new filter suggestions please

[laur94x]

I posted a while ago asking for external filter suggestions for my tank but not that I have saved up some money I can't find the post again so, I need a new filter for my tank, it is 138 litres/36ish gallons I think and contains 5 guppies, 5 albino cories, 1 bristlenose pleco and 1 pearl gourami. In the future I hope to add 2 bolivian rams too. I currently have an interpet pf3 and an interpet pf1 (or possibly interpet mini, I can't remember) running in it and they just don't seem to be coping with the amount of waste, mainly produced by my pleco lol. They get clogged quite frequently and my water never looks as clear as it does in my goldfish tank which has better filtration. I don't overfeed and my levels are fine, I do weekly water changes and have a test kit, I just want a new, better filter and also then ill only have 1 filter instead of 2 taking up room in my tank. I don't mind if its an internal, external, HOB etc, just need some suggestions as I don't really have any idea about filters :s it needs to be available in the uk, from amazon or ebay if possible and needs to be a reasonable price. I don't really want to spend much more than around £65 ish? Any replies are appreciated, thanks

 

[Cynic]

Eheim 2213...I've only used the 2217 but the Eheim Classic series are widely regarding as one of the best cannister filters out there. No bells or whistles just sheer reliability and performance.

 

[Fishanatic]

That's around 100$. You won't find much, because the normal starting price is at 120, that's around 240gph for most of them. I would recommend, as said an eheim, a fluval 206-306 or a rena xp1-xp3.

 

[Zimmanski]

For cheap HOBs I love and highly recommend the fluval AquaClears or the fuval C series. They have AC50s at petsmart for $29 I saw last weekend.

 

[librarygirl]

Here you go: http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f12/good-external-filter-please-252330.html

 

[Mudfrog]

Here you go. I have the big brother of this filter and it's been going strong for 2 years now. It offers 370gph, 3 filter media trays and a UV sterilizer.
SunSun HW303B

 

[Cynic]

That's around 100$. You won't find much, because the normal starting price is at 120, that's around 240gph for most of them. I would recommend, as said an eheim, a fluval 206-306 or a rena xp1-xp3.

I'm not that up to date with exchange rates but surely 65£ is over $100 these days?

 

[Fishanatic]

I'm not that up to date with exchange rates but surely 65£ is over $100 these days?

It's around 95-105$. Also, I was talking about the minimum price for canister filters, but you can always get an HOB, witch starts at like 30-40$ in stores, less on amazon, but you will find one for the price you're asking, maybe not a canister though, unless it's used. What do you want? Mechanical or the 3 step filtration that aquaclear, ect... uses? Mechanical filtration filters are usually less expensive compared to 3 step filtration/5 step filtration HOB's.

 

[bennyrw]

At the bottom end of the scale is external canister filters from china on eBay http://bit.ly/10IcRoY
I bought one of these for $40AU and its been going well for a couple of months now. At that price I figured I can't lose.

 

[Fishanatic]

At the bottom end of the scale is external canister filters from china on eBay http://bit.ly/10IcRoY
I bought one of these for $40AU and its been going well for a couple of months now. At that price I figured I can't lose.

It's all about the quality of the canister. I would tend to go more towards reputable and known brands such as Eheim, Rena, Fluval, and Hagen(general animal product diffuser). Pretty sure hagen owns fluval.

 

[Mudfrog]

It's all about the quality of the canister. I would tend to go more towards reputable and known brands such as Eheim, Rena, Fluval, and Hagen(general animal product diffuser). Pretty sure hagen owns fluval.

While this is generally true you can still get a great deal on lesser known brands. Just because they are not a major brand does not mean you can't get a quality product without paying for the name.

 

[bennyrw]

It's all about the quality of the canister. I would tend to go more towards reputable and known brands such as Eheim, Rena, Fluval, and Hagen(general animal product diffuser). Pretty sure hagen owns fluval.

True the brands you mention make quality products and will probably last longer then no frills brands but once patents expire and technology becomes available china can knock out decent products less then half the price of major brands and with some products they will be made in the same factory but a different sticker goes on.
For me I'm a fish keeper on a shoe-string budget and the china canister was perfect because I simply couldn't afford a new canister made by a top brand.
If you got the coin to spend, get a top brand. if not there are other options that offer good value for money.

 

[Fishanatic]

While this is generally true you can still get a great deal on lesser known brands. Just because they are not a major brand does not mean you can't get a quality product without paying for the name.

I never said you can't get a quality product without paying that much, I just men't I rather go towards products with good reliability, quality and reputation.

 

[Mudfrog]

I never said you can't get a quality product without paying that much, I just men't I rather go towards products with good reliability, quality and reputation.

I know, I'm just throwing this point of view out there so people won't try to shy away from the others as well

 

[Ian086]

I posted a while ago asking for external filter suggestions for my tank but not that I have saved up some money I can't find the post again so, I need a new filter for my tank, it is 138 litres/36ish gallons I think and contains 5 guppies, 5 albino cories, 1 bristlenose pleco and 1 pearl gourami. In the future I hope to add 2 bolivian rams too. I currently have an interpet pf3 and an interpet pf1 (or possibly interpet mini, I can't remember) running in it and they just don't seem to be coping with the amount of waste, mainly produced by my pleco lol. They get clogged quite frequently and my water never looks as clear as it does in my goldfish tank which has better filtration. I don't overfeed and my levels are fine, I do weekly water changes and have a test kit, I just want a new, better filter and also then ill only have 1 filter instead of 2 taking up room in my tank. I don't mind if its an internal, external, HOB etc, just need some suggestions as I don't really have any idea about filters :s it needs to be available in the uk, from amazon or ebay if possible and needs to be a reasonable price. I don't really want to spend much more than around £65 ish? Any replies are appreciated, thanks

You could have a look at these. They are 'generic' copies of the Tetratec filters, as are the SunSuns mentioned. This company is building a very good reputation and these filters have received some great reviews(Practical Fishkeeping) . They also have a good range of HOB filters at very cheap prices. I understand people sticking with name branded filters but remember most of these filters, along with most things we buy, is usually built by the same company's that build for the 'big names'. A good reputation is only built when people actually buy these products and not shy away from them. A company with a good name can charge extra for their name, a certain computer tablet comes to mind!!!
They also come with free UK delivery.....
All Pond Solutions - 1400EF Aquarium External Filter - All Pond Solutions

 

[laur94x]

Thank you for all the replies sorry, stupid phone didn't notify me. I'm going to go and google them all now and see what I think. In reply to one of the questions, I don't really know what type I want, I don't really know much about filters and as long as it does the job well I'm happy I've been looking at the all pond solutions one for a while now, it has very good reviews and is available for a good price on amazon, stupid thing is I'm worried it'll provide too much filtration if there is such a thing? Lol

 

[laur94x]

Well I liked the sound of the rena xps but can't seem to find them very easily in the uk so I'm now looking at the fluval 206. It has mainly all very good reviews but then it has quite a few reviews which say it leaks which worries me :s its on offer on amazon at the moment from £104 down to £68.02. What do people think?

 

[Zimmanski]

Well I liked the sound of the rena xps but can't seem to find them very easily in the uk so I'm now looking at the fluval 206. It has mainly all very good reviews but then it has quite a few reviews which say it leaks which worries me :s its on offer on amazon at the moment from £104 down to £68.02. What do people think?

The leaking fluvals are probably mostly due to operator error or poor maintenance, but same with any mass produced product there may be a slight chance of manufacturer defect. I think your chances of that are pretty slim though, I absolutely love my fluval 406, its been great

 

[Fishanatic]

Well I liked the sound of the rena xps but can't seem to find them very easily in the uk so I'm now looking at the fluval 206. It has mainly all very good reviews but then it has quite a few reviews which say it leaks which worries me :s its on offer on amazon at the moment from £104 down to £68.02. What do people think?

Yes agreed with zimanski. Pretty sure if it looks you have a 1 or 3 year warranty. But never had problems with my fluval nor rena, but rena filters are expensive also.

 

[Zimmanski]

All of the big name brand canisters are all just about on the same level, when it came time to pick my canister everything all seemed to have good and bad reviews, all had people on here say they were great, and all are just about in the same price range but I just like the way the fluvals look compared to the others which mattered to me because I can't keep it inside my stand.