canister filters

[Aquadestroyer]

Hey what is your guy's experience with the different canisters out there

 

[jcolon]

I find they're great for tanks around 30 gal+ Anything smaller and an HOB will usually do ... of which there are some good names out there.

The big names in Canisters .. among others are Fluval and Eheim. Canisters really let you customize the filtration method you prefer with a good range of media (ceramic rings, carbon, polishing pads etc)

The Fluval 05 series and the FX5 are great! Quiet, powerful, versatile and easy to configure. What size tank and what kind of fish are you thinking? That will narrow down which canister model works best.

 

[Aquadestroyer]

It would be for my 75g with two juvi Oscars in it I was looking at the xp4

 

[jcolon]

It would be for my 75g with two juvi Oscars in it I was looking at the xp4

I don't know much about Rena ... I've heard they're good. My suggestion would be to compare the xp4 against the Fluval 405. I'm sure both can be found for similar prices. I have the Fluval 404 and it's great! Hopefully a member with an xp4 can give you its details.

Once you make a decision, let us know and we can tell you how to configure the media baskets for the best filtration.

Good Luck!

 

[Aquadestroyer]

Okay I got the XP 4, I didn't have the money for a fx5

 

[Fishguy2727]

You can get the FX5 online for little more than the XP4 in stores. It is a much better option. If you can I highly recommend returning the XP4 and finding a deal on an FX5.

 

[Hondatek]

Have you looked into cascade canisters? I paid 150 for mine it's a 200 gallon filter with 5 media trays

 

[revchristinejday]

Hi! I second Hondatek's recommendation of Penn Plax's Cascade canister filters. I have 2 Cascade 1000s and they each have 3 media trays. They work well.

 

[LyndaB]

My first canister filter is the Rena XP3 that I have on my 75 gallon tank. I absolutely love it. I love that you can put tons of filter and bio media in the little baskets. It's so quiet, you can't tell it's running. I love that it auto primes and it's user friendly. It keeps this tank really clean. I highly recommend it.

 

[Aquadestroyer]

I'm going to stay with the xp4 what's a good set up I'm just running what they gave me right now

 

[Vircomore]

I love canister filters, even for smaller tanks (I have a Fluval 205 on my 26gal).

Just remember that just like HOB filters:

Cleaning any filter media should always be done in a bucket of tank water, not tap water.

Most canister filters usually do well with having their sponge sections rinsed out once a month, and maybe the tubing cleaned once a year. The bio-media should never really get clogged enough to need cleaning.

 

[Fishguy2727]

The XP4 flows from bottom to top, so from bottom to top you should have: course mechanical (foam), then fine mechanical (polishing pads or filter floss), then biomedia (I recommend Seachem's Matrix). If you need to use some other specialized media (carbon, crushed coral, peat, etc.) it should go after the fine mechanical and before the biomedia.

 

[Aquadestroyer]

I was thinking sponge, ceramic rings, plastic bioballs, fine particle filter

 

[Fishguy2727]

All mechanical (including fine particulate) should go before any biomedia because otherwise you allow all those fine particulates to be caught in the biomedia, which clogs it and reduces its effectiveness. Bioballs are not made for submerged use. They were designed for trickle filters (aka wet/dry) but are not efficient for submerged use. By ceramic rings I assume you mean some sort of biomedia. Double check though because some are not porous and are therefore very inefficient as a biomedia. Again, I highly recommend Seachem Matrix as your biomedia. It has more bioavailable surface area than Fluval or Eheim's and (arguably) allows for denitrification.

 

[Aquadestroyer]

My list was from bottom up, the ceramic rings are like biomax an the plastic bioballs are to promote growth of anaerobic bacteria as opposed to the more porous rings for aerobic bacteria

 

[Fishguy2727]

Actually bioballs will not allow for anaerobic bacteria, ceramic may. Anaerobic require little oxygen. In most aquariums this only occurs inside live rock. Seachem Matrix claims to allow for it, but I have never heard any of the others claim the same. The reason is that the pores and channels deep inside the rock (or biomedia) have very low flow. The aerobic bacteria at and near the surface remove the oxygen and the lack of oxygen deeper within allows for denitrification. Bioballs do not allow for this in any way.

Either way you should still have all mechanical media (including fine pads) before any biomedia.

 

[Aquadestroyer]

But after water passes over aerobic bacteria shouldn't oxygen be depleted? And since aerobic bacteria are not very adhesive they will favor the porous ceramic rings and the much more adhesive anaerobic bacteria will then colonize the smoother plastic Bio balls.

 

[Fishguy2727]

No. They all adhere fine to any surface. The small amount of water inside the ceramic/live rock can lack oxygen, but the massive flow of water passing through the canister will never become anaerobic, there is so much oxygen going in and so little is used there is not major drop in the flowing water.