No clue about canister filters

[Fishy-Botany]

Which one will be the best value for a 75 gallon tank, but I could also use on a tank up to 125 gallons? But is less than $200.
I was thinking an eheim 2217 since they have a deceint reputation and I like their pumps.
Am I on the right track?
Mybstock on the 75 are 6 juvenile Boulengerella maculata
http://www.seriouslyfish.com/species/boulengerella-maculata/
a four lined pictus , black lancer catfish. Current filtration is an AC110
Future plans are to put the maculata in a 180.

 

[BMac91]

Brand is mostly going to be personal preference. I think the most adopted "rule" filtration wise you'd find is 5x the tank volume for canister filters, 10x for HOB, somewhere in between for a combo.
The Eheim's are great filters, however, the 2217 roughly puts out 260gph, so "future proof speaking" it won't put much of a dent in a 125 or 180 without needing additional filtration.
If you're already in the neighborhood of $200, I would jump on eBay and spend an extra 20-30$ and get a brand new Fluval FX4. You'll get roughly twice the flow out of it and still maintain great quality for only a marginal cost difference. You'd have more flexibility moving the FX4 to a larger tank if needed in the future.

Ultimately, either way you can't go wrong with an Eheim or a Fluval or really any of the other respected brands.

 

[pescado209]

personally running an fx4 in my 75g fancy goldfish tank..messy SOBs.. love that dam thing. way better than the older ehiem I was running by a huge margin. kinda bulky when it's time to clean.

having said that I recommend it and as BMac91 said.. it's future proof as the fx4 is rated at up to 250g tank.

 

[Fishy-Botany]

Both of you are super helpful,
Thank you!

 

[Backfromthedead]

i run an fx6 on my 75 community tank. it works great. idk how much difference there is between an fx4 but i would spend the extra 50 on an fx6 if you want a 125 as well.

 

[james99]

Go with 2 of the large sunsun canisters. They're pretty cheap, but people seem to like them.

 

[Timmy]

I personally use Fluval. I have seen some good reviews on sun-sun and that would be my next of choice if Fluval wernt around.

 

[duanes]

Since you say you have no clue, suggesting I don't think you realize the type of maintanence,involved with a can, if it is treated properly, so let me give a contrary view.
I have used different cans over the years (Ehem, Mainland etc etc.
I hate canisters, there is nothing magical about pulling water thru a pressurized can, that any other filter does not do just as well, and is much easier to maintain..
Too me the work involved (which is often not done, because it can be messy, and fidgety, and time consuming) is not worth the trouble.
And if regular maintenance is not done, these can build up gunk, and spew all the invisible nitrates etc, back into the tank.
I often see posts where aquarists say I only clean mine every 2 months or only every month, this to me is ridiculous, because these filters constantly suck in gunk that metabolizes into nitrate, and thus the nitrate and other by-prducts of metabolism degrade water quality.
Clear water, does not necessarily mean good water..

 

[robham777]

Since you say you have no clue, suggesting I don't think you realize the type of maintanence,involved with a can, if it is treated properly, so let me give a contrary view.
I have used different cans over the years (Ehem, Mainland etc etc.
I hate canisters, there is nothing magical about pulling water thru a pressurized can, that any other filter does not do just as well, and is much easier to maintain..
Too me the work involved (which is often not done, because it can be messy, and fidgety, and time consuming) is not worth the trouble.
And if regular maintenance is not done, these can build up gunk, and spew all the invisible nitrates etc, back into the tank.
I often see posts where aquarists say I only clean mine every 2 months or only every month, this to me is ridiculous, because these filters constantly suck in gunk that metabolizes into nitrate, and thus the nitrate and other by-prducts of metabolism degrade water quality.
Clear water, does not necessarily mean good water..

Guilty as charged on the maintenance issue. I agree there is nothing "magical" about a canister and don't see any better results in water quality in tanks with canisters. In theory the extra biological media capacity of a canister will make it more efficient in the nitrification process since you should get better exposure to the bacterial colonies, but a dirty canister or one with a lot of media bypass will not have those benefits.Most are skimpy on the media, so you may need to purchase extra. I recently set up a SunSun 304b and my thoughts are: it is cheaply made with short hoses, and once media is put in it no where near 525gph, but that is what I expected. It does move a decent amount of water, holds a lot of media, filters the water, and is fairly quiet, but analog to a Fluval or Eheim it ain't. I have six 75 gallon tanks and none of them have a canister running. Most are dual hob or hob/sponge combinations.

 

[Fishy-Botany]

What about a sump instead of a canister filter? Id be able to see the gunk and have easier access to clean it