I'm done with canisters
- Thread starter Redearsunfish
- Start date
Im kindof at the point of saying goodbye to canisters. I've basically just reduced the number of them that I have. Ive got a couple not in use, including a pristine fluval 406 with a new oring, impeller, shaft, and cover. I Just dont feel like setting it up.
I went canister crazy a few years ago. basically I felt canister filters were the supreme master race of filtration and only peasants used other means. Only cool kids use canisters i repeatedly told my self. Soon I found the error of my ways and replaced my African tank's filtration with a sump and the other with 2 HOB's that were sitting unused.
They are great if you stay ontop of maintenance. I agree with the whole "if you cant make time, dont keep fish" argument. But My time is limited, I work 6 days a week with a long commute, I have a pregnant wife, a stupid puppy, and a newly widowed mother with an old derelict house to look after. I have to make my tanks easy and quick to service. The easier they are, the more likely I am to do it after a 10 hour work day. And admittedly that doesnt happen often if I have to drag some leaky bucket of slime into the bathtub and make a huge mess lol.
It's about finding canisters that work for you. I fell in love with my fluvals. I had media in bags, I set them aside in a bucket of tank water and power washed the sponges. I hated servicing my ehiem, stacking the little sponges and beads, making my little eheim sandwich. I knew how to prime the eheim, but evem after the 100th time it never felt any less aggrivating. The fluval was a nice fill with water, hit the plunger twice, done deal.
Admittedly, if it werent so ugly, I'd just use sponge filters. End of story
:edit:
Ive never had a canister leak per say- never from the oring on the head. I always kept em lubed. My eheim leaked twice from the stupid quick disconnect valve. Though
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I went canister crazy a few years ago. basically I felt canister filters were the supreme master race of filtration and only peasants used other means. Only cool kids use canisters i repeatedly told my self. Soon I found the error of my ways and replaced my African tank's filtration with a sump and the other with 2 HOB's that were sitting unused.
They are great if you stay ontop of maintenance. I agree with the whole "if you cant make time, dont keep fish" argument. But My time is limited, I work 6 days a week with a long commute, I have a pregnant wife, a stupid puppy, and a newly widowed mother with an old derelict house to look after. I have to make my tanks easy and quick to service. The easier they are, the more likely I am to do it after a 10 hour work day. And admittedly that doesnt happen often if I have to drag some leaky bucket of slime into the bathtub and make a huge mess lol.
It's about finding canisters that work for you. I fell in love with my fluvals. I had media in bags, I set them aside in a bucket of tank water and power washed the sponges. I hated servicing my ehiem, stacking the little sponges and beads, making my little eheim sandwich. I knew how to prime the eheim, but evem after the 100th time it never felt any less aggrivating. The fluval was a nice fill with water, hit the plunger twice, done deal.
Admittedly, if it werent so ugly, I'd just use sponge filters. End of story
:edit:
Ive never had a canister leak per say- never from the oring on the head. I always kept em lubed. My eheim leaked twice from the stupid quick disconnect valve. Though
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I'm also a huge fan of easy maintenance, and have recently been cursing myself for being so afraid of drilled tanks and wet/dry filters. I still have 3 FX5's running - 1 one my 180 (which also has a wet/dry) and 2 on my 120. They are amazing filters, but cleaning them is about as fun as getting kicked in the jewels. With my wet/dry's, I just make it a point to rinse or replace the filter pad every time I do my weekly water change.
I second mudbuttjones, I got a 2217 sitting under the stand unused for about 6-8 months now. But with only one 6" fish in 65g I dont need all the filtration I was running b4.
Sumps are the only way to go; reef people know their stuff.
Once I tried my first sump I'll never use any other form of filtration on any large aquarium [50G and above].
Once I tried my first sump I'll never use any other form of filtration on any large aquarium [50G and above].
The only cannister I ever have leak is my fault. I only clean them once or twice a year when I notice a drop in flow. I even use them on tanks with sumps. I have a gallon of Purigen in the two Eheim 2262's.
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Interesting,all this talk of canisters leaking...While I agree,sumps are the way to go with big tanks I do employ cans or hang on filters to compliment my sump systems.I clean out my two FX-5 filters once a month,they were both bought used and I have yet to come across any leak issues.
I feel with you. It's a massive hassle to haul my Eheims out into the backyard and clean them out with a garden house _once a year_.
From your post I wished you'd give it a try, but I found that most complaints on canisters are because people get them too small. I have two 2262 on a 220 gal, a 2217 on a 40 gal, a 2080 on a 75 gal, you get the idea. More biomedia, more mech, more turnover, longer service intervals, fewer opportunities to mess up rubber o-rings.
Bigger is not only better, it's the _only_ way to go when it comes to canisters. Make peace with that fact, and you'll be happy the 364 days that you don't have to even think about them...
Oh, and as for nitrates, that simply means bio filtration works. Try water changes, or since your fishroom is so much work, try a drip. Made all the difference in the world for me, from spending massive amounts of time with all of my tanks each day, to simply enjoying the hobby. Except that one day a year when I need to clean my canisters...
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From your post I wished you'd give it a try, but I found that most complaints on canisters are because people get them too small. I have two 2262 on a 220 gal, a 2217 on a 40 gal, a 2080 on a 75 gal, you get the idea. More biomedia, more mech, more turnover, longer service intervals, fewer opportunities to mess up rubber o-rings.
Bigger is not only better, it's the _only_ way to go when it comes to canisters. Make peace with that fact, and you'll be happy the 364 days that you don't have to even think about them...
Oh, and as for nitrates, that simply means bio filtration works. Try water changes, or since your fishroom is so much work, try a drip. Made all the difference in the world for me, from spending massive amounts of time with all of my tanks each day, to simply enjoying the hobby. Except that one day a year when I need to clean my canisters...
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I only clean my canisters 3-6 months, but I get it. HOBs are very convenient for maintenance. Nothing wrong with any filters as long as it works for you.
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