Question for those running canister filters

[GR00VY]

What is your maintenance schedule like? What media/filter pads are you using? Yes I know people claim they are nitrate factories but so are hob filters. If you use them you have to just clean them regularly.

 

[Peace River]

Like you said there is a wide debate about canister filters. I have many tanks and two of them use canister filters. Personally I use them for mechanical filtration and not biological so I clean the filters out every week or two. I use a large pore sponge, lots of filter floss, carbon, and occasionally another pad or some type of chemical filtration.

 

[rusty hannon]

What is your maintenance schedule like? What media/filter pads are you using? Yes I know people claim they are nitrate factories but so are hob filters. If you use them you have to just clean them regularly.

i havent one in years but i did run a fluval a long time ago and i had good sucess with it and you are definately right about keeping it clean and being successful with them.i had no problems back then and ive always done weekly maintance and tests.i m a hands on sort and dont believe an automated system or not reguraly checking my equipement. thats part of the kick and fun to owning one of these types of pets. go your own way n keep up with it all and i believe youll succeed.best of luck n happy reefing.R

 

[GR00VY]

Would you recommend the fluval x306 or eheim pro 350? Filter needs to be pretty quiet because it is in bedroom.

 

[jtshipley]

Would you recommend the fluval x306 or eheim pro 350? Filter needs to be pretty quiet because it is in bedroom.

how big is the tank

 

[GR00VY]

29 gallon

 

[jtshipley]

29 gallon

id personally go for the fluval 406
the bigger you go the more bio media you can get in there

 

[GR00VY]

Fair enough. I figured I’d want a minimum of 300gph for turnover and increased volume

 

[WilliamBowman]

I usually use the Aqua Clear Filter for a 55g aquarium. They work quite well, although small in size, but their filtration capacity is actually comparable to similar filter brands on the market today.

 

[legrunt]

I use a fluval 207 for my 18g tank. I unhook it once a week to clean the floss. The media the water flows through is coarse sponge->medium sponge->seachem matrix->carbon->fine floss->Chiller then back in using the supplied duck bill outlet.

So far so good...

 

[ca1ore]

Never saw much use for mechanical filtration in a cannister for anything but a QT tank. Very useful for GAC though. Cleaning routine no different than for an externally fed reactor.

 

[rob taft]

Due to the shape and size of my tank (50 gallon corner), I don't have room for a sump. I do run a Aquamaxx HOB 1.5 skimmer and a Oase Thermo 350 canister filter. I have two tray of Bio Home Ultimate in the canister, the other trays have Chemi- Pure Blue in one and Phosguard in another tray. What is in the trays (other than the Bio-home) is dependent on the conditions e.g, I might also use carbon in the trays.

The benefit of the Oase is that the heater is located in the canister and it has a easily removable pre-filter which I clean once a week but with the Aquammaxx it isn't that dirty. It is also very quiet. Once a month I remove that cannister and clean. Not a big deal. I should also mention that I use an overflow box for the cannister filter and keep the sensor of my Inkbird in the overflow box.

 

[dreamcatcherr9]

I have used canisters for over a decade. Both fresh and salt water applications. Just two cents; Ehiem is top of the line. Seriously the standard to beat. I have tried ALL the brands, Eheim is solid.

 

[legrunt]

I have used canisters for over a decade. Both fresh and salt water applications. Just two cents; Ehiem is top of the line. Seriously the standard to beat. I have tried ALL the brands, Eheim is solid.

I keep hearing that... But is eheim really that good in all aspects? I guess as far as reliability is concerned, it may have an edge due to qc or something, but what about features?

 

[dreamcatcherr9]

It’s just performance. Example, I used Eheim and had hardly any spots of algae on glass freshwater tank. I switched to a FX6 after 4 years when the canister broke. I have algae on glass now. Ehiem has just been around a long time and it’s simple but effect in its design, parts and functionality.

 

[legrunt]

It’s just performance. Example, I used Eheim and had hardly any spots of algae on glass freshwater tank. I switched to a FX6 after 4 years when the canister broke. I have algae on glass now. Ehiem has just been around a long time and it’s simple but effect in its design, parts and functionality.

It's this sort of thing that has me scratching my head... I've read stuff like this before.

But, ... What is it about ehiem that makes it "better" at removing for example, algae on glass? Let's put aside reliability for the moment... Essentially it comes down to media and flow. Media is media and can be interchanged between canisters... Flow is flow and can be sized accordingly... So, how does one brand be better at water chemistry than another?

*Stumped*

 

[Peace River]

It's this sort of thing that has me scratching my head... I've read stuff like this before.

But, ... What is it about ehiem that makes it "better" at removing for example, algae on glass? Let's put aside reliability for the moment... Essentially it comes down to media and flow. Media is media and can be interchanged between canisters... Flow is flow and can be sized accordingly... So, how does one brand be better at water chemistry than another?

*Stumped*

I cannot respond to the specifics of the Eheim (in fact I would have expected the Fluval FX6 to be more effective), but to answer your question about what makes a skimmer "better" - one factor is that the flow pattern through the filter is different and I consider a friend's Fluval to be more effective at mechanical filtration than my Penn Plax Cascade canister.