Equipment for 55 and 170
- Thread starter Jade.Crusader
- Start date
I used to run them on my oscar tank years ago as my oscar couldnt be trusted with heaters in his tank. Great hearters, well worth the money.
I also had eheim and fluval canisters on his tank, i would only have eheims after having both.
Jade- If you wanted to stick with HOB filters only, you absolutely could on a tank this size. You could run 3 Aquaclear 110s on a 170g tank. In regards to HOBs, Aquaclears are the best because of their reusable media and the fact you can use what ever bio media you want in them. Another option would be 2 AC110's and some sponge bubblers. I like to run several kinds of filtration on my tanks in case one poops out or so I can swap filters around to different tanks.
Like said, canister filters are great (I've got two) and offer a massive surface area of filtration media compared to a HOB, but they are more labor intensive in terms of maintenance. You can lift out and squeeze/rinse an AC110's media in a matter of a minute. A canister cleaning can take a half hour or more, plus you have to pray you can get it primed and pumping again with no seal leaks. You have to clean/lube the seals too if you want them to last, plus you should have spare seal and impeller kits on hand. There's always potential to getting water on the floor in this hobby, but a canister will most definitely increase the chance of this.
IMO, best option is run an aquaclear or two for the majority of your mechanical filtration and a canister for some mechanical and lots of bio filtration. This will help take the solids load off your canister and reduce the frequency of cleanings. I only have to break down my canisters every 3 months running setups like this.
In regards to heaters? They're all good provided you keep the business end out of the water at all times. Keep a "submersible" heater fully under water and water eventually gets in them. Keep the dial end dry and even the cheap ones will last years.
Like said, canister filters are great (I've got two) and offer a massive surface area of filtration media compared to a HOB, but they are more labor intensive in terms of maintenance. You can lift out and squeeze/rinse an AC110's media in a matter of a minute. A canister cleaning can take a half hour or more, plus you have to pray you can get it primed and pumping again with no seal leaks. You have to clean/lube the seals too if you want them to last, plus you should have spare seal and impeller kits on hand. There's always potential to getting water on the floor in this hobby, but a canister will most definitely increase the chance of this.
IMO, best option is run an aquaclear or two for the majority of your mechanical filtration and a canister for some mechanical and lots of bio filtration. This will help take the solids load off your canister and reduce the frequency of cleanings. I only have to break down my canisters every 3 months running setups like this.
In regards to heaters? They're all good provided you keep the business end out of the water at all times. Keep a "submersible" heater fully under water and water eventually gets in them. Keep the dial end dry and even the cheap ones will last years.
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I had another thought, sunsun is a cheap canister filter. It's basically a Chinese knock off of one of the major brands. I've heard mixed reviews on them. A friend of mine has one on his SW tank and it's been going strong for 5 years. Worth looking into at least if the budget is a concern. Some of the smaller models are less than $50 on amazon.
Yep. I've had my Sunsun 302 running for 3yrs now. All original parts. You can those shipped to your door for under $50. I've seen'em as cheap as $40 shipped w/ media. You'd need at least 3 of them on a 170g though.
I'm with you there Bob. I only clean my canisters once every three months.
And I'm not sure about the comments above about priming. I guess it depends on what kind of canister you have. I honestly can't remember the last time I primed mine.
As to cleaning, I can only speak for my Rena's, but you simply push a lever up to release the unit, a quick disconnect if you will. Take the filter over to the sink, rinse out mechanical media, and put it back in. Place the filter back in place, pull the lever down to reconnect, and turn it back it on. It takes me all of maybe fifteen minutes.
And I have replaced the seals, but never because of a failure. I only do because they have been running for so many years I figure it is a good idea. And I have never replaced the impellers. I do take them out and clean them from time to time, but only if I've got nothing else to do.
And I have nothing against HOB's, just saying IMO canister filters are pretty easy to maintain. The other consideration is how close the tank is to a wall. Mine is so close I can barely get my tubing behind it, let alone an HOB.
170g is much bigger than I've done but I have several Rena XL3s (or whatever the 3's are/were). They are very straight forward & can work with (but I haven't) tried Hydor in-line heaters. I also run a fluval 405 (or similar, 404?) that I'm not used to after almost 2 years & maybe 3 cleanings. It's really about what is comfortable to you & your maintenance schedule.
I've always liked the looks of those Rena/Filstars.
The only negative I've read about with them, is with their top latches breaking, but replacement parts look pretty cheap and easy to get.. The design looks great to me. I like the see-through housing and the square trays. Probably easy to cut and fit your own DIY media.
In regards to priming issues, leaks, impellers. I've read of (but not experienced) these problems with Marineland C-360s. These are very popular over at an oscar forum I'm on. Some guys have many of them, along with Eheim classics. Some seem to have constant issues, others not so much. My C-360 has only been in service for 2yrs, but so far, so good.
