Opinions and review on SunSun canister filters

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Fishanatic

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Hello I am looking for a review for the sunsun canister filter from a current owner of the product with full insight on durability, noise, effectivness, ect, ect...
Thank you very much!
 
If you search it there are several posts about them. Overall most are positive reviews for the price. I researched buying one and decided on a different filter. Only negative I know of is the material used for spray bar/tubing is kinda flimsy so be careful during installation.
 
Yup, that's the only negative I've found from my 4. Not a big deal since they provide more pieces than necessary. Too, one can easily use aftermarket pieces.
 
I usually check reviews on Amazon. I have heard that Sun Sun is a decent filter.


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Ah here comes the hot topic, to carbon or not carbon.

Sponge, bio media are almost always used. Some put carbon some don't. Some put polishing pads, filter floss. It's really a personal decision depending on what fish you plan on keeping and tank size.

I have 3 canister filters. I run sponges in all, filter floss in all and matrix in all. In my 75 gallon I run purigen which sits on top of a piece of filter floss.
 
They come with filter pads which I recommend swapping out for sponges. They make them for the specific models.

All my canisters are set up with the fluval ceramic prefilters as the first stage of filtration, followed by sponge, finished with biomax. If there are 4 trays, 2 are biomax.

Skip on the UV if you can - it's little more than a gimmick. Real UV units cost more than twice the price of the entire filter, so that should give you an idea about the quality of the built in unit. I believe A models are regular and B models have the UV.
 
Were it me I would get 2 of the 302s (I assume 400 is the next gen), or one 302 and one 303. Two filters are much better than one on larger tanks.

After a quick search it seems the difference between the 300s and the new 400s is that the 02 and 03 models now have 4 media trays instead of 3, though the filter is no larger. And they've added UV to the 02 model.
 
I've got three 404B's, and like them. As mentioned the intake/output is a bit flimsy but it is functional, the vinyl tubing is fine, and the filter itself to me is a straightfoward, simple design that works OK. Some bypass perhaps, and as mentioned the UV is more gimmick than otherwise due to the flow rate, but it's also not adding to the price significantly.

And LOTS of media room, and nicely quiet. I had one fluval 304, and got three 404B's instead of another fluval. The fluval continued to slow down due to some aspect of how the impeller cover was designed (at least I think so) that it warps, so when it was time to get more, I opted for the low cost and was pleasantly surprised.

As with all filters that I've seen, the specified flow rate is badly exaggerated. I found the 404B to be about twice the Fluval 306 I have.
 
That's good to know. I have a 306 which is about 3 months old. Have noticed output seems to have slowed down a bit.
 
Thanks everyone, ill probably be getting one soon and gonna look up specific media for canisters and which to put first second ect ect thanks :)
 
That's good to know. I have a 306 which is about 3 months old. Have noticed output seems to have slowed down a bit.

I'm not completely convinced that is it. Fluval sent me a new cover, and it was visibly straighter, and it restored some but not all of the flow rate it had previously (this is no-media flow rate, tested in a sink -- yes, I know clogged up media over time slows it down). I'm still not completely sure what the problem is, but it is definitely slower.

I THINK the bent cover comes from the media baskets. If they are not very carefully aligned, they can be slightly tall, and they hit directly on the relatively un-supported-behind impeller cover.

I like the sunsun cover in that regard, it is much more solid (and easier to remove and clean, at least easier to reassemble correctly).

I am still using the Fluval, but had to move it to a tank where it was one of three filters, as the flow got too low for my tiny 45G tank.
 
Thanks everyone, ill probably be getting one soon and gonna look up specific media for canisters and which to put first second ect ect thanks :)


Media is media - there are just more choices for a canister.

Media should always be arranged from coarsest to finest. Typical suggestion is mechanical first, chemical second and then biological last. Lots of people don't use chemical and add more mechanical and biological media instead. Then there are additional medias one can use, such as polishing pads and purigen. Those should be last.
 
Media should always be arranged from coarsest to finest. Typical suggestion is mechanical first, chemical second and then biological last.

Also, the less substrate and plants you have, the more you should put biologic media; heavy plant (real plants) and lots of substrate gives beneficial bacteria a home in the tank proper and you need less in the canister. The SunSun's (at least the 404 I have) have really large media trays, I use one tray of Seachem Matrix, which is about a full liter, which is a lot, and still have all the other trays available for course filters.

The SunSun's from most suppliers do not come with media (or at least not much). You can buy bulk mechanical media, and cut to fit, or there are places that sell it pre-cut. The former is much cheaper over time, and cheap enough that I usually replace one or two of them each cleaning.

Generally speaking never replace the biologic media (Matrix in my case). Use ceramics or something like Matrix, don't use plastic "ball" media as they are really for bigger sumps and lack adequate surface area for canisters.
 
I have almost two 750 gram boxes of fluval ceramic prefilter media and four 500 gram boxes of biomax in my 304s, plus the tray of mechanical media. They really hold a ton of media.
 
Posts 6 and 7 are two suggestions on how to set them up.

I've see people use nothing but mechanical media and others use solely biomedia, and everything inbetween. One thing I would not use are the ammo chips and medias like that.
 
I've got the 3 pads provided in the basic package deal (media not included) I've added 350 ml of purigen and 500g. Of seachem matrix, I'm going to fit a fluval coarse pad and add a bunch of bio balls, all the fluval media is dirt cheap at petco.
On a side note... i had a major issue with green water a week ago, like the hulk took a leak in my tank green.. this morning it was pretty much crystal clear! Uv a success?!?! Hmmm maybe it's coincidence?? Maybe it does actually do something? I don't know... I'm def happy it's clear though:D
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