Upgrade to Canister Filter

[adaniel1990]

Thinking about upgrading to the Fluval 107 for my 20 gallon. The tank is in my bedroom. Im curious to how loud this filter is and pros vs cons about this filter. I currently have a HOB filter

 

[Jedi1199]

Thinking about upgrading to the Fluval 107 for my 20 gallon. The tank is in my bedroom. Im curious to how loud this filter is and pros vs cons about this filter. I currently have a HOB filter

I can't speak to the 107 model, but I have the FX6 and it is nearly silent. My experience with canisters vs. HOB filters is that canisters in general are FAR quieter than any HoB.

 

[homer1475]

They are quieter I agree, but they come with a whole slew of other maintenance issues. Not sure I would call it an upgrade per' say.

 

[MNFish]

It will be much quieter. I use the 407 on a fresh water and it works great and is silent.
The main downfall is there is no surface skim, not sure which current HOB you have but I know some have surface skimming capabilities.

 

[Rmckoy]

It would be much quieter but not sure if it’s worth changing as there are many far worse things to happen with a canister

I personally like the sound of water . Especially for sleeping

 

[Jedi1199]

They are quieter I agree, but they come with a whole slew of other maintenance issues. Not sure I would call it an upgrade per' say.

Pros:
Quieter operation
Larger capacity
Increased versatility
Longer interval for maintenance

Cons:
More difficult to hide
More labor intense maintenance

I run canisters on my 55g. I have an old Rena and a new FX6. Yes, it takes a lot more work to clean them than just swapping out a cartridge every few days, but I don't have to do it as often. I do them on alternate weeks.

The versatility of a canister alone makes them preferable to a HoB in my opinion. You can run carbon, or extra bio media in them for instance that you usually can't do in a Hob.

If you don't mind some extra time on "cleaning day" , I would say it is definitely worth the cost.

 

[Rmckoy]

The last I used a canister was on a 75 gal
I removed everything from the media baskets and only added live rock rubble and coral skeleton pieces .

it worked for a long time but I cleaned it every other day

 

[Jedi1199]

The last I used a canister was on a 75 gal
I removed everything from the media baskets and only added live rock rubble and coral skeleton pieces .

it worked for a long time but I cleaned it every other day

Interesting... It amazes me how much gunk my canisters remove. What amazes me more is that my small "sump" I added catches enough gunk that the sock clogs in about 4 days.

 

[Rmckoy]

Interesting... It amazes me how much gunk my canisters remove. What amazes me more is that my small "sump" I added catches enough gunk that the sock clogs in about 4 days.

That is amazing .
Canisters do pull a lot but what ever it pulls . Is caught inside .

sumps . I believe some gunk is washed off the top ( I have cloth instead of socks )

 

[Jedi1199]

That is amazing .
Canisters do pull a lot but what ever it pulls . Is caught inside .

sumps . I believe some gunk is washed off the top ( I have cloth instead of socks )

I agree. The "sump" is fed from a HoB overflow that allows for surface skimming that the canisters can't do.

It really isn't much more than a glorified skimmer reservoir. 10g tank, couple baffles and a filter sock, but it seems to be keeping my parameters much more stable.

 

[Idech]

I had a 407 on my 75 gallons freshwater tank and really liked it. It never loses prime (if you know how to use it) and isn’t as noisy as other canisters.

 

[mindme]

I don't use either on my 29g anemone tank, only a HOB skimmer.

 

[AdamNC]

I have the 207 on a 29 gallon FW Planted tank and it is very quiet even with the spray bar attachment.

 

[Vaundey]

It will be much quieter. I use the 407 on a fresh water and it works great and is silent.
The main downfall is there is no surface skim, not sure which current HOB you have but I know some have surface skimming capabilities.

Fluval sells a surface skimmer attachment for the 7 series. $30 on Amazon, works great.

 

[Vaundey]

I agree. The "sump" is fed from a HoB overflow that allows for surface skimming that the canisters can't do.

It really isn't much more than a glorified skimmer reservoir. 10g tank, couple baffles and a filter sock, but it seems to be keeping my parameters much more stable.

Alot of canisters come with surface skimmers, some require a separate purchase (which is ridiculous because every system benefits from surface skimming, looking at you Fluval...)

 

[Rmckoy]

I’d be interested to see how the surface skimmer attachment works .
Is it similar to a over flow box ?
it would some home need to be fed over the side of the display tank and not suck in air .

i will admit … it would be a lot quieter if there was to be a canister but as efficient at exporting nutrients ( not harbouring them inside )

 

[Vaundey]

I’d be interested to see how the surface skimmer attachment works .
Is it similar to a over flow box ?
it would some home need to be fed over the side of the display tank and not suck in air .

i will admit … it would be a lot quieter if there was to be a canister but as efficient at exporting nutrients ( not harbouring them inside )

This video demonstrates the function
Basically just a little float piped to the inlet.

 

[Rmckoy]

This video demonstrates the function
Basically just a little float piped to the inlet.

That’s pretty slick !
I actually like it .

 

[bstodds15]

This video demonstrates the function
Basically just a little float piped to the inlet.

I have a fluval 307 on a 15g column and was looking for something to help with surface skimming. I didn't know fluval sold this attachment - but just ordered one off amazon for $22.

Only issue is I feel like the suction cups will go bad in a year, like most of fluvals suction cups do.