Brand New To The Forum

[kgdavis9]

I'm new to the forum but not a brand new to loving me some fish!

I live in California (US) and I got a 35 US gal tank from a friend. I cleaned it and am currently waiting to cycle it (fishless of course). The biggest problem at the moment is I have a filter but sucks! well actually it doesn't suck enought thats the problem. Its a Tetra EX30 and my tank is too big for that filter. I have every thing else I need but I dont know anything about filters Help!!!!!!! All I know is I will have a fresh water tank and I dont like a lot of equipment inside the tank so I'm looking for a external Filter.

thx for ur help in advance!

 

[kcharley]

For a HOB, my preference is Aquaclear. Very quiet, good media capacity and are supposed to last a long time. If you like a babbling brook sound, Aqueon filters keep the water clear but have limited media capacity. That said, I've not had one lose a cycle. I would avoid the Marineland biowheel filters. While I have never had one, they just don't look like they would last as the filter medium is a rotating pad. Even if they do last, I hate paying the inflated prices for filter medium (so I buy bulk filter floss and use it to replace the old floss.)

For a canister, my experience is limited to Marineland C series. I like them but have only been using them eight months. Very quiet, easy to clean, the inlet/outlet block can be "locked" during water changes and cleaning so you don't have to reprime.

HTH

Greg

 

[kgdavis9]

For a HOB, my preference is Aquaclear. Very quiet, good media capacity and are supposed to last a long time. If you like a babbling brook sound, Aqueon filters keep the water clear but have limited media capacity. That said, I've not had one lose a cycle. I would avoid the Marineland biowheel filters. While I have never had one, they just don't look like they would last as the filter medium is a rotating pad. Even if they do last, I hate paying the inflated prices for filter medium (so I buy bulk filter floss and use it to replace the old floss.)

For a canister, my experience is limited to Marineland C series. I like them but have only been using them eight months. Very quiet, easy to clean, the inlet/outlet block can be "locked" during water changes and cleaning so you don't have to reprime.

HTH

Greg

Hey thx for the info I was looking at getting a canister filter for sure. I looked at the tetra tec EX1200 but I found it almost impossible to get one in the US. So I was thinking about a the Marineland C-360.

 

[waterdrop]

Agree with kcharley that AC are the choice if you -did- decide to go HOB.

In cannisters I feel like the big four contenders are Eheim, Rena, Tetratec and Fluval. You could probably find more threads than you'd be willing to read on these by searching this hardware subforum. There are fans here of each manufacturer. You can find problems and good ideas with each line of cannister by each company I think. If you focus in on your filter and give it really good maintenance and figure out how to get replacement parts you would probably find that any of these would work for you.

I'm certainly not completely familiar with the distribution issues, but my guess would be that Tetratec is indeed harder to find in the USA, whereas Rena is hard to find in the UK. I believe both Eheim and Fluval are pretty well distributed to both. Web ordering probably changes this picture and maybe other members can give a better picture of the current distribution.

Each of these brands has its ups and downs. Rena gets knocks for the O-Rings being difficult to remove and replace or them getting pinched. Tetratec has had some knocks for the plastic breaking on hose adapters. Fluval has had knocks for some of the parts breaking and for seals not sealing. Eheim main o-ring maint. can also be hard I think and they of course get knocks for being expensive and sometimes a bit hard to find.

Nearly everyone finds it hard to resist being biased toward whatever they've used the most and I'm no exception I guess. I have an Eheim Pro and have found it extremely quiet and quite a wonderful machine. In your case I'm not sure the larger Pro model would be the right size for you and instead the Pro 2 line (Pro roman numeral 2 that is) would probably have a model just right for you. Most members here are looking in the 5x to 12x turnover rate range, depending on their plant orientation. Its usually recommended to avoid the Eheim Ecco range as these have had some problems and are not made in Germany like the other lines.

If you figure out your flow rate desires and then reach for a flow rate specified a little above that you probably won't go far wrong with these external cannisters. Just the decision to get a filter like this will probably give you more than enough media volume and ease of maintenance than you may have experienced before.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[kgdavis9]

Agree with kcharley that AC are the choice if you -did- decide to go HOB.

In cannisters I feel like the big four contenders are Eheim, Rena, Tetratec and Fluval. You could probably find more threads than you'd be willing to read on these by searching this hardware subforum. There are fans here of each manufacturer. You can find problems and good ideas with each line of cannister by each company I think. If you focus in on your filter and give it really good maintenance and figure out how to get replacement parts you would probably find that any of these would work for you.

I'm certainly not completely familiar with the distribution issues, but my guess would be that Tetratec is indeed harder to find in the USA, whereas Rena is hard to find in the UK. I believe both Eheim and Fluval are pretty well distributed to both. Web ordering probably changes this picture and maybe other members can give a better picture of the current distribution.

Each of these brands has its ups and downs. Rena gets knocks for the O-Rings being difficult to remove and replace or them getting pinched. Tetratec has had some knocks for the plastic breaking on hose adapters. Fluval has had knocks for some of the parts breaking and for seals not sealing. Eheim main o-ring maint. can also be hard I think and they of course get knocks for being expensive and sometimes a bit hard to find.

Nearly everyone finds it hard to resist being biased toward whatever they've used the most and I'm no exception I guess. I have an Eheim Pro and have found it extremely quiet and quite a wonderful machine. In your case I'm not sure the larger Pro model would be the right size for you and instead the Pro 2 line (Pro roman numeral 2 that is) would probably have a model just right for you. Most members here are looking in the 5x to 12x turnover rate range, depending on their plant orientation. Its usually recommended to avoid the Eheim Ecco range as these have had some problems and are not made in Germany like the other lines.

If you figure out your flow rate desires and then reach for a flow rate specified a little above that you probably won't go far wrong with these external cannisters. Just the decision to get a filter like this will probably give you more than enough media volume and ease of maintenance than you may have experienced before.

~~waterdrop~~

thx for the advice it will serve me well in making a final choice