my 150 gallon is running on 3 Aqua Clear 110's. In all my years I have yet to use a canister filter. I am a huge fan of Aqua Clears and have always bought those for every tank size. I am asking you now if I buy a XP3 what will that be doing for my tank??? like if I had two XP3's running on the 150 gallon will I notice any change in anything compared to my 3 AQ 110's????? basicly what I am asking is why would I wanna spend so much more money on a canister???? please I have asked this before on many sites and people keep telling me it's because there bigger.... well I can tell there bigger but what benefits do they offer me???
Canister Filter
- Thread starter Chago09
- Start date
All filters have their uses. HOB filters are great for keeping a tank very clear, with little suspended particles. Canisters generally will house far more bio media for the energy used compared to HOB filters. Wet/Dry filters are able to house even more media, and are very customizable.
esse, be careful with your statements, AC filters are good, but you can go wrong with them in the wrong situation, such as in a planted tank.
esse, be careful with your statements, AC filters are good, but you can go wrong with them in the wrong situation, such as in a planted tank.
canisters can hold huge amounts of bb. there are rite and wrong times to use each type of filter. i feal for the larger fish that like to eat if you know what i mean should have a canister or sump or if you use hob will have to check every day
Dont get hung up on thinking that the bigger the external filter the more benificail bacteria it will hold because it wont. Filters only hold enough BB to maintain the ammount of bioload being produced by the fish in your tank. Example; If you had a 100g tank with 10 neons in it the filter only holds enough BB to process thier waste, add another 100 noens and your tank will crash as the filter cant cope. The thing that makes external filters so good is thier versatillity. You can put so many different medias in to cover so many different applications. Sponges of differing coarseness to remove solids, followed by Sinitered glass products to harbour the BB that process the Ammonia and NitrItes, charcoal to remove chemicals and remove staining int he water, then filter wool to give it a final polish. But if you were running a multi filter set up you could just use the external to hold sponge and filterwool, then your wter would be ultra polished. IMO its thier versatillity that makes then so good. You even get filters taht have built in Heaters in them so doing away with ugly heater taht can get broken by big Dicklids Eheims 2126 and 2128 are good examples of this. Some extrenals are now even coming fitted with UV filters now too, I think Cascade make one like this.
DasArab;660004; said:
This is not entirely true, or you just worded it badly. A big filter will hold more bacteria, The fact that is isn't holding it's full capacity is not the same. i.e. if you have a 100G with 10 neons and a scabby little filter it will hold enough bacteria. If you add another 100 neons, your little filter would have to catchup but the it can't hold enough bacteria to stand the new load so you would always be in trouble. However, the bigger filter would be fine because it can "hold" more. It would catch up with the load and handle it no problem. So the fish load dictates how much bacteria you have, but the size of the filter will dictate how much you could have.
Hey, if you are happy and your fish are happy with AC's, then keep on using them! They are a bargain. The choice amongst filter types is often personal, not technical.
I don't like HOB filters on big tanks because I find it a pain to remove them and the media for maintenance. And I have to maintain them more often than canisters on my planted tanks.
Other people actually find canisters a pain because they are heavy to move and because the cheaper ones can be a hassle to prime under some circumstances.
Unless you are very heavily stocked, both filters will work, so stick with what you know. And if you are over-stocked, you might want to use a trickle filter instead.
I don't like HOB filters on big tanks because I find it a pain to remove them and the media for maintenance. And I have to maintain them more often than canisters on my planted tanks.
Other people actually find canisters a pain because they are heavy to move and because the cheaper ones can be a hassle to prime under some circumstances.
Unless you are very heavily stocked, both filters will work, so stick with what you know. And if you are over-stocked, you might want to use a trickle filter instead.
i just ordered a xp3 from DR fosterSmith let you all know what i think later...btw Cichlas great comment !!!!!!!!!!!!!
One of the biggest advantage a canister has over an AC110 is the water circulation capability. Basically an AC110 draws water from a 12 inch deep tube and a small water falls returns it back about 12 inches to the side.
For my 150G (48x24x30), I have an XP4 drawing colder water from the bottom right corner (6 extension tubes stacked for 24 inch depth) and returning the water on the left side with a vertical mounted spray bar. The spray bar is angled to cause the water to circulate counter clockwise back to the right corner. I am about to order an XP3 to hook to my surface skimmer (on the right side) that will draw warmer surface water (and the oily film) and return the water on the left side. I will remove the spray bar and install the short high pressure adapter and send the water straight down to mix the warmer surface water with the cooler bottom water. This mix will then be rotated couter clockwaise by the XP4.
For my 150G (48x24x30), I have an XP4 drawing colder water from the bottom right corner (6 extension tubes stacked for 24 inch depth) and returning the water on the left side with a vertical mounted spray bar. The spray bar is angled to cause the water to circulate counter clockwise back to the right corner. I am about to order an XP3 to hook to my surface skimmer (on the right side) that will draw warmer surface water (and the oily film) and return the water on the left side. I will remove the spray bar and install the short high pressure adapter and send the water straight down to mix the warmer surface water with the cooler bottom water. This mix will then be rotated couter clockwaise by the XP4.
I keep all my cannister intakes a couple inches from my stealth heaters...........suck up the warm water to evenly distribute it throughout the tank (spraybars!!!)