Your opinion on canisters??

[fishnutham]

can't go wrong with perfection having owned several of the brands noted here my last purchase was a Ehiem been happy with performance and quality much more then the rest .(although evertime i go to the zoo or the LFS i started drooling at their setups)

 

[Fried_fish]

Try mix and matching . I use HOB on all my tanks and canisters for anything less than a 125. OR HOB and DIY filtering systems for my larger tanks. If you dont have to take apart your filter every week then its a good sign you have an efficent amount of filtration.
Paul

My opinion might not be a popular one but......

I don't like or use canisters. I'm not disputing that some of them do a decent job, thier just a pain in the ass. Most of them are not much more than and expensive, pain in tha ass to service version of a hang on the back filter.

A hang on the back filter does what? Traps dirt in a sponge or pad, has activated carbon for chemical filtration and many have a devise or area for biological filtration. (Most if not all are lousy at biological filtration) To service a hang on the back, you reach to the back of the tank and remove the filter sleeve / media and rince or replace it as needed. Most aquariums need thier "dirt trap" rinced off one or two time per week to keep the aquarium optimal and carbon replaced about every 4-6 weeks.

Canister filters do what? The exact same thing a listed above except some move more water per hour and may have a larger dirt trap and hold more carbon & biological media. When it comes time to service them though, it's not a easy as the hob. How many people take thier canister apart once per week to rince the filter pad / sponge? I bet not many, it's a pain to do. Most canisters also (just like hob's) don't have a large enough area for biological media for the average aquarium. I bet two aqua clear 500's would perform as well at trapping dirt and chemical filtration as the fluval 404 for less money and a ton easier to maintain..

I use wet/dry's on just about all my tanks I own or maintain. The prefilter can be rinced in a minute or less, the carbon can be replaced in a minute or less, it's biological capasity is far superior to canisters & hob. THey are much cheaper to maintain because you don't replace anything in them (except carbon).

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying it's wrong or foolish to use a canister, some of them are well designed units (ehiem for example). I want ease of maintenance with excellent performance and canisters don't meet that need for me.

Joel

 

[Icedkore]

I say go with as much of what you can afford. On my 55 I have to emperor 400 and a XP3 if is awsome. I love the XP3 and its hard to bet for the money ($104.99 at Petsmart if you take a print out of the online price) you just can't bet it.

 

[benzjamin13]

I have a Fluval 404 and it does pretty good. I don't have any complaints about it. It's quite, easy to clean, and looks sleek. I've been curious about the Ehiem lately just because they're so frickin' expensive. I was wondering if they're worth it. But a lot of you guys and gals seem to stand by it. I'm just curious...what makes it that much better than the rest?

 

[zix]

are the fluval so less expensive compare to eheim in states.
here the price is almost the same.
i have 2 226 on 150gl and a2229 and jebo 505 hang on 55gl.
jebo is to nosy.
we can get eheim more cheap if buy web in germany almost 1/3 less
2113 cost about 40$ USA

 

[rumblesushi]

zix - true - here in the UK there is not much difference in price, and eheims are so much better.

It's weird they are so much more in the US.

 

[loach43]

Eheim is my personal fave cannister. Does anyone have an Eheim filter that also heats the water? Good thing or bad idea?

 

[Cyclop3000]

I've been curious about the Ehiem lately just because they're so frickin' expensive. I was wondering if they're worth it. But a lot of you guys and gals seem to stand by it. I'm just curious...what makes it that much better than the rest?

There are a few advantages...

- I almost never have to buy media, except for a filter pad box (15$ US for 3 pads) every 6 months at least
- Pump is pullet proof, guaranteed 10 years
- Their design is German, what else to say on this?
- Quality
- Zero noise
- Starts back EVERY TIME after power surge (happens often here I live in the boonies...)
- Components and parts can be found in pet stores everywhere, and Eheim guarantees there will be parts available for each model at least 10 years after discontinuation of each model.

Fluvals? Mines jam all the time, there is a ton of particles in suspension cause the filter does not catch everything, media costs a fortune cause you always have to replace pads all the time (for me anyways), and half the time after a power outage the damn thing won't start back on it's own, lost a lot of fish to that.

I would take cheaper brands (i.e. XP) before Fluvals. Try it and you shall see the difference

 

[Cyclop3000]

Eheim is my personal fave cannister. Does anyone have an Eheim filter that also heats the water? Good thing or bad idea?

A friend of mine has it, her Aro kept breaking water heaters. She said it's perfect for bigger fish, and water heating is great.

 

[hillbilly]

My opinion might not be a popular one but......

I don't like or use canisters. I'm not disputing that some of them do a decent job, thier just a pain in the ass. Most of them are not much more than and expensive, pain in tha ass to service version of a hang on the back filter.

A hang on the back filter does what? Traps dirt in a sponge or pad, has activated carbon for chemical filtration and many have a devise or area for biological filtration. (Most if not all are lousy at biological filtration) To service a hang on the back, you reach to the back of the tank and remove the filter sleeve / media and rince or replace it as needed. Most aquariums need thier "dirt trap" rinced off one or two time per week to keep the aquarium optimal and carbon replaced about every 4-6 weeks.

Canister filters do what? The exact same thing a listed above except some move more water per hour and may have a larger dirt trap and hold more carbon & biological media. When it comes time to service them though, it's not a easy as the hob. How many people take thier canister apart once per week to rince the filter pad / sponge? I bet not many, it's a pain to do. Most canisters also (just like hob's) don't have a large enough area for biological media for the average aquarium. I bet two aqua clear 500's would perform as well at trapping dirt and chemical filtration as the fluval 404 for less money and a ton easier to maintain..

I use wet/dry's on just about all my tanks I own or maintain. The prefilter can be rinced in a minute or less, the carbon can be replaced in a minute or less, it's biological capasity is far superior to canisters & hob. THey are much cheaper to maintain because you don't replace anything in them (except carbon).

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying it's wrong or foolish to use a canister, some of them are well designed units (ehiem for example). I want ease of maintenance with excellent performance and canisters don't meet that need for me.

Joel

I agree. I grew tired of canisters years ago. Even though most do a good job, when you have to service them, it takes too much time IMO. I have a 75 gal. that houses my 10" oscar (very messy fish), and running 2 Aqua Clear 110's using the foam block, a 100 micron pad, then a small amount of Purigen, a 50 micron pad, and the bag of bio rings in each keep the water sparkling clear. Along with weekly gravel vacs of course. Nitrates stay very low, and maint. is easy. On my larger tanks, its DIY wet-drys, also cheap and work great.