Explain Canister Over Hob?

So everyone seems to say 55+ gals go canister.. every decent canister I see is 70-100 bucks or more and it only covers 30 gallons.. I get it can hold more media but you only grow as much media as needed anyhow no matter how much media housing you have for it.. why spend 100 bucks each on filters that only go to 30 gals for that price when you can get several 50 gal 200+gph HOB filters for the price of one canister with 150 gph and only supports 30 gallons? I just need this explained it doesn't add up. Sorry for typos I'm on my tiny phone.

 

Externals go way higher than 30 gallons. Mine cost less than $100 on ebay, is rated for 150 gallons with 525 gph turnover.
I've never used a HOB so I can't judge which is better, but I can't see me ever giving up on externals.

 

When filtering tanks most go by gph. Standard rule of thumb is 6 to 10 times turnover per hour. 55 gallon 550 gph per hour. Less if tank is lightly stocked or stocking can't handle current.

I prefer canisters and sumps simply because theyre esthetically pleasing and have so much more room than hob filters. Virtually no limits on media and extras a tank may need.

 

The other advantages I like are they offer a much wider array of options for media and stacking, you can literally do anything...add floss, water polish pads, more or less bio/chem, etc etc. Plus they are quieter, the output doesn't have to break the water surface like a HOB. Cleaner look as well at least IMO. I have never had a large HOB filter, but I do have smaller ones and I think its safe to say that the maintenance of the cans is needed much less frequently.

 

Canister filters you're looking at about 5-6x turnover rate on gph compared to 8-10x gph of a HOB. With the canister the media has more surface area for filtering the water making it more efficient. When the canisters I have are filled with media and water they hold 3.7 gallons of water, I have 2 of them on a 110 gallon system. Each filter has the capability to support the tank by itself, but doubling the filtration cuts down on maintenance some, they only need attention about every 3 months.

 

So I'm running 2 aqueon 30s (up to 45 gals each coverage) at 200gph each on my 36 gallon. Cost me about 40 bucks for them both as one came with the tank. If I wanted to do canister is there one that could beat that set up for under 60 bucks?
They both have ceramics in biobags fluval brand in them.

 

There are advantages and disadvantages to all forms of filtration. They can all work but everyone has their own preference. Noise, maintenance, aesthetics, price,... Choose your poison. I have been using canisters for years now. I like them for several reasons.

Maintenance is easy and infrequent. (every 3 to 6 months for me)
They hold enough bio media for heavily stocked tanks.
They are silent. No motor noise and no waterfall.

I admit that some of my disdain for HOBs is due to my early days of aquarium keeping with Whisper filters that took cartridges that needed to be replaced every week or less but even the Aquaclears need more frequent attention than a canister.

In the end, it really comes down to personal preference. I've seen tanks with nothing but plants for filtration and simple sponge filters that worked just fine. Or you can go with expensive sumps and moving bed filters. Whatever works and fits your wallet and makes you happy.

 

So everyone seems to say 55+ gals go canister.. every decent canister I see is 70-100 bucks or more and it only covers 30 gallons.. I get it can hold more media but you only grow as much media as needed anyhow no matter how much media housing you have for it.. why spend 100 bucks each on filters that only go to 30 gals for that price when you can get several 50 gal 200+gph HOB filters for the price of one canister with 150 gph and only supports 30 gallons? I just need this explained it doesn't add up. Sorry for typos I'm on my tiny phone.

Technically, you have hit the nail on the head. It doesn't matter because ultimately you will only grow the required bacteria as you mentioned. I tend to stick with HOBs myself. Simply put, cannisters just give people peace of mind. The bigger the tank you get, you just want to make sure you have enough flowrate to keep your fish as happy as possible and thriving.

Most people keep tanks along walls, bigger HOBs require the tank to maybe be out from the wall a little further than most people want. With that said, as soon as I get a 55+ tank, I will run both a cannister and a HOB.

 

I'm a HOB guy - I seriously dislike canisters. I find they are annoying to clean. An HOB takes a few seconds to squeeze out the sponge on, while the canisters at work have to be disassembled, primed, etc. The cheaper brands are also very easy to break during cleaning.
Maybe if I had only one tank, but even then, I would probably sell my one canister and use HOBs.
I just double up on HOBs, with two per tank. I also never use use the manufacturer's media, but cut wide pored sponge to replace it. If you use the manufacturer's slot in media, your filter is just this side of useless for a significant part of the time you are using it. Every changed media piece is a restart.

 

I have aqueons on all my tanks and tanks I set up or service for friends and family. Interchangeable cheap parts cheap inital cost and I filled each with ceramic rings and since I run two on each tank I run a filter pad 6-12 months and replace when falling apart and the second filter helps seed it. I kind of like the ease and cost of HOB.. but looking online and watching shows it seems all the master setups have canister.. spec wise canisters seem inferior so I just don't get it. For a fraction the price you get more flow and gph and the bio matches your load despite canister or filter. I wanted to try canister but that price just doesn't justify performance. I literally just don't understand thus I made this forum. Lol

 

You should look at sunsun canisters on ebay, those are the cheapest in my opinion, and does a very good job at filtering.

 

You should look at sunsun canisters on ebay, those are the cheapest in my opinion, and does a very good job at filtering.

I have 7 of them so far! Oldest has been going non-stop for over 5 years now. I can't see spending more for a canister.

 

I run a pair of SunSuns (403B I think) on my big tank, and I couldn't be happier with them. They are silent, unless something gets up against the filter case (kinda like an air pump, they can get loud if something is touching them) easy to maintain, requiring a fraction of the time a HOB filter needs over the course of a year, and they seem far more durable. I have killed or damaged 4 HOBs in my 22 gallon in the last year (they keep sucking sand). In 2 years, with the same sandy bottom in my 185 I have killed 1 SunSun. I forgot to open the shutoff on the water lines after a water change and let it run for a week like that. It cooked the impeller, which I got a new one for $2 + shipping. It lasted another few months after that before the motor died. Bought a new filter, slapped the top on the old one, and now I have a lot of spare parts, I haven't been able to get ANY spare parts for my Penguins without buying a whole $35 filter. And you can get the SunSun starting at $56 on ebay right now.

You can also get external heaters that clamp onto the hoses, although as I understand it those are not the best way to heat a tank.

The big draw back is that they are space intensive outside the tank. They have to be BELOW the tank to work correctly because they basically work on a siphon. The motor does very little to pull the water out of the tank, it just pushes the water back up. When I setup my son's 125 this summer I am going to get some canisters for that. When I get the 55 set up for my daughter's room it will get HOBs because I plan to put her's on her dresser, so no space for a canister.


One thing, tangentially related, when I first got the SunSuns, based on advice I got here, I was unhappy with them as I spent about an hour a piece getting them primed using the primer button on the top, sore arms, short of breath, sweating, the whole 9 yards from pumping that button. If you fill the canister with water first the process becomes much less labor intensive.

 

I've never used a HOB so just looking at them I've wondered how much of the water coming out the outlet goes straight back up the inlet?

With the outlet and inlet at opposite sides of the tank with a cannister I would imagine you get a better circulation throughout the whole tank than with a single HOB .

Also I wonder how much organic solids get drawn in and how quickly this clogs a filter. An external will draw a huge amount that breaks down in the cannister and so never becomes available to algae.
Does the waste go through the impeller before hitting the media? How does that effect things, say with snails and small leaves?
Why do you need to replace a filter pad? The media in my external is pretty much indestructible ( haven't needed to replace ever).

I'm another SunSun convert and it's never let me down

 

I've never used a HOB so just looking at them I've wondered how much of the water coming out the outlet goes straight back up the inlet?

With the outlet and inlet at opposite sides of the tank with a cannister I would imagine you get a better circulation throughout the whole tank than with a single HOB .

Also I wonder how much organic solids get drawn in and how quickly this clogs a filter. An external will draw a huge amount that breaks down in the cannister and so never becomes available to algae.
Does the waste go through the impeller before hitting the media? How does that effect things, say with snails and small leaves?
Why do you need to replace a filter pad? The media in my external is pretty much indestructible ( haven't needed to replace ever).

I'm another SunSun convert and it's never let me down

With my HOBs the current it spits out slams against the front going down the front and pushes the wast towards the intake. Had no issues with leaves or my snails getting in. But I have a small 36 bow front with two filters. It makes a good current and does that wavy ocean affect on my sand. Fish don't even notice it.