2014 Canister for 90Gal Auarium

HI all!

First post... have experience keeping fish, but have been out of the game for some time. Just pulled the trigger on a 90 Gallon Aquarium. Will be keeping Freshwater Community fish with the possibility of low level plants in the future. Previous experience with HOB and UG filtration, but plan to use canisters on new setup which are new to me.

Have conducted extensive research and plan to use two canister filters for both redundancy and adequate filtration. Thoughts?

Based on research, here is where I am at ~
- Budget = $300 (but less is obviously better)
- name brands are not what they used to be

research: Fluval FX5, FX6 and Eheim Pro are excellent
me: agree, but not interested in paying $300+ for one filter

research: Rena, Fluval 06, and Eheim Classic are very popular.
me: API now owns Rena and new models prone to leak at motor. Fluval 06 prone to leaking as well. Eheim classics are very good, but I find the green intake and spray bar an eyesore...would prefer black or opaque.

Please help:
I thought (2) Eheim 2215's or 2217's would be ideal, but don't think I can deal with the green clashing with aquascape.

Now find myself entertaining idea of owning sun sun (HW-303) for ~$66 or an Aquatop (DF300) for ~$70
- Can buy two for price of one Eheim classic, fluval 06, or API Filstar.

Yes, I know the lesser expensive canisters are of cheaper quality, but for a fraction of the price (and now that the name brands are made cheaper as well) are they worth taking a chance on?

Please advise.

Thanks!

 

I have the df-300 very good filter if you don't want to spend a lot I would recommend that one. And welcome to fishlore

 

I run just a fluval 405 on my planted 75g. I picked it up off craigslist for $50. It does a awesome job everyone that comes over comments on how clear it looks. LoL

 

You can definitely look at those models; they are pretty powerful and function well. As you mentioned, the parts are pretty cheaply made and prone to break --- but the good news is replacement parts are cheap also.
If you want to look at something a little higher in cost but made with superior parts, take a look at the Sicce Whales. You can get the 350 for around $125-$150 apiece; it is the best filter I've run across.

 

HI and welcome!
I love my Cascade as far as less expensive but my absolute favorites are my Ehems although they are on the higher end. I also like my aquatop that I have on my 140g.
I also have found that the HOB fluval C is pretty darn awesome as a second filter-maybe one canister and one HOB?
Anyway, several are using the sunsun and raving about them!
I will tell you, I overfilter everything and wouldn't have it any other way!

 

I'll just chime in by saying that I've been using the Eheim 2217 in addition to a aquaclear 70 on my 80gal. fresh for 8yrs. and the 2217 has never had a problem with it and it's quiet as could be. I would get another above all else on the market, no doubt.

 

Check with aquatop on the df-300. I was looking at the df -200 and was told by aquatop that production had stopped on them. Basically discontinued.


Go with the sunsun.

 

Definitely agree with Claire regarding over-filtering... I always say you can't have too much filtering unless you get to the point that your fish are getting blown around!
Oh, and I forgot to say welcome to FishLore!

 

Check with aquatop on the df-300. I was looking at the df -200 and was told by aquatop that production had stopped on them. Basically discontinued.


Go with the sunsun.

Did they ever tell you why?

 

+1 for the SunSun canisters. They are great. Super quiet, tons of space for media, and super cheap. I got the HW-302 at the beginning of the year, and I love it so far. For the price of some of the more expensive canisters you can have 2 of these.

 

I asked about spare parts as I did not see any for sale on the Web. CF-300 parts are available when going searches.

This is the reply I got when asking about parts:

" For parts support, the CF-300 is your best bet. The DF-200 is a nice canister but we have discontinued production. I have no retail spare parts listing for them, however, if you want to proceed with the DF-200, I can get you pricing on 2-barrel head O-rings, a replacement impeller and a bunch of pads if you are interested so you know you are set on wear items for at least two years."

 

For the spare part for Df-300 the inlet and outlet it are the same as the aquatop cf400 for the impellers I'm not sure if there compatible. And the 2 barrel head of cf-400 look just like the one on my df-300.

 

If you don't like the green tubes from Eheim, you can always replace them with the appropriate size in whatever colour you like. It's not rocket science.

Or use a nice piece of driftwood or loads of plants to hide them.

 

Great info so far...Thanks!

@Leo - saw your thread on the DF300 and like it, but knowing it is discontinued I will have to pass.

@krazy - considered craigslist, but would like two identical canisters and that may be hard to come by. That and CL scares me here in metro Detroit.

@greg - had not heard of Sicce until you mentioned it. Will give it a look.

@claire - overfilter..absolutely! Now you have me debating the HOB + Can vs (2) Cans again...thank you.

@1971rr - as I understand it, the Eheims are great, 8 yrs is a long time. Yet it "seems" like every review I read, the popular brands that were once great are now manufactured cheaply as well.

@ Teleost - it's not the green tubes that bug me, but the green intake and spray bar inside the tank. That said, I know other pats can be purchased (at a cost) or it's even possible to paint them (not liking this idea). You are right.. not rocket science.

@MrFish & Dolfan - the SunSun's seem to get a lot of love on this forum, that is why I'm even considering them. Yes, they are made with cheaper components, but it "seems" again, the name brands are going that way as well.

Still undecided, but I have two weeks until I pick the tank up because the LFS did not have the stand I want in stock and has them custom built locally.

 

Send aquatop an email about the df-300. It is possible they just stopped making the df200 and the larger df canisters are still in production.

 

I have a90 gallon tank with two, Eheim 2217 Classic series canisters and they both work great. The green tubing is not really a problem since I have plenty of plants.

 

After conducting more research, I'm leaning toward the Ehiem's. I will either grow to like the green color or swap it out at a later time.

Ksuvet,
You mention using (2) 2217's. Do you consider those to be the right size, or would (2) 2215's work
well? I'm not trying to skimp, but looking at video of the 2217's they seem pretty large.

Lastly, are you using the spray bars? If so, how do you have them configured?