canister or no canister

for planted tanks you should go with canister. other than that its just preference if your getting comparable sized filters. the biowheels while smaller do have the wet/dry effect. i wouldnt get a canister if hang ons would work since i think cleaning them is a lot easier.
 
well the canister i have now is alright but the turn over is only 2.5times a hr. I would like more room under the tank so i have been thinking it might be easier to get 2 HOB filter that are rated for tanks 100 +
 
flow directions

If the flow rate is very high, you will need to consider what plants you put in the path of the flow.
 
cannisters filter better than hob's, so they don't need as much volume.i think the cannisters are alot better.
 
Personally, I do not think there is any substitute for turn-over rate.
I had an Eheim 2026 on my 55g running in conjunction with an Aquaclear 500.
For poops and giggles I added a second "freebie" Aqualclear 500 to it and noticed HUGE improvements in water clarity and overall mechanical filtration.

As far as biologicals go, you cant touch the canisters in terms of the amount of media they can hold and grow colonies on, but for mechanical filtration HOB's are the way to go.

Unless you have a planted tank or are running an unusually high bio load, Id go with the HOB power filters.
 
HOB's are easier to clean, but toss a filter sponge over the intake of the cannister (or HOB for that matter) and just rinse that once per week. Now you're looking at a monthly rinsing of your cannister media, not too bad.

Actually, your reason for not wanting a cannister is one of the things I count as a big plus of them: less stuff hanging on the back of the tank, also, tank can be closer to the wall. Which is something else to think about: do you have room behind your tank for an HOB? I don't think that I would.
 
AquariaCentral.com