Looking Into Canister Filter

I want to get started on cycling my tank, I have a aquaclear on there back currently, but with my placement of the tank it doesn’t quite fit and I can only have it on a side of the tank. I thought about maybe upgrading it to a canister before I start my cycle since I have plenty of room below the tank. I’ve looked online at reviews and I thought about a Fluval one since I do like that brand, but I wanted to see if anyone here could recommend something.

 

LOVE my canister filters. I got a pair of 305’s on my 65g and they work wonders. Thinking about getting another fluval for my 30g.

 

Imho canisters are the way to go. I use cascade 700's. Fluvals , Sunsun's , Eheims all have loyalists. Kind of depends on what you want to spend.

 

If the Aquaclear is sufficient to handle the load of your tank might as well run it, If you are concerned with dead spots a power-head could help and it would be cheaper.
The benefits to a HOB is maintenance is much easier open the lid do your thang and boom done. On the other hand canisters give you more options on all sorts of media + you can strategically place inputs and outputs so you get a nice flow around the tank but when its time for maintenance they are a little more involved. I personally prefer canisters its worth the extra little bit of work. As Greg F stated everyone's got there preference on brands find what works for you and run with it!

 

If the Aquaclear is sufficient to handle the load of your tank might as well run it, If you are concerned with dead spots a power-head could help and it would be cheaper.
The benefits to a HOB is maintenance is much easier open the lid do your thang and boom done. On the other hand canisters give you more options on all sorts of media + you can strategically place inputs and outputs so you get a nice flow around the tank but when its time for maintenance they are a little more involved. I personally prefer canisters its worth the extra little bit of work. As Greg F stated everyone's got there preference on brands find what works for you and run with it!

The hob can technailly handle the size of the tank but I always like to get a lot more filter than I need just to be safe and like I said the way my tank is I can’t really fit the hob onto it. I’ve been wanting to upgrade it for a while now as I got it when I get my first fish tank. So I figured not might be the time to upgrade to one. I do like the idea of having more filtration options with a canister and I don’t really mind the idea of doing extra maintenance. I just wasn’t sure if there were certain things I should be looking for with canisters. I’ve just started doing my research on them

LOVE my canister filters. I got a pair of 305’s on my 65g and they work wonders. Thinking about getting another fluval for my 30g.

I was looking into the Fluval canisters myself recently as I really like Fluval as a brand c:

 

I gotcha, I guess I misunderstood what you were asking in your post. My recommendation would be to run a canister, I have had good luck with Fluval in general it would at least be a good place to start,

 

I have become a Fluval fanboy. I have a 206, 306, 406 and FX4 (not all on one tank ). The '06 series canisters are very easy to maintain. I have 2 - 20 gallon long tanks, 1 with a 206 and the other with an AC50. The 206 tank is a well stocked community tank and I clean my filter once a month. The AC50 tank is a shrimp tank and I have to clean it at least weekly (usually just the prefilter foam on the intake). When I first got the 206, I thought it might be too much for a 20 gallon but it's been great.

The only gripe I can come up with is the Fluval brand polishing pads don't last long and usually have to be replaced every month or 2. I'm using up my stock pile of polishing pads but I also got some filter pads (the blue and white one) and cut to fit the canisters. They seem to last a bit longer.

 

Depends. Do you plan on upgrading to a bigger aquarium or not?

 

Depends. Do you plan on upgrading to a bigger aquarium or not?

I’d like to eventually upgrade but right now I live at home so everything, except my 40 gallon, is in my bedroom so for the moment I’m not able too

I have become a Fluval fanboy. I have a 206, 306, 406 and FX4 (not all on one tank ). The '06 series canisters are very easy to maintain. I have 2 - 20 gallon long tanks, 1 with a 206 and the other with an AC50. The 206 tank is a well stocked community tank and I clean my filter once a month. The AC50 tank is a shrimp tank and I have to clean it at least weekly (usually just the prefilter foam on the intake). When I first got the 206, I thought it might be too much for a 20 gallon but it's been great.

The only gripe I can come up with is the Fluval brand polishing pads don't last long and usually have to be replaced every month or 2. I'm using up my stock pile of polishing pads but I also got some filter pads (the blue and white one) and cut to fit the canisters. They seem to last a bit longer.

Thanks for the info! I really like the Fluval products so that was the first I considered but there are so many others out there cx

 

Not really a Sunsun "fanboy", but I've never had a problem (only have had 2 in 5 years because I upgraded from a 302 to a 404b) and you can buy 2 404B's and still not have spent as much as an equivalent Fluval/Eheim/Marineland. I haven't seen the basket size on the others, but the ones on my 404B are huge. 4 trays and I fit almost 8L of Matrix in the 3 top trays.
If money isn't an option, go Fluval if you like it.
I only got the Sunsun because I didn't feel like dropping $280 on a filter. Parts are probably cheaper too if an impeller or some does happen to go bad.
If it's for a 20 gal think Sunsun has small ones too, probably would only be like $50 or less. (The $80 404B would be too much filter for a 20)
Fluval 306 has 303gph for $145. Sunsun 302 has 265 gph for $55. Fluval 206 has less gph than the sunsun for $118. That's what made the decision for me. Sunsuns will self prime too if you disconnect them correctly to clean.
Only downside is Sunsun's directions ae junk. hahaha If you happen to give it a go, just remember flow goes from bottom to top so put course/medium/fine pads in very bottom tray and just load the top trays with biomedia.

Now reading that I know it looks like I'm a Sunsun fanboy, , but seriously I'm just a fanboy of my wallet. If the costs weren't such a HUGE difference, I'd try the others for sure.

 

As mentioned personal preference on brand. I started with the Aquaclear HOB's. Still use them on 4 tanks. But have moved to Eheim Canisters on 2 larger tanks. The 2217 and 2213. Work "Great". Good Luck on whatever brand you decide to go with.

 

I agree with price. I got both my fluvals used and half price. I won’t ever buy then new because of that.

 

I bought my 206 new from Amazon for $93 shipped. I got the 306 off CL used in a package deal with a 40 gallon breeder, stand and some other stuff for $100. I needed to replace the o-rings and impeller (and the 40 gallon breeder lol). The 406 was also from CL but brand new (sealed) with a new Aqueon 75 gallon tank and a Fluval 48" Fresh & Plant 2.0 light for $200. The FX4 was bought new at Petsmart for $199 on sale ($213 with tax).

When I last had a tank 30 yrs ago, Eheim was the top of the line canister filter. I couldn't afford it at the time so I stuck with HOBs (Aquaclears). The classics are still the same design and I was never fond of the outlet pipe at the bottom of the canister. Their newer models are nicer but much more expensive. I also looked at other canisters and decided it was worth the few extra bucks to me for the Fluvals since they were made with better materials. I watched maintenance videos for Fluval, Eheim, SunSun, Penn Plax, Hydor and a couple others before making my decision.