Your preferred cannister brand/model

[Tiber]

Do you have any thoughts on Eheim's "classic" series? I'm thinking of switching to canisters and recognize the benefit of a trusted brand. Their "classic" canisters are a bit more budget friendly than the pro series, so would be more accessible to me

Looked at those myself. They must be doing something right if the same model has been on the market for decades

 

[TwoTankAmin]

I have only used Eheim canisters and then only the Pro II line. One of the hings I have done almost since day one in the hobby was to standardize my equipent. For example, I have had as many as 28 assorted AquaClear filters running at one time. In my first tank I had an Emperor 400. When it died the new model was awful, imo, and I moved almost 100% to the ACs. I do have one Tetra Mini in a 5.5 gal tank and I experimented with the Eheim Liberty. I really liked it but they are for smaller tanks, nothing above 200 gph and I no longer use it.

For canisters Eheim was my only choice at the time and the Pro II was the latest. So I have 5 of them but use only 3. I also used to have several H.O.T. Magnums as well but Marineland has stopped making them and the Micron carts that fit in them

By standardizing I am able to stock spare parts. AC, especially, overlops parts on multiple sizes of their filters. So I can keep the most common parts to fail on the shelf for both ACs and Eheims. But forEheims the only part that tends to fail is the head gasket. I had to get some spares via the UK. I also have a number of the Eheim Hobby pumps. These are smaller pumps. I got my first one in 2003 and it is still working fine.

Technology is normally a good thing. But I have no use for a lot of equipment with chips inside. This is particularly true of things for aquariums. I do not want my heater inside my filter. I do not want a small computer inside it either. I do not even like these things in cars. It used to be we could work on a car outselves. Noit any more, And often what breaks is something digital as opposed to something mechanical. About the most high tech equipment I have in tanks is there to back up the least reliable equipment we use- heaters. On all of my expensive pleco tanks I have a digital heater controller. But, it is pretty basic. It works in C and I set the number of degrees I want and that is it.

I must confess, I am basically analog at heart, despite the fact that I got my first PC in 1987.

 

[Tiber]

Here is an invaluable lesson I learned many decades ago.

In the long run, the cheapest solution is usually the one that cost the most up front.

There is another saying which I tend to follow as well. "You get what you pay for."

My Eheims have been running perfectly for a whole lot longer than they have been making Sun Sun canisters. About the worst place one can have a UV is inside of a canister, especially ones with high flow rates. A major factor in the efficacy of a UV is dwell time, This refers to how long the water is in contact with the UV light. Slower flow is the rule here.

The one weakness with Eheim canisters is that they put a heater inside some models. Doing so with UV is an even worse idea. I have had two tanks wiped out from heater failures. What do we think having an internal filter heater stuck full on would do to a canister? I use Hydor inline heaters with my 3 canisters. Also, internal heaters for filters means there is only one model that will work. Considering that the least reliable piece of eqiupment in the hobby are the heaters........

This is why I am considering the fluval fx4 even though it would be at the top of my budget. Would have room to grow if I end up with a bigger tank as well. But might be a bit powerful for my tank so I'm a bit hesitant. Don't want the flow rate to be stupid

Also looking at a couple of eheim models. My current internal filter is eheim and they are clearly very popular on here. Though a fair few online reviews say their build quality isn't what it used to be

 

[Ceez]

This is why I am considering the fluval fx4 even though it would be at the top of my budget. Would have room to grow if I end up with a bigger tank as well. But might be a bit powerful for my tank so I'm a bit hesitant. Don't want the flow rate to be stupid

Also looking at a couple of eheim models. My current internal filter is eheim and they are clearly very popular on here. Though a fair few online reviews say their build quality isn't what it used to be

You can slow the rate of flow down significantly by using a sponge on the outlet side. Simply attach a sponge to the return outlet and you can pretty much slow it down to as little or as much as you'd like. For this reason alone if you have enough room to go with an FX6 that's what I would grab. More filter media area, not much price gap between the FX4 and FX6 and if you ever get a larger tank later you already have the filter that can handle it. With a smaller volume tank on a cannister that big it also lengthens the time between cleanings because of the volume it can hold.

One of the best things about the FX series is the auto prime too. Plug it in and forget it. The only thing you have to do is make sure the cannister is full of water and you're good to go.

 

[Tiber]

You can slow the rate of flow down significantly by using a sponge on the outlet side. Simply attach a sponge to the return outlet and you can pretty much slow it down to as little or as much as you'd like. For this reason alone if you have enough room to go with an FX6 that's what I would grab. More filter media area, not much price gap between the FX4 and FX6 and if you ever get a larger tank later you already have the filter that can handle it. With a smaller volume tank on a cannister that big it also lengthens the time between cleanings because of the volume it can hold.

One of the best things about the FX series is the auto prime too. Plug it in and forget it. The only thing you have to do is make sure the cannister is full of water and you're good to go.

Well the modest price gap is why I'm looking at a fx4 instead of fx2 but going all the way up to fx6 might be a bit far

Have read you can also fit a spray bar to help with flow though I assume that doesn't come with it

 

[Ceez]

Well the modest price gap is why I'm looking at a fx4 instead of fx2 but going all the way up to fx6 might be a bit far

Have read you can also fit a spray bar to help with flow though I assume that doesn't come with it

Yea its just general plumbing that's easy to work with. You can buy parts from almost anywhere. I mic'd the numbers a couple years ago to make sure when I went to the hardware store I got the right sized fittings. Sponges work great for restricting flow. Mess around with different density sponges to adjust to your liking for even more fine tuning.

 

[Wills]

I've had a lot of FX5's and FX6's in the past and they usually last me 2-3 years and then something goes wrong and not having a back up it usually means buying another, repairing the original and selling it on. By comparison I've had an Oase Biomaster 250 for 4 years.

I've currently got a FX4 on a 300 litre and its going well so far, it is second hand but all working ok for 8-9 months I'd guess now. On my other tanks I have an Oase Filtosmart Thermo 100, Oase Biomaster Thermo 250 and an Oase Biomaster Thermo 850.

The Oase ones are my favourite by far, so easy to set up and run, they use standard hose's rather than the ribbed ones so you can use lily pipes, the pre filter sponges are so easy to clean its stupid not to. Where as with the FXs you always get a little bit of water trapped between the pipe clips and the valve when you disconnect and then you have to lug it out and strip it down just to clean the sponges where as with the Oase its just unplug, undo two switches pull out the prefilter and you're off. Even when you do the deep clean on the Oase it has a handle on the top so its super easy to move around, where as with the FXs you always end up clinging on for dear life and doing a distinctive waddle (FX owners know what I mean).

I've not had Ehiem before so I can't comment but would definitely recommend the Oase Biomasters as a solid investment.

Wills

 

[Tiber]

I've had a lot of FX5's and FX6's in the past and they usually last me 2-3 years and then something goes wrong and not having a back up it usually means buying another, repairing the original and selling it on. By comparison I've had an Oase Biomaster 250 for 4 years.

I've currently got a FX4 on a 300 litre and its going well so far, it is second hand but all working ok for 8-9 months I'd guess now. On my other tanks I have an Oase Filtosmart Thermo 100, Oase Biomaster Thermo 250 and an Oase Biomaster Thermo 850.

The Oase ones are my favourite by far, so easy to set up and run, they use standard hose's rather than the ribbed ones so you can use lily pipes, the pre filter sponges are so easy to clean its stupid not to. Where as with the FXs you always get a little bit of water trapped between the pipe clips and the valve when you disconnect and then you have to lug it out and strip it down just to clean the sponges where as with the Oase its just unplug, undo two switches pull out the prefilter and you're off. Even when you do the deep clean on the Oase it has a handle on the top so its super easy to move around, where as with the FXs you always end up clinging on for dear life and doing a distinctive waddle (FX owners know what I mean).

I've not had Ehiem before so I can't comment but would definitely recommend the Oase Biomasters as a solid investment.

Wills

Helpful post thank you. I don't mind investing in a long term cannister but talk of it going off after 2 years is a bit alarming!

 

[Wills]

Helpful post thank you. I don't mind investing in a long term cannister but talk of it going off after 2 years is a bit alarming!

I only got the FX4 because it came with the tank which was second hand - my assumption is that when it breaks I'll replace it with an Oase.

I got the Oase 850 on my other 300 litre as that was also second hand but it came with a Fluval 407 and a JBL one and it just didnt feel well made and I knew I'd want to replace them really soon if I'd have set them up.

There are often Biomaster 850s and 600s on Facebook Marketplace but just never near enough to me to be worth the travel or postage vs new. The 850s are around £370 new or on FB you get them for around £225 - £250.

 

[TwoTankAmin]

Without a doubt the two most durable brands of filters I have used are Eheim and AquaClear. I had 28 of the latter running at my peak. I bought a bunch of used equipment in about 2003 from a student graduating from college. helive off campus and had tanks and equipment and fish I drove several hours to buy. This include an AquaClear 150 (now 30), he had it for a few years. I still have it running today with the same media except for the floss pad I added and replace weekly.

All 3 of my Eheim canister have been running for years. the oldest for 21+ years and the youngest for about 15. I have replaced a few parts on the 3 but nothing major.

The problem with learning which equipment last the longest takes time. You have to own a filter for 20 years to be able to say, first hand, how how it has worked for that long.

Next, all the equipment we use has deconed in quality in the lase couple of decades. there is a reason for this that has nothing to do with fish keeping. it has to do with business and profitability. There are a few larger conglomerates which built up pet divisions. These dividisions have bough up a lot of the brand name companies we use.

What the corportion then does is to figure out how to lower costs while raising prices which as the basic formula for increasing profits. i can tell you that the thickness of the plastic on Aquaclear filters has gotten thinner since I got my first one. This is one example of how to save costs. Heaters are another example. they are the least reliable equipment most of us use. As the potential price/watt has dropped with cheaper brand, the reliability has gone down for most brands. I have used digital controllers for heaters on the tanks with my most valuable inhabitants.

I have never had any of my Eheims or ACs fail. I have had to replace a part here ant there but never to junk a filter. This explains why I am aware of their reliability first hand and not about that factor for other brands. I had little reason to try other brands once I found these. I have owned about 9 or 10 brands of heaters. Hydor inlines have the best reliability factor, but they are only run with my canisters. I have 3 running but had to replace one klast year after the original had been in used for about 20 years. it was on my very 1st canister.

For my money, a lot of the best equipment is due to its design. The digital age has brough us some new fangled stuff which often breaks on the digital area before the mechanical part. My heater controllers are simple. Set the desited temp and C. and that is it. The Ink Bird i tried never got hooked up before it was returned. More BS than poetry. I am a believer in the KISS theory of design for almost everything. Keep It Simple, Stupid = KISS.

So, the less digital and the more mechanical a thing is, the more likely I am to choose it.

 

[gilpi]

Been using two Fluval 203 canister filters since the early 90’s and still running strong. So those are my favorite.

 

[Country joe]

Iam nearly ready to purchase my Jewel led Rio 125, I take it the filter will be Jewel, there's been no mention of them on this thread, hope it will be quiet as it will be in my bedroom

 

[Essjay]

Juwel tanks come with internal Juwel filters. That's why they've not been mentioned in this thread as they're internal filters and this thread is about external (or canister) filters.


The Rio 125's filter is glued in place. it is possible to remove it, this is best done with an empty tank though it is possible with water and fish in there - I did that.