Filter Suggestions

[Phage]

Well, one of my older filters is deciding to die on me and I would like some help on choosing another one. I don't really much about the different types and what is best for my kind of fish. BTW, I want something that would be good for my plants too.

20 gallon:
I currently have a Top Fin 20 hang on. This is the one that is dying, I suppose. It barely pumps any water even after I cleaned it really good.

55 Gallon:
Looking to upgrade, currently have Top Fin 60 hang on.

I'm not a big fan of the hang on type because I want to put a cover on the tanks to prevent as much evaporation as I can and fish from jumping out.

Anyway, these are the fish I have:
20 gal- a river tank to be, I was planning to get hillstream loaches and looking for something to perhaps make a uni-directional flow?
55 gal - Angels, gourami, danios, otos

Any comments and suggestions much appreciated
Thanks

 

[rabbut]

Internal, Exturnal or HOB?

 

[Phage]

Is there a brand that is better than most?

 

[rabbut]

Yes, for each.

With Internal, look at the Fluval + range
With Exturnal, look at Tetratec and Eheim. Avoid Fluval here like the plague
With HOB I don't use HOB's, as they aren't easily available here...

All the best
Rabbut

 

[squeakytoy]

For the HOB's, I can recommend marineland. Of course, I haven't used others, but the ones that I have have been very reliable, and clear a tank of stirred up sediment fairly quickly. I have a penguin 200 and an emperor 280, and I recommend the emperor line. They have a seperate spray bar that drives the bio wheel, and you never have to worry that it has stopped spinning if the media should clog overnight.

 

[Phage]

Thank you rabbut

How would these be?

55gallon: Eheim Classic Canister 2213 or Eheim ECCO Canister 2234 (What's the difference between them?)
20 Gallon: Tetra Whisper 40i



I don't know what a spray bar is

 

[Nick16]

avoid the eheim ecco range, nothing but trouble, not built by eheim, they paid someone else to do it but still put their name to it. that is why the quality is poor.

 

[three-fingers]

The eheim classic range are basically very reliable, but not as easy to maintain as other filters. Very good value for money, and the design makes them very efficient, but some people find them annoying.

I personally like the fluval 05 range externals and find them great value for money and very easy to use fun , but if you can afford the extra £10-£30 usually required for the equivalent eheim 'pro' or 'pro 2' model, they are a very safe bet and appear to be similar in ease of maintenance .

 

[rabbut]

Avoid the Fluvals range of exturnals. Their internals are the market leaders and solid. The exturnals are c?!# at best. There is a list of faults that I have had with them in one of the exturnal filter threads further up/down this board, that is too long for me to be bothered te-typing or cutting and pasting

The classics can be hard to work, but they won't need working very often, every 6 months at the most if they are coping with the tank apparently, and will out-last your interest in the hobby. Many Eheim owners have 30yr old Classics that they rarely have a minuites trouble with The Pro2's can be picked up for about £100 and are a solid beginner Eheim that are easy to maintain and would appear to be equaly reliable so far, with most the origionals still going strong. If you don't mind a harder to work on exturnal as your first, go with the classic by all means, but upgrading to a pro2 would be preferable IMO.

The Tetratec EX1200 can be found for £63 delivered in the UK, and marineland have an equivilant in the rest of the world

The quoted Eheim classic is only good for 50g by the manufacturer, but with 440lph output, I wouldn't put it on anything bigger than 30g You want the next one or two up, with an output more arround 750-1200lph, the closser the the upper end the better

The tetra internals and HOB's I don't know much about, sorry

All the best
Rabbut

 

[Tolak]

Forget the Whisper hob's, get an Aqua Clear. Stronger pump, larger media capacity, as well as media flexibility.

Eheim has been around for many years, their filters run forever, but the price reflects that. Don't even look at the ECCO range, get a Classic if you don't mind not having media baskets. The Pro's come with media baskets, the Pro II's have media baskets as well as a prime function.

 

[Phage]

Thank you for pointing me in the right direction

But what is self priming?

 

[Tolak]

Self prime is a button or lever you pump or push. Without a self prime you have to suck on the end the water comes out of to fill the filter.

 

[Phage]

Thank you