Canister Filters

[Flohrie]

Ok so I'm buying a new canister filter for my 55 Gallon tank.

I have the following options. (Prices in $AU)

Fluval 204 A$ 172.65

For aquariums up to 200 litres. Pumps 680 lph.
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Fluval 304 A$ 229.55

For aquariums up to 300 litres. Pumps 1000 lph.
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Classic 2213
GREAT VALUE SAVE $$$$$ Was A$ 161.20 IS A$ 149.00

For aquariums up to 250 litres. Pumps 440 lph.
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Classic 2215
GREAT VALUE SAVE $$$$$ Was A$ 225.75 IS A$ 195.00

For aquariums up to 350 litres. Pumps 620 lph.

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Classic 2217
GREAT VALUE SAVE $$$$$ Was A$ 295.75 IS A$ 255.00

For aquariums up to 600 litres. Pumps 1000 lph.
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Ecco 2233 A$ 198.50

For aquariums up to 200 litres. Pumps 480 lph.
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Professionel II 2026 A$ 355.95

For aquariums up to 350 litres. Pumps 950 lph.


I'm not really familiar with canister filters so any input would be really helpful.

:D

Thanks

[Aquafreak]

I'd recommend getting the biggest Eheim you could afford. I've used Eheim in my whole aquarium life and never had a single problem with them, they're as quiet as the first day I bought them. The flow on canister filters aren't all that great, so you won't have to worry too much about too much water current, of course don't go crazy about it and buy a filter that's for 400 gals for your 55 gal if you get my drift.

The bigger the canister, the more media and flexibility it comes with. You can put all sorts of things into your filter eg. chemical absorbing products, carbon, peat, coral etc etc. Of course you could stack it all up with bio media for heavy fish loading. What I'd advice is to prefilter your canister, it really really helps alot, even if you don't want to put a prefiltering sponge on the inlet inside the tank, you still should put a few sponges in the canister before the other media, last thing you want is all that gunk getting trapped all through your bio media. Eheim's are a bit more expensive, but for me it's worth every penny, saves alot of hassle, leaks and whatever.

Hope that helped.

Aquafreak

[bayoupr]

Ever thought about a hangon. On my 60g I'm running (1) Ac500 and (1) Millennium 3000. Alot cheaper an very effective.

[goldfish freak]

if your tank is not heavily stocked, I think that the best value would be the Eheim classic 2215. Eheims are great filters, reliable well made and last very long.

[aquascaper]

I have the Eheim Pro 2026 and would recommend it to anyone who can afford it. It might be a little more pricy then the other brands or the classic versions but it is so much more convienient to maintain.

[Flohrie]

Well at the moment I only have 5 Neons, 5 Harlequin Rasboras, 1 Angel, and 2 bristlenose catfish, although I'm planning on stockin more.......just doing it slowly ;)


I was going to go with the Eheim Classic 2213 as I really don't have the big bucks to spend on a Professional. I may however be able to get the 2215.

And about pre-filtering the media, don't the eheim's have sponges before and between the media?

[JSchmidt]

Prefiltering any canister is a good idea, because it keeps crud out of the filter, allowing you to export it before it gets converted to nitrate. If you regularly clean your prefilter, you will dramatically reduce the frequency of canister tear-downs.

I would recommend two filters: a prefiltered, Eheim 2213 (or 2215, if you can afford it) packed primarily as a biofilter (see RTR's outstanding article describing this approach at http://www.tomgriffin.com/aquamag/cannister.html) and a secondary filter primarily for mechanical filtration. A HOT Magnum or Aquaclear 300 would be ideal for your size tank. Actually, given the current stocking the 2213 or 2215 would provide enough filtration on its own and you could add the additional mech filter as the stocking load goes up. Personally, I don't ever like having one filter only on a tank, but holding off on buying the mech filter now would save you a few bucks.

HTH,
Jim

[Orbitorly]

Eheim's are great filters, I like my Vortex Freedom filter tho.

[GulfCstAquarian]

I've had a Fluval 203 and 403 and while both have been very quiet and reliable, starting the siphon and purging air is such a pain that I hardly ever clean them. I like the design of the Filstars.

[125gJoe]

Originally posted by GulfCstAquarian
.... I like the design of the Filstars. I also like the Rena Filstars....

[Flohrie]

Well the ones you see up there are the only ones I can get cheaply in Australia ;)

[Elmo]

Here is a good review of the Fluvals, several Eheim models, Rena XP and Interpet Prime Canisters.

http://www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/pfk/pages/show_article.php?article_id=69

[fishywoman]

If you haven't alresdy purchased your filter, you might think about buying on the web. Try http://www.drsfostersmith.com, they have really good prices on the fluval, I have purchased quite a bit from them and have had no trouble at all. Their prices are generally 30-50% less than my local "discount" pet store. Of course, I have no idea about the shipping cost to your location. You might want to take a look tho!

[Flohrie]

Those prices are off the web, at the LFS you should add on about $80 to those prices.

And I still havn't decided, but my credit card got here today :D