Canister filter recommendation

[platytudes]

Heh, sorry! If quiet is what you are after, then a canister is definitely the answer...I don't think brand matters too much, honestly. There are really no terrible canister filters.

(Except maybe the Nexx It is very wimpy in terms of flow rate, and a canister that is intended to use disposable media kind of defeats the whole point...but there are lots of reviews online now compared to when it first came out.)

 

[stephcps]

Both my eheims and my renas are very quiet. I have more of a problem re-priming the renas than the eheim.

 

[steveshriver]

I'm a noob, been at this 2 months now, so I am not speaking from experience. I bought a Fluval X5 when I set up my tank. It has good utility with three large trays surrounded by thick foam prefilter. Fluval put the pump at the bottom of the filter, eliminating the need to prime the pump, and there is a fitting at the bottom of the can for powered water extraction and and you van fill to here as well. It is silent, but what I bought it for was power. It delivers true 600+ gal/hr with the trays loaded, 900 gal/hr empty. I use the good flow to drive a couple RUGF's and I also have an in-tank jet for my stream setup in my tank. Anyway, I have no exp with other filters, but this one kicks butt.

steve

 

[Vince G.]

I have run Rena's (an x3 and now an x4) on my 92 Gallon for 9 years with no problem, and recently picked up an Eheim 2217 from Craigslist to add to it as a second filter. While I still LOVE the Rena, I now see what everybody says about Eheim's also. They are very quiet and powerful. The cutoff valves on the intake and outtake tubes allow you to adjust the flow, which might be good for you, since you already have those powerheads. I've never had a problem priming or servicing either.

 

[yss]

Craigslist is good source for used aquarium stuff. You can find some good deals including cannister filters. I have an FX5. It works well, but not a big fan.

 

[happypoet]

Thank you all. I'm really leaning toward an Eheim 2215 unless I find a great deal on something else.

 

[jersysman]

I love my Renas. I have 2 XP3s and will be buying 2 XP4s to go with the 40b that I got from Petco during the sale. The ease and convenience of the Renas, in my opinion, are hard to beat. Platytudes is right, though. They are not as easy to find in the big box stores anymore, but still available from my online sources.

 

[david yurik]

i've used the rena xp3 ( no problems and quiet ) but switched to the ebay sunsun. i bought my first ( hw303b ) from koolgoods and now picked up two more ( hw304b ) from cll. here is there ebay link:

http://myworld.ebay.com/cll_petsupplies/?_trksid=p4340.l2559

i like the sunsun more because the uv light is built in. i had a bad algea bloom that i just couldn't shake. i switched to the sunsun and turned on the UV. in 5 days my tank was crystal clear and has been ever since. plus you get the benefit of killing bad stuff floating in the water. the sunsun products are clearly cheaper. the plastic is thinner and the latching mechanisms are weaker. i know that and take a little extra care when setting up and cleaning. the lesser quality has never been a problem for me.

so i'm pro sunsun all the way. that being said my personal experience with rena was excellent and most eheim experience here is also stellar. if i didn't care about the coin i would have gone eheim or fx5. whatever you choose go big. you just can't overfilter too much. hope that helps.

dave

 

[THE V]

Keep your eye's open for a Marineland C-220. This is the filter series that the cheaper white knockoffs are copying.

I've had a C -360 for 5 years now and it's worked great. My wife adores how quiet it is. If anything does go wrong they are pretty good about their warranty as well.

I always shied away from the classic Eheims because of their reputations of being a little difficult to prime and start sometimes.

 

[Merlot]

Used to run a Fluval 305 for 3 years and loved it. I preferred it to the Eheim. I now run a Fluval 206 on my 33 gallon and not a huge fan on the size of the canisters. It's dead silent but there is not much space for adding extra media to the canisters either. I wanted to add some peat granules in the second level and had to sort of stuff it to the side with the biomax media. I am looking at an Eheim Classic now to see if it improves customization. Curious to know how the Eheim will treat you because I am looking at setting up a 55 gallon over the next few months.