50 Gallon Tank 2 canister or 1 hob 1 canister

Hello fishlore community,

I'm deciding to add 2nd filter for my guppy and cory tank. I am wondering if it's worth extra $23 for canister over Hob. Of course a Canister would be better but since I've already got a canister running (700L/hr), wonder if it's worth to overinvest over a guppy tank.

The canister I'm looking at is Sunsun 703b and Hob is Fluval C4.

Sunsun 703b priced at $57
Fluval C4 priced at $34

 

For me, HOB 100%.

 

For me, HOB 100%.

Thanks, I'll hover on it unless there's more opinions from the community.

 

Thanks, I'll hover on it unless there's more opinions from the community.

No worries, I don’t want to ever use a canister filter so my choice was easy to make. :3

 

Why not add a sponge filter instead? Nice extra oxygen flow and really good at clearing up the water if needed. I have a sponge in each of my tanks and I have a Fluval 307 going as well. It’s overkill but that’s how I roll ! You can also pull the sponge easily and use it for a quarantine tank or to set up another pre-seeded tank if you need to which is yet another bonus.

 

Why not add a sponge filter instead? Nice extra oxygen flow and really good at clearing up the water if needed. I have a sponge in each of my tanks and I have a Fluval 307 going as well. It’s overkill but that’s how I roll ! You can also pull the sponge easily and use it for a quarantine tank or to set up another pre-seeded tank if you need to which is yet another bonus.

Thanks for your opinion!

I actually have and used a sponge filter in the past until the unholy soap touched it... Aside from that, it'll approximately cost me $15 (air pump + new sponge filter). However my current goal is to make sure everything's filtered from corner to another corner, because the waste of these guppies are more than expected.

Also just today, there was a stinky smell in the water that never occurred. When I opened the canister up there was this weird white looking jelly around the rubber and floating around in my canister filter. Has anybody got an idea on what that is?

 

Thanks for your opinion!

I actually have and used a sponge filter in the past until the unholy soap touched it... Aside from that, it'll approximately cost me $15 (air pump + new sponge filter). However my current goal is to make sure everything's filtered from corner to another corner, because the waste of these guppies are more than expected.

Also just today, there was a stinky smell in the water that never occurred. When I opened the canister up there was this weird white looking jelly around the rubber and floating around in my canister filter. Has anybody got an idea on what that is?

Gotcha. Not sure about the white stuff. Have you added any meds to the tank? Does it seem algae-ish?

 

Gotcha. Not sure about the white stuff. Have you added any meds to the tank? Does it seem algae-ish?

I'm not sure if it's algae, its got the smell though. Very fishy smell, I could smell 2 meters away.
I'm planning to get Paraguard today.

 

The decision for me is always based on the direction, diffusion and intensity of water movement inside the tank. And secondly, by practical considerations (I have one very warm tank that needs to be isolated from the environment as much as possible, hence and internal filter is much preferred).

I prefer spraybars for this reason. Whatever is behind it, is of very minor importance to me. You can have 1, 2 or 3 filters. Inside or outside the tank. Different volumes. Different media. Powered by a propellor or by air (the noise...). It's all good. A canister isn't by definition better than a HOB (avoiding the discussion on nitrate filtration). A HOB creates fairly similar results as a spraybar if the water level is at par with the HOB outlet.

My 2 cents.

PS The white sludge is most likely a bacterial cluster feeding on some organic matter that entered your filter. I would not treat it with anything. In the end, all issues in a tank are caused by the human factor. I think a pre filter sponge would prevent clusters from occurring. And going further in the causal chain.... feeding regime.... DYI CO2 injection... there are several suspects.

 

I like the combination of 1 canister, 1 HOB. That is the configuration I have on my 40 gallon breeder.

I like the HOB because it is easier to clean. I have yet to take my canister apart without spilling a little water. Because the HOB is open, you can pull out the media, rinse it and put it back in. I also run prefilter sponges on the intake tubes of both filters. That way when the flow starts to decrease as the sponges clog, I can remove the sponges, rinse them to remove debris and reinstall them to restore filter flow. That greatly reduces the frequency of cleaning filters.

 

I prefer the combination of 1 canister and 1 Hang on Back (HOB) filter.

 

The decision for me is always based on the direction, diffusion and intensity of water movement inside the tank. And secondly, by practical considerations (I have one very warm tank that needs to be isolated from the environment as much as possible, hence and internal filter is much preferred).

I prefer spraybars for this reason. Whatever is behind it, is of very minor importance to me. You can have 1, 2 or 3 filters. Inside or outside the tank. Different volumes. Different media. Powered by a propellor or by air (the noise...). It's all good. A canister isn't by definition better than a HOB (avoiding the discussion on nitrate filtration). A HOB creates fairly similar results as a spraybar if the water level is at par with the HOB outlet.

My 2 cents.

PS The white sludge is most likely a bacterial cluster feeding on some organic matter that entered your filter. I would not treat it with anything. In the end, all issues in a tank are caused by the human factor. I think a pre filter sponge would prevent clusters from occurring. And going further in the causal chain.... feeding regime.... DYI CO2 injection... there are several suspects.

Thanks for your insight, the white sludge is definitely something trivial as I've consulted LFS owner about the situation. Natural build up, possibly overfeeding, trying to satisfy all fish.

Also, I've gotten the Fluval C4. Appreciate your knowledge.

I like the combination of 1 canister, 1 HOB. That is the configuration I have on my 40 gallon breeder.

I like the HOB because it is easier to clean. I have yet to take my canister apart without spilling a little water. Because the HOB is open, you can pull out the media, rinse it and put it back in. I also run prefilter sponges on the intake tubes of both filters. That way when the flow starts to decrease as the sponges clog, I can remove the sponges, rinse them to remove debris and reinstall them to restore filter flow. That greatly reduces the frequency of cleaning filters.

I totally agree, I am liking the Fluval C4 already.

I prefer the combination of 1 canister and 1 Hang on Back (HOB) filter.

I've went with this!