Canister Debate: Which Do You Use?

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
O

orlok

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jun 3, 2005
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St. Louis, Mo.
Alright everybody the debate is on!

Marineland Magnum 350/ H.O.T.

Hagen Fluval MSF

Eheim Pro, Ecco etc.

Others...

Which canister filter do you use? Why? Which is better?

Photos of filtration setups appreciated.

Anybody using the Eheim 2250/2260 models? Would love to see photos of them on your tank setup!
 
iwas in a bind and bought one of those Eheim knockoffs on ebay. That thing works nicely on a 150 I have 2 oscars a spotted gar a dempsey a TSN and a big pleco. I clean the tank once every 2 weeks
 
HOT Magnum and XP3 seem to work the best for me.. Easy priming, holds plenty of media, dosn't clog easily, and flows ALOT of water.

Fluvals are a pain, although effecient, I have never liked them. For the money, I would go with an XP3 anyday.

Eheims work well, but are too spendy.

The knock-off filters will say they flow x/gph, but once they get clogged even the slightest bit, it halves their effeciency..
 
I have 4 fluval 404s and they are priced well but the priming issue is there.
The secret is to turn them off while the intake is still submerged and turn them
on when the water is real high. That way you dont have to prime it.
 
Found them at Petco. They were about half the price of all the other ones and they seem to work great. Thay have a self prime button that makes things easy (but it shoots bubbles for about 2 minutes and scare the fish and turtles) so when I clean it I just fill the canister up with water (pre-primed). It seems the longer these ran the more silent they became. Thay both seem to filter better once there is a build up of bacteria on/in the media baskets and sponges.
 
I use a Fluval 404, which is just ok, and a Rena Filstar (?) which I really like.
 
I used to have an XP3 and it worked well but then mysteriously broke for no reason.

I now use a Fluval 404 and it filters better mechanically, and is less of a pain to clean etc.
 
Canisters are effiecient but are a pain to use....the whole breaking it open to clean is a hassle and no matter how hard you try you get dirty water everywhere. I've used Eheim and Fluval and they both worked well.
 
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