Thoughts on canister filters

[Huro]

Thank you everyone for your sharing your experiences, I purchased my Fx6 last night and cant wait to try it out. I couldn't agree more with those who posted positive results with the SunSun filters, I have the HW-303b which I picked up new for $60 on amazon. It is quieter than my fluval 406 plus has the added bonus of UV . They only issue I had with mine was a nominal stray voltage reading .1, which was easily fixed.
On a side note my research seemed to point out that while Fluval is on top for mechanical filtration, Ehiem takes the lead on biological filtration, you guys think this is true?

Thanks again everyone!

 

[Ruffers99]

On a side note my research seemed to point out that while Fluval is on top for mechanical filtration, Ehiem takes the lead on biological filtration, you guys think this is true?

Thanks again everyone!

The media is totally up to your preference, so many folks have had success with lots of different brands. When I was in the Ehiem game, I was fairly new to fish keeping and I used the media that came with the filters and it worked pretty well, but this time around I decided to make more of an investment with in both the filter (i.e. the fx6 which is more than I technically need) and the media.
After a lot of research in that area (which was quite a bit) I found Biohome Ultimate.
If its kept correctly it can last for years. Its fairly new'ish but folks are having good success with it too (just my opinion).

BIOHOME ULTIMATE - FILTER MEDIA DOES NOT GET ANY BETTER - YouTube

 

[Huro]

Great video thanks for posting it, it definitely got my attention.

 

[Coursair]

I use an Eheim Ecco on my 10g my club members rave about Eheim and Fluval. But many now run SunSun.
I'm a member of an Aquatic plant club...so we have lots of planted tanks.


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[treemanone2003]

This isn't a good thing. Not cleaning a filter just means all the debris is rotting. The filter's job is to house bacteria that eat ammonia and nitrite and to COLLECT particulate matter. It is your job to REMOVE that particulate matter from the system. If you don't it just rots which ruins your water quality. It also means that even with saturated media the flow isn't dropping which means there is bypass.

I don't touch my Fluval's for six months at a time. Summer and winter. Stating specifically that not opening your filter is what ruins your water quality is completely false. There's other factors that play a large role in ruining water quality. Primarily, lack of WC's and gravel vacuuming, as that's the easiest method in controlling nitrates in a tank. Detritus is fairly heavy and as leaves the fish, it generally sinks. Unless there's an incredible amount of flow from the bottom of the tank directly to the filter intake, very little detritus will enter the filter.


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[aqua_chem]

I think that the takeaway point from this thread is that their aren't really any bad options in the canister filter market as long as you stick to the more mainstream brands plus Sunsun/Aquatop/whatevertheyrecallednow. As a secondary point, with respect to which is best there is a whole lot of opinion on the matter, and basically zero hard data to back up any one particular brand over another.

 

[aqua_chem]

I don't touch my Fluval's for six months at a time. Summer and winter. Stating specifically that not opening your filter is what ruins your water quality is completely false. There's other factors that play a large role in ruining water quality. Primarily, lack of WC's and gravel vacuuming, as that's the easiest method in controlling nitrates in a tank. Detritus is fairly heavy and as leaves the fish, it generally sinks. Unless there's an incredible amount of flow from the bottom of the tank directly to the filter intake, very little detritus will enter the filter.

I'm curious as to what you think gravel vacuuming accomplishes that's not directly relatable to cleaning your filter. There is a whole lot of detritus that ends up in a filter, at the very least it's comparable to what ends up in the substrate if you filtering/circulation is up to snuff. The picture that ProAquarist describes with waste accumulation and diminishing efficacy of a biofilter is quite accurate in my experience.

 

[olddollar95]

I'm having problems with my eheim 2236 canister filter. It hasn't been able to pump the GPH it is rated for. I have cleaned it so many times it's mind numbing. I emailed the company and they finally replied that I need to use eheim filter pads.... it doesn't help. then I got upset and told them what I thought. No more emails. Just saying, do your research, read customer reviews on Amazon. Be careful.

 

[treemanone2003]

I'm curious as to what you think gravel vacuuming accomplishes that's not directly relatable to cleaning your filter. There is a whole lot of detritus that ends up in a filter, at the very least it's comparable to what ends up in the substrate if you filtering/circulation is up to snuff. The picture that ProAquarist describes with waste accumulation and diminishing efficacy of a biofilter is quite accurate in my experience.

I think I explained it fairly well. But I'll break it down a little more. His explanation was based on rotting material and lack of cleaning a filter being the lone contributor to poor water quality. Experienced fish keepers know this is an untruth and to dispel such is just wrong. That's what I pointed out. What I also explained is the circulation aspect which you reinforced upon. I also took the time to explain how detritus is heavier therefore resulting in falling to the bottom of the tank and not making into the filter therefore necessitating the need for vacuuming. It's not until it manifests long enough that it breaks down into small enough portions that are then capable to be picked up and moved thru the water column into the intake.

I don't deny that there is a whole lot that ends up in the filter nor did I make that claim. What ends up in the substrate IMO far outweighs what ends up in the filter. If it was equal, it would be recommended to clean the canister more often. Instead, the issue of a good gravel vac comes up more frequently than cleaning a canister. Hope that helps you about where I'm coming from.


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[ProAquarist]

Do not put words in my mouth. I never once said it was the lone contributor to poor water quality. I said that it can have a great impact on it and water changes can't completely compensate for a canister turning in to a nitrate factory. As stated I have seen tanks with massive weekly water changes go from 80ppm to 10ppm nitrate just by cleaning the neglected canister. I do this for a living, I have seen it happen.

Debris may sink right away but it also dissolves and breaks down. If 'most of it ended up on the bottom' then our filters wouldn't catch much to begin with.

Gravel can certainly be just as bad of a nitrate factory if neglected, maybe even worse in some tanks. That is one of my main reasons for usually using sand. The sand keeps it on top and the flow keeps stuff moving until the filters grab it. In these tanks very little ends up in the substrate and at most there a couple small, easily removed spots where debris collects on top.

"If it was equal, it would be recommended to clean the canister more often. Instead, the issue of a good gravel vac comes up more frequently than cleaning a canister."
By who? People on forums? Everyone is perfect and no one has misinformation and misconceptions? I am bringing it up. I am saying to clean filters more often (monthly). I am also saying to vacuum gravel weekly if you have it or better yet use sand. But you don't agree with me so I guess I don't get counted in any of that.

If you don't agree just try it. Check your nitrate and then clean the canister that hasn't been touched in 6 months and check the nitrate a couple times in the week following. Maybe in your tank it won't make a difference, maybe it will. But I would never recommend to someone to NOT remove all the debris that is being collected by a canister. There is nothing to be gained by neglecting it. You paid good money for a canister. It works hard to collect that stuff. Get it out.

 

[Delapool]

Bit of a side road but what are people's thoughts on canisters with uv's? Apart from killing algae I've never been convinced.

On my next canister filter I'd like it to be self-priming (I'd love it to be self priming!)

 

[ScotJudd]

Hi Delapool. I have had an in-line UV Filter for nearly a year. Flow rate is slow enough to theoretically reduce free swimming bacteria and pathogens as well as controlling water born algae. Does it work? Well, any damaged fish (rarely happens) but no fungus develops and the wound heals fast. White spot is non- existent. Water clarity is perfect. It is possible, of course, that this would have been the case without UV but there is no real way of knowing. I shall stick with the UV but I think I would prefer to have a separate unit rather than complicating a canister filter, which is a very simple piece of equipment.


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[Delapool]

Hi Delapool. I have had an in-line UV Filter for nearly a year. Flow rate is slow enough to theoretically reduce free swimming bacteria and pathogens as well as controlling water born algae. Does it work? Well, any damaged fish (rarely happens) but no fungus develops and the wound heals fast. White spot is non- existent. Water clarity is perfect. It is possible, of course, that this would have been the case without UV but there is no real way of knowing. I shall stick with the UV but I think I would prefer to have a separate unit rather than complicating a canister filter, which is a very simple piece of equipment.


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Thanks for the reply. It may be that I'm biased too because the canister filter I have which has the uv unit has a large flow rate (it was a cheap one).

I've gone for a separate uv unit. Actually I got the separate uv unit first and uv in the canister by accident.

 

[Ruffers99]

+1 for separate uv, I'm am looking to add a 36w inline to my fx6 at some point soon, just not straight away due to cost. Mainly for all the reasons above and to hep inhibit algae growth.

 

[aqua_chem]

Bit of a side road but what are people's thoughts on canisters with uv's? Apart from killing algae I've never been convinced.

IMO, mostly gimmick. The canister filter will have too low of contact time with the UV light to be effective as an actual sterilizer. That, and I suspect that they'll lose potency very soon and not be changed frequently enough in most setups.

 

[aqua_holic]

I don't touch my Fluval's for six months at a time. Summer and winter. Stating specifically that not opening your filter is what ruins your water quality is completely false. There's other factors that play a large role in ruining water quality. Primarily, lack of WC's and gravel vacuuming, as that's the easiest method in controlling nitrates in a tank. Detritus is fairly heavy and as leaves the fish, it generally sinks. Unless there's an incredible amount of flow from the bottom of the tank directly to the filter intake, very little detritus will enter the filter.


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I completely agree. I have 7 canisters and don't clean them more than twice a year. Sometimes 6 months becomes 9 months.

 

[aqua_holic]

IMO, mostly gimmick. The canister filter will have too low of contact time with the UV light to be effective as an actual sterilizer. That, and I suspect that they'll lose potency very soon and not be changed frequently enough in most setups.

Completely agreed. I run UV units in my show tanks despite having them built in to my canisters.

 

[1998golfer]

I completely agree. I have 7 canisters and don't clean them more than twice a year. Sometimes 6 months becomes 9 months.

I can't imagine living my canister filter uncleaned for more than a month... I clean it bi-weekly to monthly, and each time it is disgustingly filthy, the filter pads take 3-4 minutes each to clean under running tap water. It turns the running water black as it goes through the filter pads. I've got 7 filter pads in my canister and they're all like that. I don't overfeed, and it's only a lightly stocked 27g tank.

 

[aqua_holic]

I can't imagine living my canister filter uncleaned for more than a month... I clean it bi-weekly to monthly, and each time it is disgustingly filthy, the filter pads take 3-4 minutes each to clean under running tap water. It turns the running water black as it goes through the filter pads. I've got 7 filter pads in my canister and they're all like that. I don't overfeed, and it's only a lightly stocked 27g tank.

I should mention that I run huge filtration systems of at least 2 canisters. Each one can filter the tank independently so the combo takes a lot longer to reach that point. If I ran minimal filtration I would certainly clean my filter much more often.

I too clean my media in tap water. I just recently cleaned them all after closer to 9 months and it didn't take 5 minutes to thoroughly clean all the media in a filter.

 

[1998golfer]

I should mention that I run huge filtration systems of at least 2 canisters. Each one can filter the tank independently so the combo takes a lot longer to reach that point. If I ran minimal filtration I would certainly clean my filter much more often.

I too clean my media in tap water. I just recently cleaned them all after closer to 9 months and it didn't take 5 minutes to thoroughly clean all the media in a filter.

Hmm.. I'm running both a 528gph canister and a fluval c3 hob on a 27g.