canister filter recomendations

[wierdkid]

I've never dealt with them before and I am considering getting one for my planted 20 long. are there any that are good or i should stay away from. Also, I was wondering if it would be wise to hook up multiple tanks (one may be a terrarium) to one canister (if this is possible).

 

[QTOFFER]

The big advantages of cannister filters are their efficiency, ultra quiet operation, and media capacity. Also, the bulk of the filtratioon unit can be hidden out of sight. Their disadvantages are cost, initial setup, and opening them to replace media. Fortunately, cannister filters require far less maintenance than other filter type - I've only opened up my Eheim 2026 three or four times in the two years I've had it. If you can spare the cash, I would recommend a cannister over a HOB any day, but Aquaclear and Penguin make some fantastic HOBs that would suit your needs nicely.

A Fluval 104 or 204 cannister should provide lots of filtration for your tank.

I'm not sure what you mean by hooking up multiple tanks. If you mean sharing one humongous filter between several tanks connected in series, I would advise against it because if one tank gets a disease, all would get it, and if the filter fails, all your tanks crash with it.

If you mean hooking up a smaller secondary tank to a larger show tank, check the DIY forum for sumps. People use heavily planted sumps to add biological filtration to their setups, and as a way to hide ugly equipment like heaters.

A terrarium containing aquatic and terrestrial plants would look really nice and serve as a sump at the same time. I have no first-hand experiences with sumps or terrariums, so hopefully others will chime in.

 

[Simpte]

I had a 204 on my 20 high. It worked well but I wish I had went with an Eheim ecco or Rena xp2. The Rena has more water flow and that is crucial to planted tanks above all else. The Eheim makes a better reactor if you decide to go co2 withthe tank.

 

[Michael]

I have an Eheim 2222 on my 30, works great, flow is not to crazt and it is easy to maintain. The cost of the 222 is not bad either.

p.s. I have one for sale, about to put it ebay for $40.00. I had it on a 20 gallon long with my Blue Rams & Cardinals but I upgraded them to a 40g and went to a Eheim Pro II.

 

[malkore]

I had a 204 on my 20 high. It worked well but I wish I had went with an Eheim ecco or Rena xp2. The Rena has more water flow and that is crucial to planted tanks above all else. The Eheim makes a better reactor if you decide to go co2 withthe tank.

An XP2 in a 20H would be blowing the plants over

I ran an XP2 on a 75gallon for almost 2 years, and didn't have problems with flow/current.

For a 20H, I feel that canister's are overkill, mainly due to the cost. If you had a spare canister, or got one real cheap, then I'd have no problem saying 'go for it'.

So due to cost, I'd stick to a HOB for now.

 

[Mudfrog]

I have the cheap Odysea 4 (made by Jebo) on my 55. They claim it's good up to 135 gallons but to be honest it's barely enough filtration for my 55. I even thought about putting it on my 29 gallon. It is ultra quiet, holds a ton of media and you only need to clean the filter every other month or so. Overall for $40 I guess it was a decent deal.

BTW... they claim it does a solid 350gph, and I saw a post somewhere and someone put it to the test and it actually flows around 160gph.

 

[Drocnoc]

Most filters advertised GPH is without any media in the filter.

 

[macman7010]

My girlfriend uses a Fluval 201 on her planted tank which is actually a bit larger than yours. She didnt want the high flow rates that might injure the plants so she stuck with the smaller model, seems to work well.

 

[malkore]

Most filters advertised GPH is without any media in the filter.

and assuming a super low head (head being the distance it has to travel up and over the lip of the tank to the return nozzle)...like 1 foot or 2 feet...not the 5-6feet of hose most canisters come with.

SW people are probably more used to seeing the term becasue they have to have a pump for their sump that'll be able to clear the head and still have adequate gph. Many pumps will even state a 3foot head is 300gph, a 4foot head is 220gph and a 5 foot head is 150gph.

 

[Simpte]

Eheim's waterflow is rated with full media. And my Xp3 sin't giving me enough waterflow on my 75 gallon. Going to add the 204 onto it for just that reason. The Xp3 does have a reactor connected to the outtake though. If I can't see my plants moving across the tank, there isn't enough waterflow

 

[TankGirl]

I also think a canister would be overkill for a 20g, except if it is important to hide the gear and an HOB would detract from the look of the tank due to where it is placed, etc.

In that case an Ecco would work, though I find them to be grossly underpowered compared to what I expect from an Eheim. An XP2 is definitely too much filter for that size tank.

 

[gheitman]

I have a Filstar xP1 on a 30 gallon tank and think that could be too much flow for a planted tank. My own preference for planted tanks 20 gallons in capacity and smaller would be to use sponge filters. I have two 20 gallon long tanks that are planted and each uses a sponge filter. When I do my water changes each weekend I just squeeze out the sponges in the tank water I have siphoned out and then top off the tank with new water that has been dechlorinated.

 

[piranha]

Ive got a Jebo 828(CFS4) on a 30 high and the current is really too much for the plants. Jebo use to make the 825 rated 800 L/P/H or 211 G/P/H. This would be the filter for your 20 gallon. Check out either aquatraders.com or superfishstore.com