Which canister for my new build?

[dw1305]

Hi all,

I believe every modern canister should have a prefilter

For me, I'll never own another filter again that doesn't have its own easily removable pre-filter

I'm a <"pre-filter fan as well">, although personally I actually prefer it in the tank <"on the filter intake">, rather <"than in the filter body">. The only reason for this is that it is <"one less set of seals etc">, there isn't any other reason.

I hadn't used a canister filter before ~2008 and it had never occurred to me that people <"would just use the inlet scaffold"> without a sponge etc.

cheers Darrel

 

[FISHnLAB]

As @Hufsa mentioned above, you get negative reports on pretty much every filter out there. Unfortunately none of them are perfect. The more popular a filter is and the bigger its userbase, the more online reports you're going to see about issues - its a numbers thing.

Personally I would just buy a filter based on what features matter most to you. For me, I'll never own another filter again that doesn't have its own easily removable pre-filter, and I also don't really want to have to plumb in an inline heater (and certainly not have one in the tank), so that kinda narrows the list a bit sadly!

Yes, it is unfortunate there is no "perfect" canister. I find that's a trend with products in this hobby and its pretty annoying. It making me consider more home built solutions made by me. What matters to me most is flawless reliability and lack of issues. If I am going to dump $500 on a canister filter instead of just building my own out of ABS and a DC Pump, for a fraction of the price, it has to be bulletproof. I get what you guys are saying but, I have yet to read a report of a Fluval 07 gurgling and have read of hundreds of gurgling issues with Oase filters, especially the thermo models it seams.

I've never owned a canister before but, for now I'm fine with a premade inline heater(or I might just build my own with PVC and an Eheim Jager) and a pre-filter foam on the input in the tank. I'll take that over constant gurgling and higher risk of air leaks with a design like the Oase personally.

I am about 90% I'm going to get the Fluval 407 or the Fzone 15L Astra-Stream Stainless Steel Canister at this point. I just have to decide if the higher price and shipping from Hong Kong is worth the trouble over a 407 from the local pet store with full 5 year warranty. Im leaving towards the Fluval for the warranty alone...

 

[FISHnLAB]

It depends on your scenario... I think a prefilter is the way to go these days. It's a game changer in terms of convenience and I believe every modern canister should have a prefilter. Like a power steering in a car, or a touchscreen on your phone, I would not buy a new product without it.

Hi, thanks for the reply👍.

Yes, they do seam nice but, I may have to go with foam on the intake and crack the canister periodically as I am not prepared to deal with the gurgling issues with Oase just to get the easy to clean pre-filter.

 

[FISHnLAB]

Hi all,


I'm a <"pre-filter fan as well">, although personally I actually prefer it in the tank <"on the filter intake">, rather <"than in the filter body">. The only reason for this is that it is <"one less set of seals etc">, there isn't any other reason.

Yep, far to many reports of issues. I think a canisters method of sealing should be kept as simple as possible(think FZone) as every extra seal is another chance of the infamous gurgle...

I hadn't used a canister filter before ~2008 and it had never occurred to me that people <"would just use the inlet scaffold"> without a sponge etc.

cheers Darrel

Yes, I too have always and will always run foam on my intakes. It just makes sense even on tanks without wildlife imo. More room beneficial bacteria and less debris entering the intake...

 

[Nieluge]

Hello,
I tried many canister in previous years. Eheim différent model Classic, ecco pro, expérience, eheim pro all are super silent.
Oase biomaster works well but really noisy in comparison and my best choice is the Aquael ultramax which is the most silent I ever had, good quality built and the easiest prefilter I ever expérienced. I customized the prefilter foam using half corse foam and finer foam and I’m just cleaning them regurlarly to keep the rest of the basket clean. All are full of seachem matrix with fine pad before the impeller. That is very simple setup.
It is the easiest maintenance I found till now.
Mine is running since two years without any issue and I just change the fine pad before the impeller 3 times since.

Good luck with your choice.

 

[FISHnLAB]

Hello,
I tried many canister in previous years. Eheim différent model Classic, ecco pro, expérience, eheim pro all are super silent.
Oase biomaster works well but really noisy in comparison and my best choice is the Aquael ultramax which is the most silent I ever had, good quality built and the easiest prefilter I ever expérienced. I customized the prefilter foam using half corse foam and finer foam and I’m just cleaning them regurlarly to keep the rest of the basket clean. All are full of seachem matrix with fine pad before the impeller. That is very simple setup.
It is the easiest maintenance I found till now.
Mine is running since two years without any issue and I just change the fine pad before the impeller 3 times since.

Good luck with your choice.

Thanks for the info👍.

 

[Courtneybst]

An interesting observation I've made is that the noise of the Biomaster (and filters in general) seems to vary greatly depending on the tank stand or cabinet.

In my previous big tank setup the Biomaster was so loud, I could often hear it upstairs on a quiet night whereas in my new setup (new cabinet), I can barely hear it.

 

[FISHnLAB]

An interesting observation I've made is that the noise of the Biomaster (and filters in general) seems to vary greatly depending on the tank stand or cabinet.

In my previous big tank setup the Biomaster was so loud, I could often hear it upstairs on a quiet night whereas in my new setup (new cabinet), I can barely hear it.

Thanks for the reply. Yes, I have heard that.

A cabinet(or even the room it's in) can vastly change acoustics as I know from one of my other hobbies(high end audio). Using quality isolation feet on your canister base to isolate vibration from the cabinet and using acoustic panels or acoustic deadening mat to line the inside of your cabinet should help quite a bit.

Every room in a person's house should contain some amount of acoustic dampening via panels or the like imo as well. It really makes a huge difference and I could never go back to bare walls and echo filled acoustics again personally.

I have also read that Oase has a lot of sound/vibration level variation in their new units. More then when compared to other companies from my research anyway. I have heard from multiple people, that bought more then one Oase of the same model, that the sound level was quite different between examples. I also heard that the sound level goes down over time most of the time, as with most filters, as they gain some biofilm and time to break in.

 

[Aqua sobriquet]

I made a cabinet for a 50 gallon tank in the 1980’s. It had 1” thick solid wood sides, heavy ply for top, bottom and back, and solid wood doors. It was also well braced. I didn’t have any sound coming out or resonating from the canister filter. If I’d realised how noisy some modern filters are I would have added some thick ply to my existing cabinet but it’s too late now without a complete tear down and the doors have gaps all round anyway.
I’ve seen folks make furniture out of concrete, probably ideal for modern canister filters! 😂

 

[FISHnLAB]

I made a cabinet for a 50 gallon tank in the 1980’s. It had 1” thick solid wood sides, heavy ply for top, bottom and back, and solid wood doors. It was also well braced. I didn’t have any sound coming out or resonating from the canister filter. If I’d realised how noisy some modern filters are I would have added some thick ply to my existing cabinet but it’s too late now without a complete tear down and the doors have gaps all round anyway.
I’ve seen folks make furniture out of concrete, probably ideal for modern canister filters! 😂

Oases anyway, there are plenty of pretty quiet options👍.

 

[Aqua sobriquet]

My Biomaster is pretty quiet, the worst by far is an Eheim Classic 250. Next noisiest is a Sera 130 UV.

 

[Aqua sobriquet]

I forgot to mention, you can get these separate Pre-Filters.

sera PrefiX Filter | sera

sera PrefiX Filter - Pre, bio or quick filter ✔ for expanding the filter volume by 1.6 liters (0.4 US gal.) ✔ variably useable filter baskets ✔ Get informed now!

www.sera.de

 

[FISHnLAB]

I forgot to mention, you can get these separate Pre-Filters.

sera PrefiX Filter | sera

sera PrefiX Filter - Pre, bio or quick filter ✔ for expanding the filter volume by 1.6 liters (0.4 US gal.) ✔ variably useable filter baskets ✔ Get informed now!

www.sera.de

Interesting, thanks👍.

 

[Aqua sobriquet]

I have been thinking of using one as a “post” filter, filled with carbon.

 

[FISHnLAB]

Well, decision made guys. Both of my new tanks are getting matching canisters. Fluval had a big sale on and I couldn't resist. I got a killer deal and would have had to pay considerably more for the Fzone or Oase...