What CANISTER filters should I get?

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
It's always hard to tell someone what filter to get because as someone else mentioned it is highly based on what is most important to you (flow rate or media basket size or ease of cleaning etc etc). With that said the canisters I currently have running- Three Fx5's and two Ehiem's (the older version of the Pro4's) and I did have a Sun Sun but got rid of it. There wasn't anything "wrong" with the Sun Sun, had good flow and good size baskets, but I just had trouble getting mine to seal properly. I have friends that have Sun Sun's and theirs are fine so I could have just got a bad one. With that said my favorite filters are FX5's. I like my Eheims but the FX5 for me just has everything I like in a canister. Good amount of media, real good high flow rate, primes very easy and I like how it self purges every 24hrs. Usually you can find the Fx5 used in good condition at swaps, local club members, or ebay/amazon for $125-$150 range so that would be my suggestion.

With that said though, that's just my personal favorite filter. Really you can't go 'wrong" with any of the ones mentioned as long as you make sure the size you get is appropriate for your tank size/bio load.
 
Steve, have you not tried a fx6 or do you just prefer fx5 over fx6?
 
I haven't tried a FX6 yet, I already had two of my Fx5's before the 6 came out and then when I bought the 3rd FX5 it was from a guy in my cichlid club and I snagged it from him for only $100 so couldn't pass that up. As Chefken said though I believe they are pretty much the same. I have heard some people say the Fx6 flow rate is a bit lower than the Fx5, but I don't know how that could be because they both use identical motors. Chefken Chefken does the flow on your 5 & 6 both seem the same?
 
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Steve_C said:
I haven't tried a FX6 yet, I already had two of my Fx5's before the 6 came out and then when I bought the 3rd FX5 it was from a guy in my cichlid club and I snagged it from him for only $100 so couldn't pass that up. As Chefken said though I believe they are pretty much the same. I have heard some people say the Fx6 flow rate is a bit lower than the Fx5, but I don't know how that could be because they both use identical motors. Chefken Chefken does the flow on your 5 & 6 both seem the same?
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In different tanks but I would say yes....the FX6 is supposed to be a little bit stronger but i dont see it. Both are excellent!!
 
celebrist said:
I also have a pair of rena filstar xp3 that have lasted a long time
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These are great filters, I had one running for 12 years before I accidentally broke the lid. Still ran but leaked. I ordered a replacement, chewy.com has xp3's for $95 right now.
 
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Yep the Rena (now filstar) filters are good. I had a 55g with dual Rena's on it (an XP3 and a XP4). Ran those for about 2 years till I sold that tank setup for a bigger tank. They were nice and quiet too which is an important thing for someone like me with OCD and bad sleeping habits. That tank was right next to my bed and I never heard the filters running at all.

Only "bad" thing about those filters was they were a bit harder to get sealed after taking the top off to do maintenance. For some reason I always had an issue with a bit of water coming out where the cord went into the top. Wasn't a lot of water, but a few drips that would run down the cord which bugged me.
 
You could also try Sunsun Hw-3000 for $125, they have UV and good flow and controllable, i have been running mine for 6 months no issues and they are quiet.
 
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