Need a recommendation

I will be upgrading my aquarium to a 125 gallon in the very near future and I needed a recommendation from other canister users. Of these, which would you recommend? Marineland C-530, Fluval FX5, or Rena XP4? I'm leaning toward the Marineland.

I'm looking for ease of maintenance, preferably self-priming, durable, non-leaking, and versatile.

I will be having one, possibly two, Penguin 350s for additional filtration.

 

I have used Renas for years with very few issues.

 

Eheim 2260 would work too.

 

I have an XP4 and a sunsun 304 (same as C-530) on my 125, so naturally that would be what I would recommend to you My 4 larger tanks all have XP/sunsun filtration systems. my tanks are immaculate - there is never any waste on the sand, even in the 90 which has 3 goldfish, 2 plecos and 80 other fish. I never have to vacuum any of them, and I attribute that to the filtration system because it's certainly not anything that I am doing. I think back to how much work I used to have to do and I laugh

XPs are the best filter IME, but the sunsun is the best for the money. The sunsun is also sold under the names aquatop and perfect. They are essentially the same as the marinelands, at a significant discount. Plus, the sunsun has a surface skimmer extension off the intake tube. That's an awesome feature. And it has built in UV, which is always nice.

 

Sunsun's give you the best value for money. I've also found that many people also trust in their reliability. Via Aqua and Regent is also good value for money. Don't know if you have those there

 

marineland

 

I ended up having to order the Marineland C-360. The C-530 will be too large to fit in the cabinet unfortunately (as is the FX5)... not enough clearance. I nearly got the Aquatop/Sunsun filter, but I noticed a few reviews saying the plastic tubing is very brittle and I simply couldn't chance breaking it during installation. I also considered the Rena, but I don't think there are any Rena dealers in my area to purchase media if I need to and there are several Marineland dealers around here. So I'll end up with about 1060 gph of filtration (8.5x) with about 1/3 of that being canister filtration, which would effectively give me the equivalent of about 10x HOB filtration at the same flow rate (I purchased a 2nd Penguin 350 also).

 

Good choice, I'm sure you won't be disappointed

 

I'm sure I won't be either. I've been pretty happy with Marineland's products overall. Now I'm just waiting for my new tank to come in next weekend

 

I finally have my 125 gallon setup, and as it turns out, I had a ton of clearance in the stand for the C-530 after all. With the C-360 and 2 Penguin 350s, I still have about 8.5 times turnover per hour. Will this be enough once my tank is fully stocked? I almost feel like I cheated myself by not going with the C-530. I would've had about 9.8 times turnover that way. Will it make much difference? 1060 GPH vs 1230 GPH.

 

With regards to the sunsuns, I guess you didn't read how the sellers send out replacement parts for free if something is broken. I had a problem with one leaking 2 months after I bought it - I contacted the seller and they immediately sent me a whole new one for free .... now to just get the leaky one to work right

As for GPH..... it's not the most important component of filtration. Volume of media is, and the penguins don't hold much media. The XP3 does 350 GPH, yet it is at least 3 times better filtration than a penguin 350. We use GPH to represent a particular size of filter, which translates to a higher volume of media. Make sense?

You'll want to upgrade the HOBs to another canister at some point, I think.

I told you the 530 would fit.....

 

Actually, each Penguin can hold up to 4 media cartridges, including empty cartridges you can purchase to put in any type of filtration you want. I plan on using those for nitrate remover. They're quite flexible. The C-530 has 4 media trays, but the C-360 does also. I was only concerned that I cheated myself that extra 170 GPH. Would it make that much difference?

 

Actually, each Penguin can hold up to 4 media cartridges, including empty cartridges you can purchase to put in any type of filtration you want. I plan on using those for nitrate remover. They're quite flexible.

that I think is not much Jaysee's opinion

no offense jaysee

 

The C360 works great! I have one on my 100 and it's very quiet. The customer service is amazing as well, they'll send you a whole new filter if anything goes wrong(which it won't). I'm sure you'll be happy with the filter

 

I am happy with the canister, although I had a tough time priming it. But I'm concerned if I have enough filtration. Originally I wanted the 530, but I had thought there wouldn't be enough room for it, so I went with a 360. Will I miss the extra 170 GPH?

 

Actually, each Penguin can hold up to 4 media cartridges, including empty cartridges you can purchase to put in any type of filtration you want. I plan on using those for nitrate remover. They're quite flexible. The C-530 has 4 media trays, but the C-360 does also. I was only concerned that I cheated myself that extra 170 GPH. Would it make that much difference?

In my opinion, that really isn't much filter media. A canister holds many times more biological media that those refillable penguin filter baskets.

To answer your question, you might miss the extra flow, but the biological filtration will be the same. The amount of media available for Bacteria to colonize is essentially the same between a c530 and a c360.



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In my opinion, that really isn't much filter media. A canister holds many times more biological media that those refillable penguin filter baskets.

To answer your question, you might miss the extra flow, but the biological filtration will be the same. The amount of media available for Bacteria to colonize is essentially the same between a c530 and a c360.



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Thanks James. That is what I was concerned about. If the bio-filter is nearly the same, I will be satisfied. If I didn't have kids, I probably would've gone with 2 C-530's to begin with, but I do, so I had to go with what I bought simply because of the money.

 

To answer your question, you might miss the extra flow, but the biological filtration will be the same. The amount of media available for Bacteria to colonize is essentially the same between a c530 and a c360.

That is not true. Having both filters (essentially), there is a significant difference between them - there is FAR more media in a 530 than a 360. In fact, it holds TWICE as much media.

Actually, each Penguin can hold up to 4 media cartridges

I've used them and given them away to people. 4 penguin cartridges wouldn't fill half of a tray of a canister.

 

Okay. Before this gets out of hand, I think I'm going to close this thread. Thanks for your help guys.

 

The thread has been re-opened for the benefit of others.

So far it looks like a healthy and respectful discussion.

 

I have the marineland 530c and I love it. It did have a ceramic rod break a few months after I got it and Marineland replaced with no problems. Actually I called them and they had my lfs replace immediately so I didnt have to wait for it to be shipped.

Also, i've only had to prime it once when I first hooked it up. Now it just starts back up when I plug it in after water change.

That's my canister experience ;-)

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That is not true. Having both filters (essentially), there is a significant difference between them - there is FAR more media in a 530 than a 360. In fact, it holds TWICE as much media.




I've used them and given them away to people. 4 penguin cartridges wouldn't fill half of a tray of a canister.

Thanks for this rebuttal. I thought the two largest sizes (c360 and c530) were the same size with different GPH ratings. I was mistaken