Canister filter vs HOB

A major reason for going with a UGJ system IS to hide things from sight. I now have the return from the sump going directly through the bottom of the tank, (drilled holes in bottom) into the UGJ loops so no return line is ever seen. The only thing that IS seen in the tank is a hard to see black skimmer box to collect water and that's it! Everything resides in the sump and now I no longer will have to vacuum the gravel which is great 'cause the 125gal. rectangle tank sits high.

* the piping is completely hidden under the substrate and only a trained eye could spot the jets.

 

Well I hooked up my system and can't get the canister to start the siphon. Also it is making a bad noise from the pump. I guess it's back to the wet dry filter until I can get 2 hob filters.

 

You can look up online how to PRIME a canister filter, there's even YouTube videos to show this unless there is something else wrong with the canister.

 

Well this canister filter has a push button thing and it doesn't work idk ......

 

Did you fill the canister with water first?

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Yes and no I did it with water and with out.

 

Yes and no I did it with water and with out.

You mentioned that the the Intake/Outlet part was broken earlier, did you replace it or fix it?

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I fixed it but the pump is broke and it leaked so I am back to the wet dry filter. And I did a 99% water change and got a rope fish. It's pretty clean now.



Rope fish xD

 

And I did a 99% water change and got a rope fish. It's pretty clean now.

Geez that's a lot of water.....

Have you checked out the SunSun Canister Filters from ebay? I heard they are very good, and are pretty cheap.

 

I've heard of sun sun but for uv sterilizers. I will look

 

Just keep in mind that sometimes the SunSuns don't come with media.

 

Yea I looked it up and they were around 120 for my usage ... I'm going to stick with my wet dry for another month then see if I want a new filter. Thanks for the help guys :xD

 

I would like to hear more about what's wrong with the wet/dry and what size your model is, if possible. I know now that you don't have a proper return pump and maybe the money would be better spent there. wet/dry sumps are far better filters on so many levels and will give you the results your looking for including a "clean tank" appearance with no hardware in the tank. If you have abandoned this idea that's great but I'm just a firm believer in them especially for a larger tank. If you ever want to get into more advanced filtering etc... the sump will be the easiest vehicle to go in that direction.

 

It is an eheim professional 2 2018. And also my sump is fine now it's just I have to keep a watch on water level in the tank.

 

Sorry 2028 not 18

 

I meant the sealife sump wet/dry, not the canister filter type. I know the sealife systems and I like them very much. My interest was that you were using a fountain pump that you had bought at home depot to use as a return pump-which I can only assume would not work well with that system? If I knew which sealife you have it would better enable me to find out the appropriate return pump to reliably power the filter . If I had misunderstood something or we got our signals crossed I don't know, but based on what I read in this thread I'm on the right track. If interested in pursuing the wet/dry fix let me know the make and model of the filter other wise I agree with all of the above concerning what to do.
* how's the bugbuild coming along? my RR is winterized for the season but will be set loose to wreak havoc on the streets/strips May 1st!!!

 

Well I can not tell you but I can take a photo with a measurement of it and yes the pump is a fountain pump but is 416gph but is going up 4 feet so maybe 300 gph and my bug is going good I got the shift linkage tight the stirring tight and breaks bled also just got the wiring harness this week end XD

 

Here you are

I think it is rated for a 100 gallon tank (It came with the tank and it is 75 gallons)

 

Yeah, those dimentions would be great. That bug is SICK-love it! My brother has a similar class of car which is a 1973 BMW 2002 tii, I'm not one to own these small cars but really appreciate them none of the less...

* this is how far I went with mine, as you can see maybe too far with a ground up nut and bolt full resto.

 

Nut and bolt restro....wow mine was a body off but dang

This is her after media blasting and etching primer

 

NICE!!! We probably should not discuss cars too much or the moderators will have something to say about it and rightfully so seeing that I could talk about car/bike resto's till my tanks evaporate dry. ttyl and I'll think on the wet/dry filter.

 

Hey where can I get cheap course filter sponge?

 

Hey where can I get cheap course filter sponge?

I would use aquaclear sponges, they're pretty coarse

 

Hi, this is my first post on this forum. I am also new to the aquarium scene but I've been learning a lot. I have a 60 gallon tall tank that measures 12.75"L x 48.5"W x 25" H. I have been running it for about a month. and it is heavily planted with some caves I made by stacking flat rocks and two decent sized pieces of drift wood (One is kind just floating in the tank as I try to get it water logged. Doesn't seem like the fish mind very much).

Currently I have 3 German blue rams 1 male 2 females. The male paired off with one of the females and spawned earlier this week unfortunately none of the eggs made it (cause of bad husbandry. I should have done more research on peacock eels; I gave the eel away the next day) I also have 1 Bolivian Ram (not sure of gender) 2 otos, 2 dwarf gouramis, 2 banjo catfish, a gold mystery snail, and 1 rubber lip pleco. For substrate I'm using Flourite. I have a nat geo heater currently set to 86f (Trying to stomp out a small case of ich that popped up on one of my rams). I am also Injecting CO2 using a DIY set up.

Anyways now to the point. I am currently running 2 Aqueon QuietFlow 55/75 HOB filters with a flow rate of 400gph each. However I saw that petsmart has a sale on the Nat Geo 80g canister filter for 75 bucks (half off) So I was wondering are canister filters superior to HOB filters and if so would it be beneficial to use the canister filter in conjunction with one of my HOB (cause I'm assuming the canister doesn't provide surface movement)

Like I said I'm new to all this just about to start my second month and any advice would be appreciated.

 

Well, with you injecting co2 the hob filters are creating lots of surface agitation which increases surface area this increasing the gas exchange, so in theory you are using more CO2 with a hob filter. I did notice when I swapped to a canister I turned my co2 down because what I had it set on was too much with the minimal surface agitation that the canister made.

 

I had hob filters all through growing up. It depends on what type you have. I ran the fluval 50 on a 20 gallon with pretty good results.

I switched to a canister last year and haven't regretted it.

Whatever filter you go with, just remember to use one that allows for different sets of media. By that, I mean that it is a good idea (to me) to avoid cartridge type filters.

Good hob filters allow for customization of media. If you know about the nitrogen cycle, you know it's bad to remove all the media at once.

 

You should post a picture of your tank. We love pictures here!

And welcome!!

 

I guess I can put a picture I'm a little embarrassed cause my plants haven't started to fill out yet and my spider wood is just floating in there cause its not water logged enough yet...but I guess what the heck heres a pic

 

Looks great! Can definitely see how awesome it'll look when the plants fill in.

 

I agree with oOBlueOo

Just a note... I saw your pic and noticed the rocks aren't glued together. That is dangerous because theoretically your fish could knock it the wrong way and it comes crashing down, hurting the fish. I would suggest using aquarium sealant to attach them so that can't happen. Nice tank!

 

I agree with @

Just a note... I saw your pic and noticed the rocks aren't glued together. That is dangerous because theoretically your fish could knock it the wrong way and it comes crashing down, hurting the fish. I would suggest using aquarium sealant to attach them so that can't happen. Nice tank!

Oh wow I never even considered that. I'll definitely look into the sealant. I didn't consider that my fish could actually displace those stacked rocks as they are pretty heavy. Thanks for the advice

 

For any 40g+ tank, I would go with canisters. HOBs can get loud and with two running, its double the noise. You can hardly hear the canister running and it just looks more professional if you can't even see the canister itself. I would suggest Fluval personally. For a 60g, the Fluval 306. Both Geoff and I are running Fluval 406s in our tanks and we love them!

 

Canisters aren't that cheap. I have 2 fluval 70 HOB on my 55 that I paid about $80 for. They are not noisy at all, unless you are referring to the water trickling noise but I like that too because it filters out other noises. To get a canister that will do anywhere near the gph, I would spend close to 200 or more. If you got the money for that, great. I didn't and I don't regret it. My dad has a Marineland c220 and that thing is a pain in the butt too get the trays back in after doing maintenance. Personally, I would go with top of the line models on either HOB or canister, it just depends on your budget.

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PennPlax is a generally cheaper, high quality brand of canisters. Even their Cascade 1500, rated for up to 200 gallons, is $106 on Amazon. Very reasonable imo.

 

The sound of the water is actually very pleasant with my aqueron 55/75s not loud at all. If I really pay attention I can hear the pump, but the trickle of the water drowns it out otherwise. Any opinions on running a combination of the two filter types like 1 hob and on canister as opposed to two hob or one solo canister?

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The sound of the water is actually very pleasant with my aqueron 55/75s not loud at all. If I really pay attention I can hear the pump, but the trickle of the water drowns it out otherwise. Any opinions on running a combination of the two filter types like 1 hob and on canister as opposed to two hob or one solo canister?

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With your current stock, you could probably get away with using your hob filters. (I'm not sure what the bioload is for your fish). But it's always a good idea to have a back up filter incase the one on the tank breaks.

But then again, you can never have too much filtration. I've heard a lot of people run a canister and a sponge filter at the same time. That's how I had my 20 gallon set up at first.

As for cheap canisters, a lot of people like sunsun. I've never had one, so I can't comment on the efficiency. I have an API filstar. It was a pain to figure out at first and I had to buy some hose clamps for it at the hardware store. But now it's all good.

 

I bought a fluval canister filter, it was kind of just an impulse buy. I'm scared to use it though. Now you may be wondering why, well, it isn't the replacement of parts or even the maintenance of the filter. Before I got the filter I made sure to do my research but there's a common issue I kept stumbling upon. Leaking. I read pages and pages and pages of people talking about fluval filters and in general canister filters leaking from various areas. Wether it was from a part in the cord, from the area where the o-ring lies or whether it was within the canister area itself. I understand that canisters have many benefits, one of them being the advanced filtration they provide. From what I read though, these leaks have caused stands to be tarnished, carpets to be drenched and floors that have become ruined. The tank that I was planning on to use is going to be placed in hardwood. If a leak occurs it will ruin my hardwood flooring. So to avoid this, I was going to place the canister in a bucket so if it leaks the bucket collects the water. Another issue is, what if I am not at home and the filter leaks rapidly and surpasses the buckets capacity causing the water the overflow on the floor. That also means I would loose water within the tank harming my fish and possibly killing them. I'm not always home so I can't keep a super close eye on the leaks. Aside from that I also read issues about canisters being loud and making a groggy noise when air is trapped. The last thing that I read was to keep canisters running you will run in to times where you have to replace parts. For example it is recommended to replace the o ring yearly. For me, I looked at the prices for replacement parts and they were very expensive. Parts like the impeller. I also read about many fluvals that had priming issues. All of these things have kind of discouraged me to use the canister filter. I was thinking of refunding the filter and getting an aqua clear instead. A lot of people say between HOB filters and canister filters it is personal preference. As I said, I won't always be home and I want to make sure my fish are always healthy and fine even if I am not at home. There aren't a lot of issues that arise with HOB filters and they're relatively cheap. My second last question is if a HOB filter powers 120 gph and a canister filter also powers 120 mph why is the canister better? To end off finally (l0l) I'm torn on whether I should keep my canister or switch it out for a hob. Should I keep the canister/ why should I keep it or should I switch it out? Maybe I shouldn't have read those pages about leaks lol. Lastly if you have made it to the end of this, thanks for reading all of this.

 

Quite honestly, if you are worried, return the canister filter. It is not worth the headache if there are so many things that you don-t like about the filter.

People use canisters because they have a lot of room for media, are silent and unobtrusive. Not everyone wants a HOB that is quite visible.

I would only buy a HOb that self-primes, so Aquaclears are out. I use an Aqueon (and Eheim canisters ). Lots of people like the new Seachem Tidal which self primes as well.

 

Sounds the op is just paranoid. I've been running canisters for around ten years and still running the first one I bought. The only time I had a leak it was my fault by not seating the baskets in properly. You do have to be extra careful when doing maintenance and keeping your o-rings and seals lubricated. Make sure everything is seated properly and tight. I've been using Rena Filstar canister filters and never had a problem. As for air in the filter the only time that was a problem was the o-rings was dry and I lubed them with vaseline and problem solved. I've had to replace one impeller. After I do filter maintenance I keep a eye on things for a day or so to make sure their are no leaks or any other problems. My canisters filters are so quiet I have to put my hand on it to make sure it's running. But if you think you would be comfortable with a HOB by all means that what you should use.

 

I personally like a canister better the media is better contained and quieter did have a leak once need to make sure it goes together right. HOB are simpler to use and less likely to leak normally make more noise if your stressing over a possible leak use the HOB you want to enjoy the tank not stress over it.