aquaclear. ive never owned one but ive worked with one and i like the size of the canister, your able to fit plenty of media in it. theyre reliable, quiet and effective.
I got 2 Rena XP3 for $109 each, can beat the price, media room and how easy they are to mantain and install. They are pretty quiet and have lots of room for media ! I also have an Eheim clasic 2017, its provably better than the Renas but its almost twise the $$$. I think you can beat the bang for your buck when it comes to the XP3.
Also have 2 Marineland Penguins 350, they really get the job done with the biowheels but they are loud and the filter cartridge replasement can get $$$. My Marineland Mag 350 is great other than cant get the air out of it... Loud !
i like bang for your buck and although i'm not as versed in talk the talk as i am in walk the walk i'm pretty handy. for that reason i chose generic. NOT store brand... i want something selling on a larger scale than that where accountability is involved.
my favorite filter currently (of the ones i own) is a cascade cannister 1000. anyway i saw gunners and soungurus reviews of sunsun filters recently and if i had a room full of fish i wouldn't mind filtering a bunch of tanks for $40 instead of $200 - $300 each. i'm pretty sure that 5 $40 filters will last a lot longer than 1 $200 filter too so that solves any reliability issues for me also.