Opinions on Canister vs other types of filtration

I've recently decided to set up a 36 gallon tank I've had sitting around for a while. I'm thinking about getting a canister filter, which I've never had before. I see a lot of mixed reviews for them and was curious what your opinions are. Is there a brand to stay away from in particular? I'm currently looking at a marineland canister for up to 55 gallons (chain pet store currently has them on sale too) and was considering using a top fin internal corner filter for up to 10 gallon additionally since they can be easily concealed which is my main goal with this tank. Thanks in advance.

honestly, I would get a sponge filter it is easier to clean (you take the sponges and squeeze them out and run hot water through them)

Skip the Top Fin HOB, and get an AquaClear instead

For a tank this size, you don't require a canister filter, you could use 2 HOBs....much easier maintenance than canisters

If you DO go with a canister filter, I like the Eheims...

I have a fluval canister on my 63g and while being a bit of a pain to have to take apart and clean, I prefer it to HOB’s (which I’ve always had before) because it’s invisible and far less noisy. I only take it apart and rinse media about once every couple months. It can also be a real pain to get primed, but I finally figured out the trick of filling it completely up with water again before I reconnect it to the tank and that works perfectly.

I also have an internal power filter but it gets clogged with plant matter way too fast. Think I’ll be switching over to a sponge filter. In addition I have a bubble wall and a koralia pump to achieve good circulation, since it’s planted that boosts the plants biological filtration capacity too.

Your filter should be selected on the basis of the needs of the fish. What fish are intended to be in this tank? And are you intending live plants?

One big HOB filter would be enough for your aquarium size or the one you described seems to be efficient enough. I would not put 2 filters for a 36 gallon aquarium.

And kill all the beneficial bacteria?

Lynnzer said:

And kill all the beneficial bacteria?

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How so?

Byron said:

Your filter should be selected on the basis of the needs of the fish. What fish are intended to be in this tank? And are you intending live plants?

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Live plants will be simple stuff like Amazon swords and what not. So far for fish I've decided on 6 yoyo loaches and 6 dwarf neon rainbows, possibly something else at a later date.

NoLa24 said:

Live plants will be simple stuff like Amazon swords and what not. So far for fish I've decided on 6 yoyo loaches and 6 dwarf neon rainbows, possibly something else at a later date.

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The filter for this community can provide some current but not excessive. A small canister would work, though it is more work (to me anyway, I had three canisters and it is more work disconnecting, rinsing all the media, putting them back together, at which point one always leaked until I got it right...compared to an internal filter like the Aqueon Quiet Flow, this worked like a charm in my 40g Corydoras tank.

NoLa24 said:

How so?

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That comment was in relation to post no. 2 from @TheCountryGoldfish
Running hot water over filter medium will kill the beneficial bacteria, as would even using coldwater straight from a tap.

Yeah as already stated by @Lynnzer

The piece of advice stating to run filter sponges under hot water, was an absolutely awful piece of advice. Don’t ever run filter media under tap water as it kills the beneficial bacteria it has accumulated. Therefore doing that may uncycle your tank and hence kill fish.

I love canister filters and have no problems with them. I like my fluval 207

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AmyKieran said:

Yeah as already stated by @Lynnzer

The piece of advice stating to run filter sponges under hot water, was an absolutely awful piece of advice. Don’t ever run filter media under tap water as it kills the beneficial bacteria it has accumulated. Therefore doing that may uncycle your tank and hence kill fish.

I love canister filters and have no problems with them. I like my fluval 207

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Just to make life a bit easier...this is now known not to be true. The chlorine and chloramine in tap water, assuming it is not excessive (which would be harmful to humans if it were that high) might kill some of the bacteria, depending upon the level and exposure time. But in scientific studies, it was found that more than half of the mitrifying bacteria survived with no harm. This makes sense, when one remembers that the nitrifying bacteria we encourage when "cycling" come from the chlorinated tap water to begin with, so if they were all killed we would never be able to cycle a tank (unless seeding it from some other source).

Another aspect is that once the aquarium is established (a few months), there are more nitrifiers in the substrate than in the filter, not to mention live plants and wood.

It is true about hot water. The three situations that do kill nitrifying bacteria are boiling, freezing and drying out. Lukewarm tap water is not going to kill these bacteria.

Byron said:

Another aspect is that once the aquarium is established (a few months), there are more nitrifiers in the substrate than in the filter, not to mention live plants and wood.

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In all 3 of my well-established tanks, I still prefer to rinse my filter media in a bowl of old tank water, rather than the tap...why carry the media all the way to my sink(s), when I can rinse and replace into my filters a few feet away?*

*Besides the fact that I DO believe most of the BB in a well-established tank are colonized elsewhere in the tank...and, old habits die hard