I don't think my filter is cutting it.....

Ballyhoo I respect Magnum Filters. I have a Emperor 400 on my 55, a Hot on a 100 gal with Micron filter and a 350 on a planted 20L but for the price of the magnum I consider a Sunsun Better. I have one the 4 stage with additional UV filter on my 100 gal African Malawi tank and the water is crystal clear always. I believe for the price is awesome.
 
bderick67 said:
I would definitely get a different filter as the model you have is not of very good design. Personally I would also add an AC110, much better filter then the magnum 350.

Just curious how long has you tank been set up?
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Well, if this is at me, then I can't believe it- the rena? Ive read all sorta stuff about that and it seemed good- The cartriges are really expensive and I thought that I spent my money well. Ahh, no wonder there is no talk about it here! And yeah, I saw that no RENA smartfilters were at petsmart anymore. :eek: This isn't good. And my tanks been setup for around 3 years, no problems. (and if that quote wasnt at me then :wall::wall::wall: and sorry for hijacking the thread.)

And I have seen magnum filters, they are quite inexpensive and look nice, but I have also heard a lot of good stuff about AC HOBs.
 
I wouldnt just discredit HOB filters so quickly. a good HOB will clean the water very well, but the fact that they are not as efficient as canisters forces a tank filtered by them to have its volume go through the filters at least 10x per hour. this helps take away some of the filtration deficit between the two types of filtration. conversely, with a canister filter, you could get away with something like 5-7 times per hour with a well-stocked tank with no issues as long as regular maintenance is performed. Plus, they are inexpensive and will often give you quite a bit of filtration capacity for much less money then a canister that is just as powerful. The Marineland C-360 (360 gph) and Penguin 350 (350 gph) are two good examples of this; the C-360 can be anywhere from $180 to $215, while the Penguin usually costs around $36. HOB's are also moving to canister-like filtration customization, with units such as Emperors, larger Penguins, and most AquaClear filters allowing for interchangeable media as well as media baskets for loose media such as ceramic rings, carbon, etc.

That said, don't go by the filter's ratings that the manufacturer gives it. ALL manufacturers overestimate the ability of their products to adequately filter a volume of water when even moderately stocked. HOB filters tend to be the most overrated by their companies, but the maximum capacity of a filter is easily found: just divide the gph rating by 10. For example, Marineland states that their Penguin 150, a HOB filter that puts out 150 gph, can filter a tank up to 30 gallons. Any HOB filter putting out 150 gph should have a max capacity of 15 gallons. Canister filters are a bit different in that a good canister will be fine doing 5-6 times, but a lower quality canister may need to do 7-8 times. Canister filters also vary greatly in their gph ratings, so the only way to know the filter's true capacity is to read the gph ratings and do some math.

As a side note: Fluval and Eheim are probably some of the worst at rating their own filters, with some of them being rated for tanks that would only allow the entire tank's volume to be circulated through the filter less than 3 times per hour, and in some cases less than two.

A Mag350 without the bio-wheels has plenty of biological filtration capacity. it is in the filter floss, which should never be changed, and the carbon inside the filter can be exchanged for biological media or just left in the filter where it will become biological media.

Don't run away from HOB filters. Many members here are very pleased with their HOB's as well as their canisters, and a really good HOB can give you enough filtration for your needs for less than a canister filter. sure, a canister will probably do a better job, but sometimes buying a HOB for less money and getting more power is what you need.
 
bderick67 said:
Personally I would also add an AC110, much better filter then the magnum 350.
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Er... Right. Based on what criteria? HOB filters are inherently inferior to canister filters. The ACs are passable for what they are but their solids handling capacity is pathetic compared to a canister (an inherent drawback of unpressurized filters), the AC's biological filtration capacity won't match that of one biowheel, let alone the two the Mag Pro comes with, and while I'm on my iPhone so I can't easily check right now, I bet the Mag will hold more chemical media too. It'll certainly make better use of the chemical media than an unpressurized filter will.

So yeah... How is that AC better again? Because it's dirt cheap and easy to service and "good enough" at everything else?
 
theres nothing wrong with HOBs. but keep in mind when buying filters, gph isnt as important as media capacity and ability to use it (ie, no bypass. ie, SUNSUN lol)
 
i also forgot to mention that you should totally forget about those no-name filters that you see on Ebay for cheap. they're knockoffs of real brand name filters, and are of inferior quality in terms of build materials and filtration. plus, i have heard nothing but complaints about filters such as these, so you are better off spending more on a name-brand filter then buying a knockoff and having it break or have faulty hose connectors, etc that will end up costing you more and will probably lead to you buying that name-brand filter anyway.
 
sunsun 302 canister on ebay excellent filter from all the reports from members on here and only about 50.00 shipped!
 
kenyi said:
Well, if this is at me, then I can't believe it- the rena? Ive read all sorta stuff about that and it seemed good- The cartriges are really expensive and I thought that I spent my money well. Ahh, no wonder there is no talk about it here! And yeah, I saw that no RENA smartfilters were at petsmart anymore. :eek: This isn't good. And my tanks been setup for around 3 years, no problems. (and if that quote wasnt at me then :wall::wall::wall: and sorry for hijacking the thread.)

And I have seen magnum filters, they are quite inexpensive and look nice, but I have also heard a lot of good stuff about AC HOBs.
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No the comment was not aimed at you

Geeky1 said:
Er... Right. Based on what criteria? HOB filters are inherently inferior to canister filters. The ACs are passable for what they are but their solids handling capacity is pathetic compared to a canister (an inherent drawback of unpressurized filters), the AC's biological filtration capacity won't match that of one biowheel, let alone the two the Mag Pro comes with, and while I'm on my iPhone so I can't easily check right now, I bet the Mag will hold more chemical media too. It'll certainly make better use of the chemical media than an unpressurized filter will.

So yeah... How is that AC better again? Because it's dirt cheap and easy to service and "good enough" at everything else?
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Personal experience and opinion. I'm sure when you get to your computer you'll post the media capacity of each filter, so I'll leave that alone. My biggest issue with the mag is how quickly it clogs and reduces flow, yes it has zero bypass but that shouldn't mean the water too. I would choose the rena xp3 over the magnum.

If you want you go with canister the rena xp3 is a great choice, but on that size tank the AC110 will be a better choice. Someone mentioned GPH doesn't matter, well that is somewhat wrong. The biofiltration does not benefit much from high GPH(some argue lower is better) but mechanical filtration definitely benefits from higher turn over.
 
Filtration is going to come down to a matter of opinion and experience. You can get 100 posts, each with their own case on why "filter A" is better than "filter B" but IMO, each will do its job...just depends on what job YOU need the filter to do.

Yes, in general a canister is better than a HOB, but sometimes that is all you need. In the OP's case I think a canister is going to be the best choice based on the stocking.

In terms of brands, I've only personally used a Rena. Never had issues. Others swear by Marinelands, Eheims, Fluvals, etc. My only specific advice is to not go cheap unless you have to...with most equipment you get what you pay for. Just my opinion on the issue :)
 
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