Canister vs hob filter?

[Race2d]

I have a 46 gallon tank that currently has African cichlids in it. I am running two marineland Bio wheel 350's and thought about upgrading to a canister filter? I was wondering if I could get some thoughts on if its worth it or just a waste of time and if it is worth it what brand?

 

[Mumma.of.two]

I can't tell you much about brands but I can tell you IMO/E that canisters are far superior. Less maintenance and they stay hidden.

 

[Race2d]

What brand do u use? I am just tired of the noise due to this tank is in my bed room and it seems like the water has tons of tiny air bubbles in the tank due to the hob returning the water the way it does just doesn't let the water look clear

 

[Mumma.of.two]

Pro aqua or sun sun I think they are called. They are just cheap eBay knock off canisters but they work really well. Ive just ordered my third one.

 

[FreshwaterFishJunkie]

Stick with reliable Name brand filters. You want one you can enjoy and use for years. My Fluval G3 came with a 3 year warranty. Also I had a little question and I Was able to call Hagen (the company who owns the Fluval brand) and get live help.

 

[MrPillow]

I second the recommendation of Sun Sun (easily found under the brand name AquaTop) canisters. Excellent value for money. You can buy two or three for the price of a similar name-brand product.

 

[Sharkbait54]

Pro aqua or sun sun I think they are called. They are just cheap eBay knock off canisters but they work really well. Ive just ordered my third one.

Do they come with spray bars?

 

[MrPillow]

The AquaTop canisters come with spraybars, sometimes with a surface-skimmer attachment as well.

 

[FreshwaterFishJunkie]

Are Sun Sun filters double wall constructed?

Also does the Sun Sun have these standard features below?

Special features: (My Fluval G3 has these features)

• AQUASTOP: Quickly disconnects hosing
• EASY PRIME: Starts water flow without manual siphoning
• LOCKING LEVERS: Cast zama levers for a secure seal
• SILICON GASKET: Provides superior sealing and long term flexibility
• CANISTER WALL: Double wall construction eliminates motor noise

Remember you get what you pay for and if your canister filter leaks, or breaks it would be a mess or if your motor stops in the middle of the night or on a weekend when your out it could mean no water flow and dead biological filtration/ dead fish. So be careful and use trusted brands. Ehiem, Fluval or Marineland for canister filters. Aqueon for HOB filters.

 

[MrPillow]

Does it have a quick-disconnect for the hosing? Yes.
Does it have a priming-feature, as well as self-prime after cleaning? Yes
Does it have locking levers? Yes, 4 of them. Seem sturdy enough to me
Does it have a solid sealing gasket? Yes
Is it double walled? I don't think so, but it is silent regardless of this "feature". Barely audible with an ear right up next to it

I have yet to see any catastrophic failure reports of the AquaTops, if you have, please direct me to them for further reading.

Until mine fails, or I hear of them failing any more often than the "trusted" brands, I will have no qualm with recommending them to others over the arguably overpriced, name-brand options.

 

[Mumma.of.two]

Well said MrPillow! I did read many threads and recommendations for them before I bought my first one. I had one running for almost 9 months before I bought my second. Never experienced a problem.

 

[cheeky_monkey]

I third the suggestion of the pro aqua or sunsun branded canisters. I have 2 and when my 3 other tanks are up they will also run the same canisters.

They do have really good locking levers on all four sides and a silicone ring which combined create a really great vacuum seal on the lid.
There is no double wall but I cannot hear my motor, AT ALL.
Also has the easy prime, one press has it running.
And the hoses do connect very easy with one no drip quick release clip

The baskets are easy to remove and very nicely sized for all types of media.
They do have spraybars and surface skimmer attachments.

I get that people like their "brand name" stuff, but 90% of the time you will find the cheap brands are made in the exact same factory just branded differently. It's the same for any appliance really.

 

[Mumma.of.two]

Do they come with spray bars?

Yes! And surface skimmers, extra suction caps and clips, very long hoses and extra elbow joins. (well, both mine did!)

 

[FreshwaterFishJunkie]

Does it have a quick-disconnect for the hosing? Yes.
Does it have a priming-feature, as well as self-prime after cleaning? Yes
Does it have locking levers? Yes, 4 of them. Seem sturdy enough to me
Does it have a solid sealing gasket? Yes
Is it double walled? I don't think so, but it is silent regardless of this "feature". Barely audible with an ear right up next to it

I have yet to see any catastrophic failure reports of the AquaTops, if you have, please direct me to them for further reading.

Until mine fails, or I hear of them failing any more often than the "trusted" brands, I will have no qualm with recommending them to others over the arguably overpriced, name-brand options.

Jebo/odyssea are other names for SUN SUN filters. Aquatop is just one of the names they happen to also use. There knock off filters and somtimes misrepresented to be Ehiem or Marineland filters. They don't use the same quality parts or have the proper support when you need to call the actual manafacture. I hope people who use the knockoffs knock on wood cause I would hate to see someone who bought hundreds of dollars or more of fish have them die or have other issues cause of cheap plastic parts from knock off products. I had a friend who had a known knock off MarineLAND H.O.T filter fail on him and his filter leaked he has a lot of damage from being gone 2 days on a weeekend trip. He should have bought the actual Marineland H.O.T filter instead of the knockoff.

 

[cheeky_monkey]

Jebo/odyssea are other names for SUN SUN filters. Aquatop is just one of the names they happen to also use. There knock off filters and somtimes misrepresented to be Ehiem or Marineland filters. They don't use the same quality parts or have the proper support when you need to call the actual manafacture. I hope people who use the knockoffs knock on wood cause I would hate to see someone who bought hundreds of dollars or more of fish have them die or have other issues cause of cheap plastic parts from knock off products. I had a friend who had a known knock off MarineLAND H.O.T filter fail on him and his filter leaked he has a lot of damage from being gone 2 days on a weeekend trip. He should have bought the actual Marineland H.O.T filter instead of the knockoff.

And you can bet your butt that others have had the exact same experiences with well known brands like eheim, marineland, fluval etc.

 

[Sharkbait54]

Thanks for the input I might just get one also the reviews are awesome on amazon. It's good to get feedback from different people.