

What is the is the difference between using bio balls intended for submerse or emerse use? Which bio balls do you have experience and find effective besides the Dupla? Thanks again. With regards to packing volume, this item is listed as one gallon.

[JamisonBWolsh]

Ha... NONE.....use a SUMP INSTEAD! They are much better...

[Anton Wernher]

Originally posted by JamisonBWolsh
Ha... NONE.....use a SUMP INSTEAD! They are much better...

depends on the needs of the tank.

[RTR]

goldfish freak - the other bioballs I tested some years back are no longer around - which may expain part of why I did not like them, they were not top products obviously.

One gallon is how many spheres? We can't calculate area per sphere without some relating factor.

Most bioballs are designed for w/d emerse use, not submerse, the volume to surface needs are different. For submerse use the unit size needs minimizing (more units per canister volume, and packing for smaller units is better when loaded into a restricted size vessel) and the surface per unit needs maximizing. W/Ds are high-volume devices, canisters are larger volume than power filters but much less than W/Ds.

JBW - peculiar comment. A sump is not a filter, It may house a W/D or may not. A sump may house other filter formats as well, or may just be a refugium. And W/D is not by definition "better" than a canister. Nor is W/D necessarily associated with a sump - it may be tank-top or may be HOB. Tank and setup need and operator preference are significant factors. Fish-keeping 101: There is no "best" filter format. There is also no "one true path" to well-managed aquariums. Goals may be defined similarly, achieving those goals may be by different paths.

[Hammerman]

I have both the Fluval 304 & the 404. I replaced the pea trap type return on my 304 and 404 with a homemade 1/2" PVC spray bar, and couple of elbows, works great. I just like the spray bars better. They both do a great job for me, I have no trouble with the maintenance of either.
:p

[Faramir]

I'm using fluval externals exclusively now. We don't have much choice at most fish shops in the UK - the fluvals are pretty much the only externals I see with any regularity.

I agree they're a bugger to prime, especially if there's not much height difference between the tank and the filter. Once going, though, they bang on for weeks, even months, at a time without interference.

[goldfish freak]

IRTR, also found these bioballs from Coralife:
http://www.esuweb.com/new_site/ccc_maintenance_4.php#bioballs What do you think of these? They seem to be similar to the brand on the link I gave you earlier.

[RTR]

Well, at least we can compare more easily. These are still larger than Dupla's and I suspect for W/D - emerse use. I don't know how much the 2.2 cm of Dupla vs. the 2.54 cm of Coralife is going to influence canister packing. The Coralife has more surface/ball 67 cm2 vs 39 cm2 for Dupla. They give quite similar water volumes supported - 0.15 gal/ball for Coralife, 0.185 gal/ball for Dupla - which is a bit strange as the Coralife is larger and has more surface. Coralife also requires a lot more room to pack - 1 gal for the balls, vs well less than 2 liters for Dupla.

There is a disconnect in Coralife's data - in the text they give 300 balls per gallon, in the product list they give 225 balls per gallon - big difference.

But they could work if you are planning on using large volume canisters for bio-

Don't hold me to the numbers, I ran through them fast - if you seriously consider these I re-do more carefully.

[goldfish freak]

RTR, why would the Coralife require alot more room to pack if they are only slighty larger than the Dupla?

[RTR]

Spheres are a good packing configuration, but when you are packing them in cyclinders (many canisters) or rounded corner rectangular boxes with baskets (many other canisters) both of those being taller than they are wide, small increases in diameter can have large effects on the number of units which will be held in the use container (the canister).

The Dupla spheres pack theoretically at 120 units per liter, or about 454 per gallon. The Coralife pack theoretically (depending on which figure you use from their site) at 225 or 300 units per gallon. That theoretic packing should be in a spherical container, but the odds are it is not, but you can bet it is at least in a cube box (Dupla uses triangle boxes for selling - don't ask me why). The farther away the use container is from a sphere or cube, the greater the effect of the size of the individual units on packing. For the two units we looking at the smaller gets at least 50% more, perhaps twice the number of units in the same size container, with only a 15% increase in diameter from the smaller to the larger unit. This is not just the volume increases being a cubed function, so small changes in size are large changes in volume, but also how many will fit in the diameter inside the cylinder that is the canister.

Does that make sense? If you have kids, you can play with two marble sizes in highball glasses to see the effect of diameter restriction on packing. I used that with my son who was in secondary school at the time I was playing with this myself. He had a hard time seeing why I did not just use the same larger Dupla Biokaskade spheres I use in my W/Ds (where the towers are very nearly cubes BTW - good packing).

[suziq]

I love my XP3 fisltar. I is very quiet, the amount of media room is huge, and the configuration for the in/outputs is great. If you want to go cheap: I bought mine used off of ebay 55$, i came with course sponges fine sponges. i layered mine (in order of water flow0 blue White self cut fiter pad, 2 course, 1 fine, 1 1/2 cages of lava rock( from poshy home gardening store, small for indoor plants) and a fine spong on top ( in case anyt of the rock was small enough to ge sucked up. I know that this was a one time deal but you may be able to find something similar.

someone might not like my choice of lava rock but I have power cycled 2 canisters using this and there seems to be no detriment to flow. The bacteria load is phenomenal because i cycle these running in a 25 gal rubbermaid and seed with old gravel in a sock from another tank. After the initial cycle is over at 5ppmamm gone and trite spike is over , I increase load the tank with amm ttil it is way off the chart an is being cleared in 24 hrs. The whole process usually takes 2weeks. If the filter can handle that much ammonia and not have a decrease in flow, then my choice of media is sufficient.

[Hootchieman]

I just bought a HOT (hang on tank) Magnum and found that as a purely mechanical filter it works excellent. Very easy to setup and clean. I run it every so often to clear up my tanks, especially after moving stuff around in the tank.

[O-man21]

HOT Magnums are good filters, I prefer eheims tho

[Richer]

goldfish freak - I found a place in the US that will do mail order and does carry Dulpa's Minikaskade.

From an Email I recieved from Hawaiian Marine Imports, Inc.

Contact Tom Mars at Hydro Logix, Inc. @ 860-491-2700, mail order in Connecticut.

Thank you.

Hawaiian Marine Imports, Inc.

HTH
-Richer

[O-man21]

I think that link sounds like a good one

[goldfish freak]

Richer, Thanks. Just to make things clear are you saying that this place that you mentioned will sell and ship to Canada?

RTR, thank you again. Since the Coralife bioballs have approximately 40% more surface area per ball and since there are approximately twice as many Dupla bioballs than Coralife per gallon, then wouldn't a gallon of Coralife bioballs have close to the same amount of surface area as a gallon of Dupla bioballs? Coralife: 225x67cm2= 15075cm2, Dupla: 454x39cm2= 17706cm2. Or a I missing something here? I think I see what you are saying here, but do you think I would be able to fit half or more of the larger bioballs in the same amount of space?

[Richer]

goldfish freak - Yes, I believe so. I asked Hawaiian Marine Imports if there was a Canadian dealer/distrubtor, and they responded with that.

-Richer

[goldfish freak]

Thanks Richer I will contact them and ask.

[RTR]

The gallon size was selected to normalize the discussion. The selection would be based on several criteria, not just number of units per volume - You are going to support a certain water volume in the tank, with the Coralife spheres you will need twice the packing volume = twice the filter size versus the Dupla spheres. If you don't mind going to larger canisters, this would be fine. But if you are going to be limited to larger spheres I'd probably opt for W/D rather than canister filtration or at least consider such.

[Tightdog1]

Ehiems, bcause they are just made or superior materials to that of fluval, filstar, and (err) magnum. i have a fluval 304 on my 55g but i now regret that decision cause my friend has a eheim pro 2 on his 55g and he always has the clearest and least smelly water! my fluval is good but not as good as the ehiems. the fluval i have has a biowheel pro 60 so that i can have micron pads a carbon inside. it works but probably not as good as an ehiem.

i would say ehiem tho more expensive, but worth every penny!

[mas]

im have a fluval 202 on a 3' tank, and a rena xp4 with an ehiem professional II 2028 on a 6' tank..

my favourite would have to be fluval just over the eheim because you get a nice separator for the media basket and the hosing for me is much easier to clean. (if only the eheim came with a seperator!!! :)) both the eheim and fluval seem to be equal in features and quality apart from that.

quality wise the rena seems to be a bit less well made than the others, and it has no manual primer (on mine you have to fill the intake tube with a cup to get it going and its really needs you to soak the filter material every time) but otherwise it works fine.

ive only had these for about a year so i couldnt say for the long run, but for general features and price would recommend fluval anyday.