Ordered a new canister filter.

[FreshyFresh]

A few weeks back I noticed my 8yr old Sunsun 302 canister was dead. I'm not sure for how long it had been that way, so was dreading opening it up. Luckily it didn't smell horrific at all.

The problem was, as I attempted to pull the impeller out, the cap/cage/cover or what ever you call that part you untwist to access the impeller broke in my hand. Apparently it had become brittle with age. The impeller assembly didn't look dirty or blocked and for grins, even with the broken cap, it spun when I powered it up. I didn't want to risk trying to use it as is and given I paid under $50 shipped for this filter new, scraping it isn't a big issue for me.

I've got an aquaclear HOB on this 55gal tank as well, so it will be fine while I source another filter for this tank. I had my eye on an Oase 350 biomaster thermo 350. Just loved what I've read about and seen online about this filter and the easy to access and clean pre-filter unit on it. I had it sitting in my amazon cart for a week but ultimately couldn't justify the ~$260 something shipped price tag.

Instead I mail ordered an eheim classic 350 / 2215 for $140. I'll post back when I get it and how it goes.

 

[Sprinkle]

Cool^^ i had my intenrnal filter in my 125 so i want to clen it but impeller broke hah

 

[TwoTankAmin]

There are only three brands of canister I recommend.

1. Eheim
2. Eheim
3. Eheim

All of mine are the Pro II line. The first bought in 2002 still runs a qiet as the day I got it. have 3 running in all and almost noissue. Ythe most recent one went into use. about 10 years ago. I have two more on the shelf. I run one loaded with only Poret 20 ppi foam. It took well over 3 years before I needed to clean it the first time. The other two get cleaned twice a year.

 

[Sprinkle]

There are only three brands of canister I recommend.

1. Eheim
2. Eheim
3. Eheim

Good one! ^_^

 

[Wyomingite]

There are only three brands of canister I recommend.

1. Eheim
2. Eheim
3. Eheim

All of mine are the Pro II line. The first bought in 2002 still runs a qiet as the day I got it. have 3 running in all and almost noissue. Ythe most recent one went into use. about 10 years ago. I have two more on the shelf. I run one loaded with only Poret 20 ppi foam. It took well over 3 years before I needed to clean it the first time. The other two get cleaned twice a year.

I have two Fluval FX5s that I got one heck of a deal on, which is the only reason I bought them over Eheims. They do seem to need a little more attention than the Eheim I have, but I can't say I'm disappointed. My research said they weren't as energy efficient as Eheims, but I'm actually carbon neutral (or maybe even carbon negative considering how much I sell back to the power company) in electrical use due to my solar panel system. That may be an issue for other potential buyers.

WYite

 

[FreshyFresh]

There are only three brands of canister I recommend.

1. Eheim
2. Eheim
3. Eheim

All of mine are the Pro II line. The first bought in 2002 still runs a qiet as the day I got it. have 3 running in all and almost noissue. Ythe most recent one went into use. about 10 years ago. I have two more on the shelf. I run one loaded with only Poret 20 ppi foam. It took well over 3 years before I needed to clean it the first time. The other two get cleaned twice a year.

Good to know. I was going to ask about media. On my other canisters which are a newer sunsun 302 and an 8yr/old marineland C360, I run all coarse sponge media in the lower trays and various bio media in the top 1 or 2 trays. I clean them every 6 months and they could probably go longer.

I haven't gotten my new eheim classic yet, but my plan was to run the coarse foam disks, maybe 3-5 of them in the bottom and then bags of my existing bio media on top. My bio media is a mix of seachem matrix and ceramic tubes/rings.

I do have a concern as to which outlet hardware the latest 350 / 2215 will come with. I don't like spray bars or suction cups.

Man I wish that oase 350 biomaster was a bit less expensive.. LOL

 

[Sprinkle]

Man I wish that oase 350 biomaster was a bit less expensive.. LOL

I wish they were not expensive at all. Love them.

 

[the loach]

I have used solely Eheim filters for the past 35 years, and have a couple that are still running from the mid to late 80's, but there is Eheim and Eheim. The "classic" Eheims of today may resemble the old ones, but the quality is not the same, the material is lighter and cheaper.
I also operate some Eco Eheims because they are very economic, but the quality of those is even worse... look at them the wrong way and they'll break. The good thing about Eheims is you can get spare parts... the bad news is, the spare part will cost as much as a (barely) used Eheim filter.

 

[TwoTankAmin]

I have had pretty good luck with Eheim parts buying from the UK on Ebay. That is for my Pro IIs, I cannot say for other models.

I also gave their Liberty Hang-on a try. I modified the media set-up, but, for the price, the 200 gph ran really well for me. I have been backing out of power filters the past few years and it's now on the shelf.

The one downside to canisters is that they are a sealed system. This can impact things in terms of oxygen. Most of the bacteria we have in our filters is aerobic. In a power filter, a wet/dry or a trickle filter, the water gets exposed ot oxygen from the air. Inside a canister all of the available oxygen must arrive dissolved in the water. The are any number of reasons why the water entering a canister might not hold the optimal amount of DO. It depends upon what is in the tank the is depleting/using oxygen in the water.

 

[Wyomingite]

I have used solely Eheim filters for the past 35 years, and have a couple that are still running from the mid to late 80's, but there is Eheim and Eheim. The "classic" Eheims of today may resemble the old ones, but the quality is not the same, the material is lighter and cheaper.
I also operate some Eco Eheims because they are very economic, but the quality of those is even worse... look at them the wrong way and they'll break. The good thing about Eheims is you can get spare parts... the bad news is, the spare part will cost as much as a (barely) used Eheim filter.

Twenty years ago I had a half dozen Marineland Magnum 350s, which I really liked. They were really easy to maintain, were relatively inexpensive and were great for smaller tanks (less than 55 gallons). You really got a bang for your buck. When I moved to this house in 2005 the canister parts got lost in the move. Had the motors, had the tops and all the plumbing, but the box with the actual cannister parts was gone. Never have found it and I don't think I have any boxes left hiding out in the garage that haven't been searched. I ordered replacement canisters and was disappointed. They had cheapened the basic design and used cheaper materials. The lock clips that kept the top attached to the canister, as well as the design, had changed. They fit my tops and my motors but the clips kept breaking off of the canister itself because of a weaker design.

I'll stand by the Marineland bio-wheel HOB filters 100%. As far as HOBs go, I use nothing else. But I won't use and won't recommend their canister filters to anyone ever again.

WYite