Canister Filter Offerings?

[Lovergasoline]

I have no idea what to buy and could use some feedback and guidance.
I have a single male Red Ear Slider about 18 yrs old with approx. 6" shell. He lives in a 37 gallon tank (filled to the brim) plus an above tank basking area. Unfortunately tank size is limited due to the built-in nook (apartment) where the tank is located (tall format 37 gallon tank).

My canister filter is a 16-17 year old Rena/Filstar XP3 (rated capacity I believe is 100 gallons), the only filter I've ever owned so my experience is limited. Not too long ago one of the filter canister's molded-in attachment points snapped off (where a removable clip mounts: 4 clips - one per corner - secures the filter head/motor assembly to the canister). This filter is no longer produced and a replacement canister alone would be about approx. $75 shipped. A bar clamp now serves temporary duty to keep things together until I figure out how to proceed.

I'm thinking it may be worthwhile to just buy a new canister. The XP3 has served well, can be a little noisy at times when it traps air at times, the aforementioned broken attachment point for the clips is a design weakness poorly implemented and not robust or confidence inspiring.

What's considered a very good canister filter these days? Quiet is good but reliability, user friendliness, and ease of maintenance (disassembly/cleaning/etc.) are paramount. Occasionally I need a friend to be a turtle caretaker if I'm out of town, which may require cleaning the filter, changing sponges, etc. then reassembling and getting things up and running properly with minimum fuss or troubleshooting. A finicky, poorly designed, difficult to clean/disassemble/reassemble filter, or one that requires too frequent tinkering will just exacerbate things.

Rock solid reliable, high built quality, easy to maintenance, and user friendly without requiring advanced mechanical aptitude to operate?

I see a Fluval 407 and XP4 would work spec. wise.
Amazon sells the Eheim Classic 600 Canister Filter 2217 for $125 (this seems a old design, not sure if that's a plus or minus).
There's also the Eheim Pro 4+ 600.
Any experience with these pro or con ... or other offerings (and even better if one has experience with the Rena/Filstar XP3/XPL to compare what these are like to live with).

​

 

[Sleeping Giant]

I have no idea what to buy and could use some feedback and guidance.
I have a single male Red Ear Slider about 18 yrs old with approx. 6" shell. He lives in a 37 gallon tank (filled to the brim) plus an above tank basking area. Unfortunately tank size is limited due to the built-in nook (apartment) where the tank is located (tall format 37 gallon tank).

My canister filter is a 16-17 year old Rena/Filstar XP3 (rated capacity I believe is 100 gallons), the only filter I've ever owned so my experience is limited. Not too long ago one of the filter canister's molded-in attachment points snapped off (where a removable clip mounts: 4 clips - one per corner - secures the filter head/motor assembly to the canister). This filter is no longer produced and a replacement canister alone would be about approx. $75 shipped. A bar clamp now serves temporary duty to keep things together until I figure out how to proceed.

I'm thinking it may be worthwhile to just buy a new canister. The XP3 has served well, can be a little noisy at times when it traps air at times, the aforementioned broken attachment point for the clips is a design weakness poorly implemented and not robust or confidence inspiring.

What's considered a very good canister filter these days? Quiet is good but reliability, user friendliness, and ease of maintenance (disassembly/cleaning/etc.) are paramount. Occasionally I need a friend to be a turtle caretaker if I'm out of town, which may require cleaning the filter, changing sponges, etc. then reassembling and getting things up and running properly with minimum fuss or troubleshooting. A finicky, poorly designed, difficult to clean/disassemble/reassemble filter, or one that requires too frequent tinkering will just exacerbate things.

Rock solid reliable, high built quality, easy to maintenance, and user friendly without requiring advanced mechanical aptitude to operate?

I see a Fluval 407 and XP4 would work spec. wise.
Amazon sells the Eheim Classic 600 Canister Filter 2217 for $125 (this seems a old design, not sure if that's a plus or minus).
There's also the Eheim Pro 4+ 600.
Any experience with these pro or con ... or other offerings (and even better if one has experience with the Rena/Filstar XP3/XPL to compare what these are like to live with).

​

Fluval Fx4 would be good

 

[Lbrdsoxfan]

Fluval Fx4 would be good

This. My experience is more with fluval fx4/fx6 also, good setups.

 

[Lovergasoline]

Ca you guys elaborate on the good, where do the FX series shine (... and bad: where do they fall short).

 

[Sleeping Giant]

Ca you guys elaborate on the good, where do the FX series shine (... and bad: where do they fall short).

the fx series is easy to maintain, easy to do water changes and has large enough chambers to add different types of filtering media.

The fx series also allows you to fully remove the canister from the in/out lines without having to worry about water dripping all over the place for ease of cleaning.
The nozzles for return are adjustable and easy to remove if cleaning is needed.

There is a maintenance kit available if any of the seals rip or are damaged, I pinched one a couple of months ago and it's been working just as good as day one since.

I honestly have nothing bad to say about the fx series canisters.

 

[Lovergasoline]

Thanks!

What about ease of use, maintenance, and trouble shooting? When I'm out of town a friend will deal with aquarium needs and the latter are often aquarium n00bs, possibly even with lower than average mechanical aptitude. So for my needs a simpler, more reliable, and easier to care for filter - even if lower performing - is a superior choice vs. a higher performing filter that is more finicky, demanding, or complicated.

Ease of use and reliability are my highest requirements.

 

[Sleeping Giant]

Thanks!

What about ease of use, maintenance, and trouble shooting? When I'm out of town a friend will deal with aquarium needs and the latter are often aquarium n00bs, possibly even with lower than average mechanical aptitude. So for my needs a simpler, more reliable, and easier to care for filter - even if lower performing - is a superior choice vs. a higher performing filter that is more finicky, demanding, or complicated.

you won't need to worry about anything to do with the canister while you're away from home

 

[Lovergasoline]

That's good to know Sleeping Giant. I'll look further into the FX4. I was researching them yesterday and the limiting issue is size/width. Fluval specs. state 15-3/4" wide, however in pics it looks like that measurement is at the top of the unit (where it's widest?). There also looks to be an outboard motor. Is it a 1"-3" inches narrower than 15-3/4" (in any orientation) at the base? I.e. is there an orientation to install it that is less than 15-3/4" at the bottom few inches, front-to-back? I have a baseboard/shoe molding on my wall that might interfere with fitting this filter in a built-in cabinet.

There's also an FX2 but I've read that the #407 is a better filter for that capacity?

 

[Sleeping Giant]

That's good to know Sleeping Giant. I'll look further into the FX4. I was researching them yesterday and the limiting issue is size/width. Fluval specs. state 15-3/4" wide, however in pics it looks like that measurement is at the top of the unit (where it's widest?). There also looks to be an outboard motor. Is it a 1"-3" inches narrower than 15-3/4" (in any orientation) at the base? I.e. is there an orientation to install it that is less than 15-3/4" at the bottom few inches, front-to-back? I have a baseboard/shoe molding on my wall that might interfere with fitting this filter in a built-in cabinet.

There's also an FX2 but I've read that the #407 is a better filter for that capacity?

the motor can be placed in any orientation you want, the measurement is at the top, it's smaller at the base by about 2 inches across. I'll get all the measurements in a bit. but overall it's a really good canister and the placement of it under your tank is pretty versatile.

 

[sfin52]

I have no idea what to buy and could use some feedback and guidance.
I have a single male Red Ear Slider about 18 yrs old with approx. 6" shell. He lives in a 37 gallon tank (filled to the brim) plus an above tank basking area. Unfortunately tank size is limited due to the built-in nook (apartment) where the tank is located (tall format 37 gallon tank).

My canister filter is a 16-17 year old Rena/Filstar XP3 (rated capacity I believe is 100 gallons), the only filter I've ever owned so my experience is limited. Not too long ago one of the filter canister's molded-in attachment points snapped off (where a removable clip mounts: 4 clips - one per corner - secures the filter head/motor assembly to the canister). This filter is no longer produced and a replacement canister alone would be about approx. $75 shipped. A bar clamp now serves temporary duty to keep things together until I figure out how to proceed.

I'm thinking it may be worthwhile to just buy a new canister. The XP3 has served well, can be a little noisy at times when it traps air at times, the aforementioned broken attachment point for the clips is a design weakness poorly implemented and not robust or confidence inspiring.

What's considered a very good canister filter these days? Quiet is good but reliability, user friendliness, and ease of maintenance (disassembly/cleaning/etc.) are paramount. Occasionally I need a friend to be a turtle caretaker if I'm out of town, which may require cleaning the filter, changing sponges, etc. then reassembling and getting things up and running properly with minimum fuss or troubleshooting. A finicky, poorly designed, difficult to clean/disassemble/reassemble filter, or one that requires too frequent tinkering will just exacerbate things.

Rock solid reliable, high built quality, easy to maintenance, and user friendly without requiring advanced mechanical aptitude to operate?

I see a Fluval 407 and XP4 would work spec. wise.
Amazon sells the Eheim Classic 600 Canister Filter 2217 for $125 (this seems a old design, not sure if that's a plus or minus).
There's also the Eheim Pro 4+ 600.
Any experience with these pro or con ... or other offerings (and even better if one has experience with the Rena/Filstar XP3/XPL to compare what these are like to live with).

​

Turtles are extremely messy. I would go big fluval 407 would be good or a fluval fx4 with spay bars may be better.

 

[sfin52]

the fx series is easy to maintain, easy to do water changes and has large enough chambers to add different types of filtering media.

The fx series also allows you to fully remove the canister from the in/out lines without having to worry about water dripping all over the place for ease of cleaning.
The nozzles for return are adjustable and easy to remove if cleaning is needed.

There is a maintenance kit available if any of the seals rip or are damaged, I pinched one a couple of months ago and it's been working just as good as day one since.

I honestly have nothing bad to say about the fx series canisters.

Run fx4 on my reef the maintenance is easy. It's large so easy to change media and clean. I love mine.

 

[jft]

EHEIM Shines In MY opinion. Running Multiple units on tanks 20 plus years. Go look at the Classic series. Good Luck!

 

[Lovergasoline]

EHEIM Shines In MY opinion. Running Multiple units on tanks 20 plus years. Go look at the Classic series. Good Luck!

jft,
Can you provide some feedback as to why you admire the Eheim Classic series?
Each filter manufacturer and filter model focuses on solving certain problems, thus emphasizing certain features and functions while disregarding others and ending up with a particular solution. No product is perfect because people have different criterion ... where does the Eheim Classic filter shine? Where they fall short in your opinion?

Is see the Eheim Classic 600, #2217 sells for $125 (Amazon) which is less than half the price of a Fluval #407 or FX4.

 

[peterhos]

For 20 years I used various Eheim canisters. All brilliant. People say they are nitrate factories but I had zero nitrate and phosphate for 20 years. Silent, reliable and well engineered,

 

[jft]

jft,
Can you provide some feedback as to why you admire the Eheim Classic series?
Each filter manufacturer and filter model focuses on solving certain problems, thus emphasizing certain features and functions while disregarding others and ending up with a particular solution. No product is perfect because people have different criterion ... where does the Eheim Classic filter shine? Where they fall short in your opinion?

Is see the Eheim Classic 600, #2217 sells for $125 (Amazon) which is less than half the price of a Fluval #407 or FX4.

I have used these Filters for over 20 years. These were Invented by Gunther Eheim. Everyone else copied but not quite. Full Canister Space for media. Extremely quiet motor and reliable. Never One issue and have not had to replace anything except occasional hoses. Motor maintence easy. You can use any media just pack it correctly so no air cavitation. Even the late Peter Wilkens first of reef keepers used them on his tanks. Stated did not worry about overflows due to closed space .Finally NEVER had a nitrate problem with Proper routine cleaning in all these years . I have NO Financial affiliation with EHEIM. Lots of junk products come and go. Eheim time tested since the 60 s. You asked for my experience, I gave it to you .Hope it helps, Good luck with your tank. See post below.

 

[jft]

I meant above

 

[Lovergasoline]

I have used these Filters for over 20 years. These were Invented by Gunther Eheim. Everyone else copied but not quite. Full Canister Space for media. Extremely quiet motor and reliable. Never One issue and have not had to replace anything except occasional hoses. Motor maintence easy. You can use any media just pack it correctly so no air cavitation. Even the late Peter Wilkens first of reef keepers used them on his tanks. Stated did not worry about overflows due to closed space .Finally NEVER had a nitrate problem with Proper routine cleaning in all these years . I have NO Financial affiliation with EHEIM. Lots of junk products come and go. Eheim time tested since the 60 s. You asked for my experience, I gave it to you .Hope it helps, Good luck with your tank. See post below.

jet,
Thanks so much for sharing your impressions.
I actually just got done watching a review of this and several canister filter offerings by 'aquamanknox' (it's in several parts the concluding episode below, but an earlier episode is devoted exclusively to the Eheim Classic)

().


He claims to have owned many of the Eheim Classic filters over the years and still uses one in his bedroom. But he points to some downsides of the filter which I think would make it a poor candidate for my particular usages (as stated up thread) esp. the mouth priming, air bubble purge/tilt clearing, potentially fragile clips, no handle for lifting & carrying to a sink to clean, slight inconvenience of basketless design, and poor customer support, perhaps difficult parts availability issues in the USA.

If it were just myself maintaining the tank and filter (or someone else like me, of very high mechanical aptitude and devoted to the task, a labor of love) the simplicity and bare bones approach of the filter could work ... however as I stated the turtle tank may from time to time, be looked after by folks without a high mechanical aptitude and due to them not being aquarium or turtle folks per-se, the Eheim Classic might potentially make too many demands vs. other easier to maintain options. My primary concerns include user friendliness/ease of use, convenience, and reliability (I should have also mentioned company support). It's too much to expect someone other than myself to mouth prime a filter should it ever come to that, or to embrace 'old school' filter maintenance procedures ... I need to keep things as technically simple and user friendly as possible.

 

[Lovergasoline]

After some more research I've narrowed it down to two finalists: the Fluval FX4 (possibly FX2 if I must have the FX series and FX4 is too large) and the Oase Biomaster 600. Anyone have any experience with the Oase they'd care to share? They sell for $228 now on Amazon which is a competitive price.

 

[jft]

jet,
Thanks so much for sharing your impressions.
I actually just got done watching a review of this and several canister filter offerings by 'aquamanknox' (it's in several parts the concluding episode below, but an earlier episode is devoted exclusively to the Eheim Classic)

().


He claims to have owned many of the Eheim Classic filters over the years and still uses one in his bedroom. But he points to some downsides of the filter which I think would make it a poor candidate for my particular usages (as stated up thread) esp. the mouth priming, air bubble purge/tilt clearing, potentially fragile clips, no handle for lifting & carrying to a sink to clean, slight inconvenience of basketless design, and poor customer support, perhaps difficult parts availability issues in the USA.

If it were just myself maintaining the tank and filter (or someone else like me, of very high mechanical aptitude and devoted to the task, a labor of love) the simplicity and bare bones approach of the filter could work ... however as I stated the turtle tank may from time to time, be looked after by folks without a high mechanical aptitude and due to them not being aquarium or turtle folks per-se, the Eheim Classic might potentially make too many demands vs. other easier to maintain options. My primary concerns include user friendliness/ease of use, convenience, and reliability (I should have also mentioned company support). It's too much to expect someone other than myself to mouth prime a filter should it ever come to that, or to embrace 'old school' filter maintenance procedures ... I need to keep things as technically simple and user friendly as possible.

Just so you Know Eheim has a customer support number 888 893 4346 call them and speak with them.They are based in Canada and are serving North America. They have ALWAYS been very helpful and they have all replacements should you need parts. Good luck.

 

[CookietheSeahare]

We have two fluval 307, one for a 40 gallon FOWLR salt and one for the large fresh.

They both cracked in the exact same area, right around the gasket. However, both were quick to be sent replacements after just a bit of blaming us for not following the directions properly. Use their name brand lubricant, do NOT follow the directions that claim you can use vegetable oil.

We think it was a bad batch, as the replacements work perfectly. Having two meant that, when the saltwater cracked, we took the replacement part from the freshwater, as it can survive with water changes and a sponge filter for a few days.

They've been very easy to clean, and provide a great home for both beneficial bacteria, and bristleworms. So many bristleworms...