Hello,
All I recently purchased the Rena Smartfilter 55, it seems a little sluggish, any one have an reviews, comments, or opinions on this filter? Its touted as being canister like filtering in a HOB design. The more opinions I can get the better see if this filter is worth keeping. Thanks
Another smartfilter owner! I'm glad! I use a RENA smartfilter 30 on my 55 with 2 other filters, and It's probably the best filter on my tank.
I really liked the design of the filter when I saw it, and thought that it would be a good addition to my 55. It's design is really like a canister, since the water is actually forced through the miedia, insted of the water being flown over the miedia. If you look at just the plumbing of the filter, you can see that the water comes in through the intake tube and is directly inserted into the filter boxes, so the water is actually forced through the miedia.
I have had great results from the filter, and it is probably the best filter I currently own (I don't own too many). You also said that it is somewhat sluggish, and I can see your assumption because of the GPH flow rate, which is 250 instead of 300. I think that the flow rate is acceptable because the quality of filtration is much greater, however it might be a good idea, if you are using this for a 55 gallon, to put another, small HOB on the tank as well, just because you should always overfilter, and it would be a good idea to increase the flow of the tank.
The cost and upkeep of the filter might be rather expensive, but it is well worth it; It might cost a little more than some inferior HOBs, but I think that it is worth the quality of filtration. Just my two cents on this one, I haven't heard much about RENAs at AC, but maybe someone else will give their opinion.
Hope this helps!
