Question about filter preference

Looking to set up a new tank. I have kept fish before and know about cycling the tank. I am still researching about the filter before I start. I am considering fancy guppies and red wag swords. I am getting a 29 gallon tall. My question is what filter do you recommend a canister or a hang on back. I do not have experience with a canister only a hang on back.

 

We use a hang on back but a canister would probably be better. I admit.

 

I would suggest a Aquaclear 70, remember when it comes to filtering always over filter than underfilter. Get a filter that is recommended for a bigger aquarium usually filters don't really do a good job for what they recommend since it is only for a tank with a small bio-load.

 

Hello and welcome to Fishlore.
I always recommend a canister. Little bit of a learning curve especially since you never had one. But once you get one, it's hard to go back to a HOB. Gph is more important than the size tank they recommend for the filter. With a canister filter, you want at least 5 times turnover an hour.

 

There are many HOBs filter that are better than the cheap canister filters

 

I would suggest a Aquaclear 70, remember when it comes to filtering always over filter than underfilter. Get a filter that is recommended for a bigger aquarium usually filters don't really do a good job for what they recommend since it is only for a tank with a small bio-load.

My Top Fin Power 10 Filter works gr8 for my 10 gallon Had crystal Clear water after the cycle finished

 

I love canisters as well. Much less frequent filter cleanings due to the large amount of media they can hold.

However I do own a few HOB filters. And by far my favorite and only brand HOB filters I will own is Aquaclear!

I personally have an Aquaclear 70 on my 29g. Have an aquaclear 50 on a 10g. The main reason people tend to choose these filters is because you can use whatever media you want with them. Your average HOB filter just has a single cartridge with floss and carbon. There is nothing to hold your Beneficial bacteria which you need.

Also these Aquaclears are very easy to clean and very reliable. Unlike other HOB filters the complete motor housing is removable.

 

I have a few HOBs and a canister. I love the canister. It is over rated for my tank but I wanted extra filtration. The spray bar is submerged pointing up some towards the surface for movement. You can hear the filter running some but sounds similar to a fridge or other appliance that you tune out. I like that I don't hear the water flowing. I guess you could raise the spray bar if you wanted water sound. I also love how much media can be put into the canister. In mine I have layers of filter floss, Seachem matrix, ceramic cylinders that came with it, plastic bio balls, aragonite (crushed coral and shells) ...

I think maintenance on a HOB might be easier since it's all accessible but on the other hand, the canister is fully contained so no splashing or crud buildup ...

if I had room for more canisters I'd get them. I currently have HOBs on my 20s and a canister on my 38.

 

I have a canister on a 10 gallon and an aqua clear 20 on another 10. Canisters are awesome, but a learning curve the first maintenance you perform. I love the space for my nitrazorb and biomedia in my canister, though cleaning the tubes can be a bit of a pain without proper stuff.

I'd buy more canisters, without a doubt.

 

I have both and multiple tanks. HOBS require more frequent cleaning, but it is easy. Canister, less frequent, but a bit more hassle.
Aquaclear, IMO, is the best HOB at the moment. It doesn' t always auto start with a power outage, but that small issue far outweighs the over simplicity of some other HOBS.

Having both kinds on one tank has many benefits, you have an instant back up. extra filtration. You can clean the canister and still have the HOB running (vice versa).
Always have extra media if you start another tank.

 

The good canisters buy far (Ehiem, Fluval, Marineland) are better than HOBs, but they are also expensive. The only HOBs that is right under those canisters is probably Aquaclear which I believe is also Fluval. This is due to the fact that canisters have more room for media thus it can filter better. You can also use different media, that of higher quality. WIth most HOBs all you can use is those filter cartridges and that is it. Those cartridges only have filter floss and activated carbon. Aquaclear is similar to a canister filter just cheaper and smaller

 

Aquaclear is actually Hagen I believe

 

Thank you all for your advice. I think I may try a canister. Just hope I can learn the right way to use one.

 

Oops!

 

Thank you all for your advice. I think I may try a canister. Just hope I can learn the right way to use one.

Not terribly difficult. Just be patient when assembling it that's a big key. Don't forget to prime and be cautious when disconnecting for maintenence.

I goofed and made a mess once, and only once, lol.

 

You don't have to use carbon, or anything in a canister for that matter...

One of the best things about a canister filter is the fact that you can switch media in and out as you please.

There are plenty of media options to house beneficial bacteria in canister filters, in fact, there are more options than HOBs, and the BB options (such as bioballs) for canister can be used over and over again. Stuff like this:

With a canister, you simply fill the baskets with different type of media, some called mechanical filtration, some called biological.

Just do some research on best canister media.

 

Agree with Frog. Your needs may well be different than someone else's too

 

Agree. I think for tanks 20-35 gallon they should get the Aquaclear 70 if they can't get a canister. It has a big storage to put whatever you want(sponge,bio-balls, media, filter floss, etc). The only thing is that you need to find a way to control the flow, but that is usually easy. Aquaclear comes the close for HOBs of mimicking an canister filter. Of course you can always DIY canister filters (KingofDiy...)!

 

I've had internal canister, HOBs and external canisters. They're all pretty good in their own ways, depending on what you're planning on in your tank.

Internal Canister: I really dislike the visual aspect of an internal canister, but they are a solid unit for fish and artificial tanks. They just look horrible.

Hang On Back: This is a better filter over a internal canister for fish-only and artificial tanks both visually and because they're sometimes customizable like an external. They work well in non-Co2 injected low/low-medium tanks but they do clog pretty easy at the intake and they always seem to lose flow rate much quicker than an internal or external canister.

External Canister: these are by far the best, and not just in opinion. The level of customizable equipment that comes with or can be purchased is incredible. From spray bars to glass lily pipes, to huge media storage. These are great for all planted and non-planted tanks. I even bought a $24 SunSun 602b and stuck it on a 5 gallon and it works well. It was surprisingly cheap and a great little canister 10" tall are so by 4-5". Whatever you need done by any of the other filters, the canister can [usually] do better. Downside is cleaning can be a pain, takes more time than any other to do so, and it takes much longer to set up initially. They also look much more professional though.

 

I totally agree with Silister Trench. I've had just about every type of filter there is, and nothing beats a canister filter. To be honest, once you learn how to clean it, it won't take more than 15-20 minutes to clean and set back up, and that's taking your time to make sure that you are doing a good cleaning. The one filter that I absolutely hated was a undergravel filter.

 

Went to the Local Fish store to day to see what is available in my area. I live in a rural area so I wasn't expecting much I was completely right they have none of the fish I want (fancy guppies and red wag swords) When I asked about filter preference the showed me a hang on back and told me that was the best however when I asked about a canister he told that would be better but the first one was best. I'm so glad I have a site like this to help me.

 

Which HOB was it?

 

They had 2 one was Marineland and the other was Aqua Clear the canister was Marineland

 

None of those are terrible. I've not heard reviews for the marineland cans, but that's not to say they are to be avoided or used with caution.

The Aqua Clear has plenty of customizable media options, which makes it a great choice if you don't go with a canister, that's my recommendation for an HOB. Well worth the price point and comes with biomedia to boot

For canisters, Eheim is one of those proven products, although not the cheapest, but seems well worth it. The cheaper canisters are just that, cheap. While they skate by, there's more consistent issues. I've been hearing good things about the Hydor Professional series canisters

 

None of those are terrible. I've not heard reviews for the marineland cans, but that's not to say they are to be avoided or used with caution.

The Aqua Clear has plenty of customizable media options, which makes it a great choice if you don't go with a canister, that's my recommendation for an HOB. Well worth the price point and comes with biomedia to boot

For canisters, Eheim is one of those proven products, although not the cheapest, but seems well worth it. The cheaper canisters are just that, cheap. While they skate by, there's more consistent issues. I've been hearing good things about the Hydor Professional series canisters

I have 3 Sunsun canisters in total. Have not had a single issue with any of them. Very inexpensive and offer more than name brand cans do.

The largest sunsun does 525gph, is 4 stages plus a built in UV. Not to mention a built in skimmer. No other canister offers that. All of that for $80. You cannot beat it. I have been running all 3 of my sunsun's for a good 8months now with no issues.

 

I have 3 Sunsun canisters in total. Have not had a single issue with any of them. Very inexpensive and offer more than name brand cans do.

The largest sunsun does 525gph, is 4 stages plus a built in UV. Not to mention a built in skimmer. No other canister offers that. All of that for $80. You cannot beat it. I have been running all 3 of my sunsun's for a good 8months now with no issues.

There are exceptions. I've heard both the good and bad about Sunsun cans and some models are more prone than others. There's nothing wrong with using cheap products, but there are times when you get what you pay for.

I also didn't mention any brands for association. I've had the cheap brands before last me years and other times, only days. I've learned to research products I wish to invest in and weigh the good and bad to make my own choice.

 

grimud is right. I have heard a lot of bad things from them and my experience with cascade penn plax has been that you definitely get what you pay for. HOWEVER. If I did not have a "superior" product I might not have noticed the differences. I highly recommend the hydor series. I have two hydor 600 and two fluval FX6's, they both have almost no bypass with strong efficient motors.

On my 75 G I have two hydor 600 and one Fluval FX6, heavily stocked

The cheapies overstate their GPH by not using any media (not even the trays sometimes.. and shortening the hose, and using it on crystal clear water and clean everything.

In contrast the better brands use the GPH based on with the stock media. This takes a ton of the GPH out for the cheapies. The motor cannot handle the pressure? Not sure?

I actually eventually threw away my cascade 1500 even though it was still working. I was fed up with it needing work all the time when my others did not and they were getting dirtier -it would make me have to do maintenance just for it!

 

In contrast the better brands use the GPH based on with the stock media. This takes a ton of the GPH out for the cheapies. The motor cannot handle the pressure? Not sure?

Where exactly did you get this information? I was under the assumption that all canisters are rated when empty.

No way does an FX6 do 900gph full of media. I just don't believe that

 

They usually provide both, for fluval that is 450 and hydor 600 I think it is 285. Oh and also the stock media in them during testing is usually close to full, not empty though but also not packed full like mine heh

 

Where exactly did you get this information? I was under the assumption that all canisters are rated when empty.

No way does an FX6 do 900gph full of media. I just don't believe that

If I remember correctly, Hydor does post the gph on their website with media and the pump's max output.

 

The only two brands that I know that rate their filters with media are Eheim, and Siccie Whale. The Whale is somewhat very new, and has good reviews from the little information that I have found. I am very interested in this filter, but not sure if I want to chance it on a relatively unknown brand.

 

The only two brands that I know that rate their filters with media are Eheim, and Siccie Whale. The Whale is somewhat very new, and has good reviews from the little information that I have found. I am very interested in this filter, but not sure if I want to chance it on a relatively unknown brand.

That's how people are feeling about Hydor. People generally buy on reputation and/or price point.

 

That is what I mean. To have a good but less expensive filter you should go with the Aquaclears. They are more reliable than the cheaper canister filters such as Sunsun. Would you rather pay for good money for a HOB which is known to be the best for its class and can last decades(cough...cough...Aquaclear) or pay the same amount of money for a canister filter which has a 50% chance of it being the best investment or the worse. Of course canister filters are better than Aquaclear but make sure you buy the good quality one which yes its expensive but you know it will last you a long time.

 

Guess I got lucky with my Sunsun's then. If they do die I will be replacing with something name brand however.

 

I was not arguing with you. The OP asked a question, and I answered. I just gave my opinion, like you gave yours. Everyone has had their different experiences with filters. As I mentioned I've tried just about every filter type there is, and in my experience, canisters are the best. I'm sure others will say different, especially if you add a sump into the discussion. I strongly believe in "You get what you pay for." This is not to say that a cheap filter is not just as good as an expensive one, and that it will break down. Just like there is no guarantee that an expensive one won't be defective. There is no one perfect filter. You have to go with what you can afford, accommodate, and the type of setup you have. For instance, I have done months and months and months of research, I've even researched HOB's. But I just can't get pass having something hanging off my tank, I want a very clean look, and how some are not as customizable as a canister.
My top choices for my 75 gallon were FX6, Eheim 2217, Fluval 406, Siccie Whale 500, and Marineland 500 series. I've narrowed it down to the 406, and the 2217. The 2217 is winning out. This is because I will have extra fine BDBS, and with the 2217 the spray bar will not push the water out as strong as the 406, therefore I won't have to worry about sand being blown around, unlike with the 406. Also, the 2217, is a very simple straight forward design, no bells and whistles. It is also 100% no bypass, unlike the 406, which has bypass when it's starts to clog, but the outflow won't slow down, unlike the 2217. The 2217 is more of a pain to clean than the 406, which has baskets that can be easily lifted out. There are many other pros and cons of each one but the Eheim is more than likely what I will run.

 

I have the Sunsun too on my 38g. I haven't had it too long but I prefer it to the HOB.

 

I don't think the OP is following this anymore.
But I will say one more thing why I am not in favor of HOB''s. I don't water an waterfall flow into my tank, plus you can't adjust the direction of the flow, or where you can put the intake/out take tubes. On canisters you can't do this.

 

Thank you all now I will keep watching and learning before I get set up

 

chrmgo, remember to do all the research that you can. A filter to me is the most important equipment that you will buy, so make sure that it is exactly what you want, in your budget, and meets your needs.

 

Also, before I understated the FX6 slightly and my bad, it is 563 and hydor 600 is 290, with the media

As for hydor. yeah I realized it was a gamble, but, I watched youtube videos on it and it seemed solid. Luckily, the construction was solid! So I bought another one[/COLOR]