New canister fiter

[Issombeituni]

I have spent some $$$$ in my day on filters in my years. So I read some reviews about Sunsun filters. I ended up picking up the HW302 off ebay for $40 bucks. I ended up setting it up today and was surprised on how nice and quite it was. This is for my 55 gallon Cichlid tank. Here are the pics.

I have a few questions on placement of in and out flow
I have a powerhead which supplies tons of current.... So with that

1) do i place inflow on the side with the powerhead since i have great current

2) do i place it on the other side and have it in the current

3) the outflow does placement matter since i have a high current power head?


Canister set up

Pads on the bottom, then carbon and amino chips in the 2nd layer then sponges the top

 

[Ian086]

I have spent some $$$$ in my day on filters in my years. So I read some reviews about Sunsun filters. I ended up picking up the HW302 off ebay for $40 bucks. I ended up setting it up today and was surprised on how nice and quite it was. This is for my 55 gallon Cichlid tank. Here are the pics.

I have a few questions on placement of in and out flow
I have a powerhead which supplies tons of current.... So with that

1) do i place inflow on the side with the powerhead since i have great current

2) do i place it on the other side and have it in the current

3) the outflow does placement matter since i have a high current power head?


Canister set up

Pads on the bottom, then carbon and amino chips in the 2nd layer then sponges the top

Hi, i have a very similar canister. The one you have is basically a generic copy of the TetraTec Ex's. They are a quality filter and i have had no issues with mine apart from a crack on the inflow pipe, which was completely my fault...
This is how i have mine set-up...
I have the powerhead beside the outflow(going back to the canister) and have it pointing away from the pipe. This circulates the water around the tank back to the outflow. It also picks up the fresh(clean) water coming back into the tank and circulates that around the tank. I hope this makes sense, it does in my head, and it works for me!!!!.
In the filter, i have 4 Media Trays and this is how i have them set-up. I will start from the bottom tray up....

1. Course Pad
2. Tray of Seachem Matrix
3. Another Tray of Matrix
4. A FULL tray of filter floss. I have 2x100g bags of Seachem Purigen on top of this floss, so it's the last thing that the water passes through...

With the floss, i use very cheap bed pillows($1-$2) from my local supermarket(grocery store). I take the floss out which is basically the same as poly-fill or aquarium floss but WAY cheaper.. I have still got about 3/4 of the first pillow left, one year later!!!. I would recommend placing a piece of cloth on top of the floss, it stop any loose floss from getting sucked up and clogging the impeller....
Trust me, if you set it up this way, you will have/keep crystal clear water. I have a 55g fully stocked community tank....
It may cost a bit to set-up, media wise, but not too much(not sure of American prices!!)..
PS... I wouldn't bother with the Carbon, it's only needed for Med and odor removal. Seachem Purigen will do a better job in polishing the water.... Ian

 

[Issombeituni]

Thanks man great help... So do i need to trim my hoses or can i leave them like long? I can take off bout a 2 feet off will this help with the flow? Also i hate the spray bar do i need to use it for the outflow or just let it free flow?

 

[Ian086]

Thanks man great help... So do i need to trim my hoses or can i leave them like long? I can take off bout a 2 feet off will this help with the flow? Also i hate the spray bar do i need to use it for the outflow or just let it free flow?

You can trim them, it will help. I honestly don't think it would make a massive difference though. I would set it up and then see if your happy with the flow first. I didn't need to trim mine and leaving the extra bit on might be handy, if needed, in the future. It's your call mate, whatever you think suits your set-up...
No, you don't need the spraybar, especially as you have the powerhead for circulation already. I was the same as you, i didn't like it and don't use it. If you have a look at my Album(55g latest), you'll see the way i have mine. The photo's not great(new camera needed!!) but you'll get what i mean...
I also picked this up in the plumbing store for cleaning the tubes...

 

[Heavy]

That's a great deal on that filter Man. I'm searching for one too never even thought to look on ebay thanks for the thread

 

[Ian086]

Sorry meant to add, i would take out the 'O' ring and grease it with Vasline. This is the main cause of leaks in these filters....

 

[Issombeituni]

So doing some reading that i should have done earlier so how many gph is needed for a 55 gallon tank. My powerhead is 1300gph is that matters

 

[Issombeituni]

The canister is rates at 265gph so should i run jt to see how it does or get another one or one big one?

 

[Heavy]

The canister is rates at 265gph so should i run jt to see how it does or get another one or one big one?

I've been told the more filtration the better. That's there is no such thing as too much filtration. But I would get a second opinion on that bro. Just to make sure

 

[gravereaper0]

I've been told the more filtration the better. That's there is no such thing as too much filtration. But I would get a second opinion on that bro. Just to make sure

That depends on what you're stocking. And do you really want 1000gph in a 55? As far as hose length, I recommend trimming off the excess. I left the slack on my Fluval 306 and wasn't too happy with the flow. Cut off about 2+ feet and it was much better. And you can buy the pillow stuffing anywhere, hobby lobby, Walmart, target etc.

 

[Ian086]

That depends on what you're stocking. And do you really want 1000gph in a 55? As far as hose length, I recommend trimming off the excess. I left the slack on my Fluval 306 and wasn't too happy with the flow. Cut off about 2+ feet and it was much better. And you can buy the pillow stuffing anywhere, hobby lobby, Walmart, target etc.

I agree, more is better but too much and you'll create a whirlpool effect. Your filter will turn over about 1000ltrs an hour which is pretty good. Gravereaper is also right, as i mentioned, on the hose trimming, but try it out first and see what the flow is like. It's better to remove hose than try to add it!!!