What Is The Best Canister Filter?

[GaLinemansWife]

Okay, I was going to buy a Fluval FX5 today and hesitated because I havent done much research on all the other types of filters. I have a 46gal bowfront with 6 large goldfish, two plecos and three dojo loaches. I want over adequate filtration, but I wanted to know from everyone what your favorite filter is and the pros and cons of canisters you have had. Thanks for any input!

 

[adamgreen240]

Okay, I was going to buy a Fluval FX5 today and hesitated because I havent done much research on all the other types of filters. I have a 46gal bowfront with 6 large goldfish, two plecos and three dojo loaches. I want over adequate filtration, but I wanted to know from everyone what your favorite filter is and the pros and cons of canisters you have had. Thanks for any input!

A FX5 would be overkill on a 46 Gallon tank, if you like Fluvals a 305 would be more than adequate. However , i would personally reccomend the Tetratec Range , a EX700 would be ok for your tank but if you wanted that extra bit you could go for a EX1200. Personally i feel Eheim filters are overpriced and you can get better filters for cheaper - i know some people will disagree , but this is my opinion.

hope this helps a bit

Adam

 

[GaLinemansWife]

Okay, I was going to buy a Fluval FX5 today and hesitated because I havent done much research on all the other types of filters. I have a 46gal bowfront with 6 large goldfish, two plecos and three dojo loaches. I want over adequate filtration, but I wanted to know from everyone what your favorite filter is and the pros and cons of canisters you have had. Thanks for any input!

A FX5 would be overkill on a 46 Gallon tank, if you like Fluvals a 305 would be more than adequate. However , i would personally reccomend the Tetratec Range , a EX700 would be ok for your tank but if you wanted that extra bit you could go for a EX1200. Personally i feel Eheim filters are overpriced and you can get better filters for cheaper - i know some people will disagree , but this is my opinion.

hope this helps a bit

Adam

I know it will be overkill but I may upgrade one day to a larger tank, but I have really large goldfish which require ALOT of filtration. I currently have a cascade 700 canister and an Aqua Clear 110 on the back and I want to rid those two and get a really large one and I know you can adjust the flow. I was curious about the Eheims and the odessea

 

[adamgreen240]

Ok , i would go for the EX1200 then , really good filter

Hope i helped

Adam

 

[GaLinemansWife]

Ok , i would go for the EX1200 then , really good filter

Hope i helped

Adam

Thanks Adam, I looked into it and saw a few things on it, Where are you located, Im in the US and Ive never heard or the tetratec before now?
eta: Is that a tetratec or fx5 on your aquarium in your signature?

 

[jgray152]

A FX5 would be overkill on a 46 Gallon tank, if you like Fluvals a 305 would be more than adequate. However , i would personally reccomend the Tetratec Range , a EX700 would be ok for your tank but if you wanted that extra bit you could go for a EX1200. Personally i feel Eheim filters are overpriced and you can get better filters for cheaper - i know some people will disagree , but this is my opinion.

hope this helps a bit

Adam

I agree about the Fx5 being over kill and using a 305. My 304 worked great for 7+ years on a 29 gallon and on my 55 untill my africans got bigger and started to overstock my tank themselves.

If you like a easy filter to clean and handle with little mess. The Fx5 is not for you. You can read my thread about the Fx5 in this section. I hear great stories from Rena Filstar Xp1,2 and 3.

Thanks Adam, I looked into it and saw a few things on it, Where are you located, Im in the US and Ive never heard or the tetratec before now?
eta: Is that a tetratec or fx5 on your aquarium in your signature?

Its the Fx5. I have it as well and I LOVE It so far. little messy when disconnecting the valves from the filter though.

 

[chr15_8]

i dont think you can get the tetratec range in the usa.

chris

 

[GaLinemansWife]

Well, my fear is that if I settle for a smaller filter, I will be sorry later because I tend to overstock myself so I like to overcompensate with extra filtration. I only want one filter on my tank and right now I have two that I think will add up to the filtration of the one you guys are talking about?

 

[three-fingers]

The fx5 is great, but your fish would be plastered against the walls due to the flow .

With that stocking, I like fluvals so I'd go for a fluval 405, plecs and goldfish are the messiest fish around.

Usually it would be down to personal choice if you went for the tetratec (which are also really good filters), but as Chris says you will find it hard to find a tetratec external in the US so you should just go fluval.

Unless you have lots of money to spend on a more expensive eheim.

 

[GaLinemansWife]

The fx5 is great, but your fish would be plastered against the walls due to the flow .

With that stocking, I like fluvals so I'd go for a fluval 405, plecs and goldfish are the messiest fish around.

Usually it would be down to personal choice if you went for the tetratec (which are also really good filters), but as Chris says you will find it hard to find a tetratec external in the US so you should just go fluval.

Unless you have lots of money to spend on a more expensive eheim.

I seriously am appreciating all your input, I just have questions as well. I was told you could adjust the flow on the fx5 and also read on here somewhere that the gph is decreased to like 500gph when media is added vs the 925 it is rated for without the media. If the filter is turned down, will it still be too much flow? I am not hellbent on getting this fx5, but I can get it at a really good price, almost the same as a smaller canister, so I was just thinking, why not go bigger for the same amount? What are your opinions? Can it be turned down low enough as not to hurt the fish, but still be awesome filtration for my nasty beauties?

 

[three-fingers]

I was in a similar situation, I could have got one really cheap from the shop I work in, but after seeing the flow even at it's lowest setting (had to test a customers fx5 in a 4 foot tank), I decided against it and went for a fluval 305 for my 190 litre corner tank.

The loaches would be perfectly fine, the plecs would be OK too, but any fancy goldfish would get completely pummelled and while regular goldfish could probably cope, It wouldn't be fun for them.

If you really want it I guess you could DIY yourself a really long spray bar and put a big sponge over the intake, but really it's such overkill and impractical...it's a big filter, consumes more power, and would be harder to clean out than a 405. After you have taken all those measures, the results would be similar to a 405 anyway. Since the 405 is adequate, you would have the same amount of filter bacteria present as you would with the 405, only in the fx5 there would be lots of surface area on the biological media unused by the bacteria .

Though if your going to be upgrading your tank to something significantly larger in the future (which you will need to do anyway if you want to keep the fish), the fx5 may be a better choice.

 

[GaLinemansWife]

I was in a similar situation, I could have got one really cheap from the shop I work in, but after seeing the flow even at it's lowest setting (had to test a customers fx5 in a 4 foot tank), I decided against it and went for a fluval 305 for my 190 litre corner tank.

The loaches would be perfectly fine, the plecs would be OK too, but any fancy goldfish would get completely pummelled and while regular goldfish could probably cope, It wouldn't be fun for them.

If you really want it I guess you could DIY yourself a really long spray bar and put a big sponge over the intake, but really it's such overkill and impractical...it's a big filter, consumes more power, and would be harder to clean out than a 405. After you have taken all those measures, the results would be similar to a 405 anyway. Since the 405 is adequate, you would have the same amount of filter bacteria present as you would with the 405, only in the fx5 there would be lots of surface area on the biological media unused by the bacteria .

Though if your going to be upgrading your tank to something significantly larger in the future (which you will need to do anyway if you want to keep the fish), the fx5 may be a better choice.

So you think the 405 would be adequate for 46gal with way too many goldfish (I cant help it, I cant stand to see a bear tank) I mean, if I only had that one in there, would it do more than the two I told you I already had on there??

 

[fish-aholic]

i dont think you can get the tetratec range in the usa.

chris

It's called the Marineland Multi-Stage in the U.S. Exact same filter.

 

[GaLinemansWife]

i dont think you can get the tetratec range in the usa.

chris

It's called the Marineland Multi-Stage in the U.S. Exact same filter.

Now How'd you know that

 

[andywg]

How long do you want the filter/tank to run?

Fluvals have a nasty habit of breaking and leaking within 2 years, especially the x04 and x05 range (which are fundamentally the same range). Tetratec last better, but still have no patch on Eheim for proven longevity. There are a number of Eheims running past 20 years. If you don't believe the hype about Eheims, head over to the equipment section on MFK and see all the people looking at their oldest filters. Guess which brand gets the most mentions by a mile... Here's a clue: there's no "F" in the name of the manufacturer

There is a reason why everyone who is serious about keeping fish ends up with Eheims. Factor in the whole life costs and they are not so expensive.

Almost everyone who talks about how Eheims are overpriced and not worth their money is someone who has not owned them. Look at people like Lateral Line, CFC and Paul_MTS and others who have owned more than one brand of cannister and see what they say. I have had Fluval and Eheim, I wouldn't give my remaining Fluvals to my worst enemy, they are that shockingly poor. My lfs refuses to stock Fluval cannisters as selling such poor merchandise will hurt his reputation.

The Fluval FX-5 is a different filter which receives some good reviews and while it is a fair bit cheaper than the comparable Eheim filter, it is more costly to run and due to being mostly sponges is less efficient at processing biological waste (but conversely pulls mechanical a bit better)