Canister Filters

[puffergirl]

Hi there just shopping around for a canister filter for a 50gal tank. Wondering what you would suggest. Currently I'm running a Fluval on my 30gal and also one on my 20gal. I'm quite happy with both of them, but been looking at the Eheim, Filistar, and Magnum. Any suggestions or experience with any of these?

 

[e-cat]

iv only ever used fluval and am pleased with them and wont switch

 

[pondmom]

I'm also using 2 Fluval 404's on my 125 gal and have been "very" pleased.
I do believe the "new" design of this filter has made it more user friendly

 

[reefobsessed]

I have a magnum 350 on my salt tank and I love it. It has been maintenance free for two years now and is very quite. Watch the price though. I have seen them from 150 to 99 so shop around. I didnt and I paid 150. :x

 

[Gunnie]

Check around and look at the different features of each. I chose the filstar XP filters because I am new to the hobby, and they appeared to be the most user friendly for first time canister users. I like the separate basket feature, the auto shut off so the motor won't overheat, and they are cheaper than eheim and fluval. I have also heard a lot of praises and complaints about the fluvals. From what I have read, you either love or hate them. I have not really seen any bad comments about the filstar except for the crappy directions. Their customer support was great though!

 

[TankGirl]

You can't go wrong with an Eheim, and I am happy with my Filstar as well.

 

[BrianNY]

For ease of cleaning, I'd go with the fluvals. The 304 is large enough for a 50 gal and bigalsonline has the best price.

Note on the eheim Tankgirl.... I have the 2217 on my 125 and getting the motor housing off is a Herculean feat. LOL

 

[shawmutt]

I have a filstar xp1 on my 30 gallon...and if the xp3 is anything like it, I would recommend it whole-heartedly.

 

[oscarbreeder]

Go with the Fluval 404.
I have one on my 55gal along with two penguin 330's.
Lots of filtration but I have Oscars.

 

[fidojoe]

I have a fluval 404 on my SW tank, its great, but I took the media out, and just run it for criculation. Its been running great for almost a year now, and haven't had a problem yet.

 

[TheNewGuy]

I have the magnum 350 on my 135g and i've had no problems worth mentioning.

 

[puffergirl]

Thanks for all the advie everone! There are so many to choose from.

 

[TankGirl]

The XP3 is incredibly easy to clean, and I have heard more good things about it than about the Fluval, for some reason, but it could be just fewer people are led to comment on their Fluvals or something. I have complained on many a thread about my Eheim 2215, and I will say it again, it is a pain to change the filter media but I do believe it will last me forever. Probably not a better brand out there, IMO. I got the Eheim when I thought I would have only one tank (hahahah! Whoo! Knee-slapper, right there!) and now that I am really looking to keep the spending down the Filstar was the best price performer.

 

[jratuszn]

I have a Filstar xP3 on my 70g, and it runs great. It's also a snap to clean.

-J

 

[jratuszn]

One more thing worht mentioning- I got my xP3 off of ebay, for <$100 with shipping.

-J

 

[nguyen27]

I got a HOT Magnum 250 and Fluval 204, so far I"m please with both of them, the Fluval is real quiet and good bio-filter, and the Magnum done a very well job on keeping the water sparkle clean, 3 days ago my sister's 54 gals got an algae bloom, you can't see a thing even with a triple batteries flashlight, I hookup my HOT Magnum with the micron cartridge, 1 days later the aquarium crytal clear! So may be you get both of them for your tank? The HOT can be convert into either micron or bio filter! By the way I used both filters on my 37gals tank!

 

[xander]

I have a Fluval 203, a Fluval 303, and an Ehheim ecco 2233. I like the Eheim better. Its easier to claen and always starts right away unlike my fluvals. I actually lost some fish due to my Fluval stopping. I will be going wiht Eheim from now on.

 

[nguyen27]

Xander,
Speaking of 203 and 303 series of Fluval filter, aren't they pretty old?? They don't even have builtin prime as I remeber it, since I use to have 103 fluval, pain in the neck to start. Yeah the Eheim makes very good filter as German made; they are pricey but worth the money tho!

 

[grimlock3000]

From reading up on it quite a bit, people typically have more problems with the newer Fluval 04 series compared to 03. The 04 series did have multiple running changes made to the product as well, so it can be difficult to compare.

If you compare the build quality and fitment of Eheim and Filstar to others, the difference is noticable. Check out some reviews here:

http://www.cichlid-forum.com/reviews/category_display.php?CatID=104

Eheims have a 9.16 for the Pro II and 9.18 for the Classis, and the Filstar average out to 8.91. The Fluvals only have a 7.66 average rating. The Magnums only have a 7.16 as well. If you read through the reviews, you will get a good feel fot the issues people have had with Fluval and Magnum.

There will always be people that say, "I have had product X for Y years and never had an issue", the important thing is to compare the ammount of good, to the ammount of bad people say. Overall, there are VERY few complaints about Filstars and Eheims compared to Fluval. I would encourage anyone buying a canister to try to get their own hands on one first and see how it is made. I have a newly purchase HOT Magnum and the plastic molding on it is _junk_ and it would not stop leaking air no matter what I did. I gave up on it and bought something else.

Not all Eheims are that expensive, all three ECCOs are less then $100, and some of the Classics are under $100 as well. Filstars can be found for under $100 as well.

I would reccomend anything from Eheim or the Filstars to people buying a canister filter. Paying a little more can help save you from a lot of trouble later.

 

[Electrobes]

I am definately a fan of the Filstar XP3.Easy to set up, easy to clean, they self prime, etc... you can't go wrong with them.