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What's your favorite canister filter and why?

S

Stykk

New Member
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19 Oct 2020
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Location
New England
Just want to get some opinions on what you all like for canister filters, and why you like them.
 
For me, it definitively is the SUNSUN HW series... :)
HTB1yn5WovDH8KJjy1Xcq6ApdXXaA.jpg

Because it is a standalone canister (prefilter), but leave out the Pre and you have a canister and you can hook a variety of pump capacities to it, one that suits your setup best. You can easily connect canisters in series to increase filter capacity or media variety. The best thing of all they come cheap.

I have a few in use for several years now and I'm already breaking even and used them on several different tank sizes with different pumps with different turnovers. But I'm highly under the impression if handled with a bit of care it will be a once in a lifetime-buy...

I believe All Pond Solutions sells them also under their own trade name...
 
For my smaller tank I really like the Fluval 7 series filters, they are solidly build and I like the way that you can take out the mechanical filtration and the biological filtration. They hold a decent amount of biological media as well. For my bigger tanks I use one or two SunSun HW 3000 UV filters, they are all about the amount of media that they hold. On my Discus tanks I like running two filters, not to increase flow which I don't have on high but for increased biological filtration and redundancy. That said, my next tank, which will also be a planted Discus tank I am going use the big ADA filter.
 
Medium tanks: Fluval 106 never lets us down, quietest. Now being sold-off very cheap due to newer models (£55)
Large tanks: Jebao 503 for sheer capacity, but some units make a noise, yet always worth the punt (£50)

Additionally: HW-603 booster (no pump) for 'special' media, cheap and easy to change/swap. A no brainer (£30).
Pleasing to see that @zozo also mentions this model in the post above.

My favourite (non) external: Skim-1 surface skimmer. We are actually ditching externals for these internal filters (£8)

The ADA one that I saw in the shop was something like £450. It looked like it needed a good coat of Hammerite, and that it could conduct electricity. My mother felt it was a tad too ugly in her house, which was a fair point. So I got the Fluval and donated £400 to the Isle of Wight Donkey Sanctuary instead.
 
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Eheim thermo filters for me. Like the idea of not having a separate heater, and the pro 4 thermos I have used, have been flawless in terms of temperature control and have run for years. Still running in fact.

And as Daryl points out, if you ever need spare parts, they are easily available. Although I’ve been running one of mine now for 3 years without needing a spare part once.

The only downside to these I would say is, the fact that you have to take off the head to get at and clean the mechanical filter pads, which is a pain.

The Oase thermo filters that are currently available seem to have solved this with an easily remove pre filter. I’ve never had one of these, but a lot of people swear by them, including well known and respected aqua scaping shops.

The reason I prefer the Eheim, is that it looks a better build quality to me than the Oase. The heater on the Oase is like a traditional glass aquarium heater, which is fitted into the filter, with a twist knob setting, whereas as the Eheim has a kettle type element in the bottom of it, and the temperature is set digitally. It also displays the real time temperature of the water digitally, which I like. How I wish that Eheim would make the same filter but with easy access mechanical sponges 🙄

Another great filter I’ve used is the fluval G6. This has an even better easy maintenance mechanical filter. Downside is, it doesn’t have a heater at all. But for me the filter was flawless, and has an even more extensive digital display screen.
I think this question is a very personal preference of the individual really.

Most people stick to what they know and what they have experience of working well for them in the past.
 
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aquascape1987 said:
Eheim thermo filters for me. Like the idea of not having a separate heater, and the pro 4 thermos I have used have been flawless in terms of temperature control and have run for years. Still running in fact. And as Daryl points out, if you ever need spare parts, they are easily available. Although I’ve been running one of mine now for 3 years without needing a spare part once.

The only downside to these I would say is the fact that you have to take off the head to get at and clean the mechanical filter pads, which is a pain.

The Oase thermo filters that are currently available seem to have solved this with an easily remove pre filter. I’ve never had one of these, but a lot of people swear by them including well known and respected aqua scaping shops.

The reason I prefer the Eheim, is that it looks a better quality build to me than the Oase. The heater on the Oase is like a traditional glass aquarium heater which is fitted into the filter, with a twist knob setting, where as the Eheim has a kettle type element in the bottom of it, and the temperature is set digitally. It also displays the real time temperature of the water digitally which I like. How I wish that Eheim would make the same filter but with easy access mechanical sponges 🙄

Another great filter I’ve used is the fluval G6. This has an even better easy maintain mechanical filter. Downside is, it doesn’t have a heater at all. But for me the filter was flawless, and has an even more extensive digital display screen.
I think this question is a very personal preference of the individual really.

Most people stick to what they know and what they have experience of working well for them in the past.
Click to expand...
I agree with you on the Eheim thermofilters,and they look the business but they are pricey.
I've always promised myself one of these,and I like the thought of freeing up a socket too but I need to get rid of my Classic 2215 first,or wait for it to break down which will most probably never happen.
 
Yea, they are a bit pricey mate. I should have mentioned that in my weigh up of them above. Although, the Pro 4 Thermos I have noticed, have come down in price recently at some places, and I think that is due to the fact the Pro 5e has either now been released, or is shortly to be released. Still not cheap though, by any stretch of the imagination.

The Pro 5s look very similar to the 4s to me, apart for some sexier (for want of a better word) angles on the casing, and a new quick siphon pump (better?). I think they are to some degree intelligent as well, in that they are WiFi connectable, and I presume that this allows monitoring of flow levels electronically, and advises on maintenance intervals etc etc. This could be a useful feature, but on the flip side, it will be pointless to a lot of people as well, who have a set maintenance schedule. I think the thermo version of the 5 is only available in the 600 model as well, whereas thermo is available on more of the size range across the 4s. Perhaps this will open up as the model line progresses with its production life... But the price of the 5 is eye watering! 😱


Richard Aldridge said:
need to get rid of my Classic 2215 first,or wait for it to break down which will most probably never happen.
Click to expand...

This is the ‘problem’ with Eheim build quality. Especially the earlier classic models. They just will not die! I have heard of people running these filters for 20 years. When I say ‘problem’, I mean problem of course, for the megalomaniac aquarist, who is dying to get the new sexy model of filter 😂 Otherwise lasting forever is a plus point 😁

Richard Aldridge said:
freeing up a socket
Click to expand...

You wouldn’t free up a socket however, as the heating element has a separate power supply. So there are 2 x cables coming from the filter. This sometimes does come in handy though, as you can switch the heater off without switching the filter off, should you ever need to for whatever reason.
 
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Thanks for the info, I should have realised that there was a separate power supply to the heater unit,but still it would take away the problem of hiding away the heater in a modest sized tank so still worth it.

Now must find a way to convince the wife that the filters on the way out.
 
zozo said:
For me, it definitively is the SUNSUN HW series... :)
HTB1yn5WovDH8KJjy1Xcq6ApdXXaA.jpg

Because it is a standalone canister (prefilter), but leave out the Pre and you have a canister and you can hook a variety of pump capacities to it, one that suits your setup best. You can easily connect canisters in series to increase filter capacity or media variety. The best thing of all they come cheap.

I have a few in use for several years now and I'm already breaking even and used them on several different tank sizes with different pumps with different turnovers. But I'm highly under the impression if handled with a bit of care it will be a once in a lifetime-buy...

I believe All Pond Solutions sells them also under their own trade name...
Click to expand...
I have one on a small tank...great little filter.
 
Eheim experience filters are the quietest filter I've ever known and that's the deal breaker for me these days though I did like the tetratec ex1200 I had for a while for raw force. I have a pair of 2213's and one is a noisy pita the other is very quiet, I'll likely replace the filter, impeller shaft and bushings is 2/3'ds the price of a whole new filter.
 
Garuf said:
Eheim experience filters are the quietest filter I've ever known and that's the deal breaker for me these days though I did like the tetratec ex1200 I had for a while for raw force. I have a pair of 2213's and one is a noisy pita the other is very quiet, I'll likely replace the filter, impeller shaft and bushings is 2/3'ds the price of a whole new filter.
Click to expand...
I’ve found the solution to my noisy Eheim 2213 here:

Noisy Eheim 2213

The last time I checked no one over here had one. I just assumed they may be available elsewhere? They’re made in PRC as far as I know.
www.ukaps.org

Ask if you want more details.
 
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