Upgrading from HOB to Canister. New to Canisters, any help/info/tips?

[PaiLum92]

I want to upgrade my filter(s) to a canister, from HOB’s. Currently, I have two Emperor 400 Bio-Wheel HOB’s. They work ok and all, but I am thinking of getting a canister filter, as I have heard that they are generally less noisy, and better at filtration than HOB’s. (My tank is a 72g Bowfront)

So, I want to know what kind of canister filters are the best? You know, brand, style, etc. Money shouldn’t be too much of an object. I’ve heard Eheim and Fluval are the best canister filter brands, but I want to know more, like;

- How quite do they run?
- When it comes time to clean them, how difficult is the task?
- I’ve read that they need to be purged of air after cleaning and before turning it on again. What does this entail, is it just simply adding water to the canister as one would do to a HOB, or is it a lot more complicated?
- I’ve read they leak at first, do they all leak, or just certain brands? Also, how do I stop the leak and ensure it doesn’t do it again at random times and ruin everything?
- What is the BEST brand? Like, which pumps more water, cleans/filters it best, etc etc…
- My tank is a 72g, I want to over filter, I like to over filter, so what would be an appropriate make/model? I think something made for a 100g or so would be good, if they make canister filters that run that high..?
- Any other info regarding canister filters?

Thanks for any help and info guys,
~ Caleb S.

 

[angelojg22]

I have an eheim classic and an xp3 Rena most canisters are quiet the eheim is the quietest I can't even here it with the doors open, It's very simple and the only con is its a pain to clean out but other than that it keeps my water very clear. The Rena I use mainly for chem filtration but it very easy to clean all the media are in individual baskets, its not as quiet but with the doors closed I can't here it. Some people say the Rena is a bit more flimsy but having both I would say there isn't much difference. If its going to be a main filter and you don't mined paying for it I would probably get an eheim classic.

 

[angelojg22]

And as for priming or purging most you just need to fill once and the way the valves work you close them remove the filter preform your maintenance and when you set them back up and turn the valves back on it fills using the water in the line as a siphon filling the canister. Some have a pump primer but the other way works just as well

 

[thacarter546]

I have an odyssea cfs500 which is an awesome canister for the money! 60 bucks shipped. The media can also be modified to make it more efficient. Its dead silent once running. You can put your ear up to it and barely hear it.

Also have a Rena XP3. Thing is dead silent. They are beyond easy to maintain. The media trays are large. You can shove about a litre of media in each tray.

 

[jopheso]

Aquatop CF500 with the Built in UV sterilizer. Very cost effective and quiet. Just my limited experience. Definitely worth looking up though.

 

[Oughtsix]

I think that HOB's have a lot of advantages over canisters. Easy to setup. Easy to prime. Much easier to maintain/clean. Easier to add chemical filtration to address an issue (carbon to remove medication, etc.) Better O2 exchange.

I started with HOB's, "upgraded" to canisters then switched to sumps. My impression is the canisters are the least effective of the 3 filter types. My canister list includes Eheim 2075, Fluval 404, Rena XP3, Magnum 350 and an OceanClear cartridge filter. The Eheim is the only one I still use. I use it as a supplement/backup to my sump. I paid too much for the Eheim to just shelve it but don't consider it noticeably better than the XP3. I never liked the Fluval 404 that much.

 

[PaiLum92]

So then it would just be better then to upgrade my HOB's? What is the best make/model/brand of HOB? The Emperor 400's I have are good, but a bit loud and and the water flow kinda sucks in one of them.

 

[Hot Slime]

If you want something real quiet you can't go wrong with Eheim. In my opinion the Eheim classics are the best canisters but the flow is a bit lacking. I have the Eheim 2217 and although it's quiet I wouldn't recommending this filter on anything bigger than a 55 if you plan to run solo. Fluval fx5 would be my second choice.


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[Ghost Knife]

Hey, out of all the canisters I have had for my tanks, IMO Ehiem have been the best followed by fluval, the differences are:
Noise: both quiet, I've ran both in my bedroom
Leaks: I've never had a leak on either ever
Cleaning: eheim classic can be back washed, the inlet is on the bottom of the canister & outlet is at the top

The only complaint I have with the Fluval is every time you clean it (just the canister) when you prime & turn it on it spits out all this gunk from the pipes, the only way around it is to do a complete pipe clean also, but if you can just turn it back on & look away for 5-10 min until it cleans back up its ok, (I find it hard to do tho)

Both are easy to prime, just make sure they are empty when you hook them back up & a lil suck on the outlet the water fills the canister expelling all the air, plug it in, maybe a lil shake & away you go



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[F1 VET]

I think that HOB's have a lot of advantages over canisters. Easy to setup. Easy to prime. Much easier to maintain/clean. Easier to add chemical filtration to address an issue (carbon to remove medication, etc.) Better O2 exchange.

I started with HOB's, "upgraded" to canisters then switched to sumps. My impression is the canisters are the least effective of the 3 filter types. My canister list includes Eheim 2075, Fluval 404, Rena XP3, Magnum 350 and an OceanClear cartridge filter. The Eheim is the only one I still use. I use it as a supplement/backup to my sump. I paid too much for the Eheim to just shelve it but don't consider it noticeably better than the XP3. I never liked the Fluval 404 that much.

Are you kidding me? Canisters have 100% NO WATER BYPASS! Hobs are good for a begginer and may easy to maintain but they provide loud bad bio/mech filtration, have little water volume and usually bad gph and u still have to fill them with water to prime them! Did i mention they look horrible?!

Canister is like a sump except an open system with more customization and volume for heaters and uvs etc.

Ive had experience w/ xp4 and fx5, the fx5 moves so much water and purges air every 24 hours and can pump the water out of ur tank! I always use my ac110 as backup tho

#1 S. Vettel