Told My Son Not To Buy A Cheap Canister Filter

He did and it blew up at 4:30 this morning. Would not have been a big deal if it did not run behind the baseboards and in between the laminate floor and the underlayment. But it did, and the cheap laminate floor is toast. Started swelling almost immediately. We finished pulling out the floor about 9:15 after moving all his stuff out of his room as well as this tank and his small tanks.

It dumped about 4-5 gallons of water before he was able to shut it off.

I am an aquarium novice AT BEST, and maybe some folk have good luck with these ebay filters. I say buyer beware? He has had trouble with this one just stopping for no reason. He has to unplug and plug it back in and it will start up. This is the first catastrophic event.

Looks just like this one.

We are going to have to set up a 20 gallon to put his silver tips and otocinclus in. Luckily the tank was mostly plants and only had 8-9 silver tips and 5-6 otocinclus. We have to get a floor in so we can set it back up again.

I told him to get a fluval canister or some other top name brand or a hob filter. What do y'all think?

The aftermath pic.

 

most name brand filters are good to go.

I went with in the tank filters, Fluval U3, and Tetra 20i. drawbacks: a little less room in the tank and very very slight chance of electrocution. but I'm happy with them.

 

HOB Filters...Seachem Tidal Filters
Hydor Professional Filters...The best cans, IMO.

If you're on a tight budget... The entire Aqueon Line is worth a close look. They have a canister filter that is very nice at a very reasonable price.

* Sorry to hear about your misfortune.

 

Wow. That's scary. I've been using that one for a couple years with no issues....knock on wood......

When you say it blew up? Did it literally explode??

What a nightmare. Sorry you are facing that

 

What is funny about any product I research on Amazon, etc. There is never 100% positive reviews.

For example the Hydor as 13% negative reviews out of 279....

And the cheap one similar to the one the OP is talking about as 15% negative reviews out of 543.....

So in my humble opinion it is really just pot luck, you can get a good one or a bad one, no matter what brand a person buys.

I will say this though, the cheap one like what the OP is talking about is mass produced somewhere in China. Then a whole lot of so called canister companies buy this one and pass it off as their product.

 

What is funny about any product I research on Amazon, etc. There is never 100% positive reviews.

For example the Hydor as 13% negative reviews out of 279....

And the cheap one similar to the one the OP is talking about as 15% negative reviews out of 543.....

So in my humble opinion it is really just pot luck, you can get a good one or a bad one, no matter what brand a person buys.

Ya...even the most highly rated heaters still have those who say it cooked their fish.

I'm a reviews freak....and it drives me bonkers that there are always the few negative reviews on every item. And the negatives are almost always really bad....like an exploding canister for instance! Or getting electrocuted by a heater.

 

nice slides XD , and sorry to hear bout ur mis-fortune

 

I'm running aquaclear's with sponge on intake and air sponge filters on everything.
Could of got a AC70 for less than that. I like the simplicity and easy service. I'd probably run a sump instead of using a canister for a large tank.

 

What is funny about any product I research on Amazon, etc. There is never 100% positive reviews.

For example the Hydor as 13% negative reviews out of 279....

And the cheap one similar to the one the OP is talking about as 15% negative reviews out of 543.....

So in my humble opinion it is really just pot luck, you can get a good one or a bad one, no matter what brand a person buys.

I will say this though, the cheap one like what the OP is talking about is mass produced somewhere in China. Then a whole lot of so called canister companies buy this one and pass it off as their product.

I simply do not put much confidence in online reviews.
That's why I base my opinions on first hand experiences with fellow hobbyists in our local
Tampa Bay Aquarium Society

 

He did and it blew up at 4:30 this morning. Would not have been a big deal if it did not run behind the baseboards and in between the laminate floor and the underlayment. But it did, and the cheap laminate floor is toast. Started swelling almost immediately. We finished pulling out the floor about 9:15 after moving all his stuff out of his room as well as this tank and his small tanks.

It dumped about 4-5 gallons of water before he was able to shut it off.

I am an aquarium novice AT BEST, and maybe some folk have good luck with these ebay filters. I say buyer beware? He has had trouble with this one just stopping for no reason. He has to unplug and plug it back in and it will start up. This is the first catastrophic event.

Looks just like this one.

We are going to have to set up a 20 gallon to put his silver tips and otocinclus in. Luckily the tank was mostly plants and only had 8-9 silver tips and 5-6 otocinclus. We have to get a floor in so we can set it back up again.

I told him to get a fluval canister or some other top name brand or a hob filter. What do y'all think?

The aftermath pic.

Sorry to hear about your misfortune. I have 4 Fluval canisters (206, 306, 406 and FX4) and love them all but no canister is perfect but my FX4 is very close . I've had no issues with any of mine.

Ya...even the most highly rated heaters still have those who say it cooked their fish.

I'm a reviews freak....and it drives me bonkers that there are always the few negative reviews on every item. And the negatives are almost always really bad....like an exploding canister for instance! Or getting electrocuted by a heater.

The problem with Amazon reviews is that you don't know the person writing the reviews and how honest they are about the failures. Every product will have issues. Looking at the percentages of negative reviews are even worse as there are idiots that give one star reviews because their delivery person threw the box into their yard (true review I read once) and it has nothing to do with the actual product.

I usually read the reviews and make an informed decision. I went with Fluval because there were too many reviews that said the Sunsun canisters use brittle plastics that can crack easily. Most have no issues with it and there are tons of people that use them but that's something I didn't want to live with and I was willing to pay a bit more for a Fluval with better parts availability, both online and at LFS.

 

Funny thing is even some of the brand names we trust are now produced in China. One of the differences is the name brand company has a say so over quality control.

 

I run mostly sponge filters and 6-8 HOB, cheep Walmart brand, all have been running over a yr. now and never a problem.

 

I run mostly sponge filters and 6-8 HOB, cheep Walmart brand, all have been running over a yr. now and never a problem.

On my 29 gallon I am using a cheap Walmart HOB along with my AquaClear 50. So far the Walmart brand works just fine for about 3 months now. But I didn't use the stuff that came with the Walmart Brand, instead customized my own setup inside it. The only thing I would have to say bad about the cheap Walmart HOB is that whenever I do a water change and it empties, even when I fill it full of water again, it takes a long time to prime. At first I thought it never would prime, just made a loud noise from the motor, but then it sucked up the water and primed, quieted down and works.

The AquaClear primes very quick and runs like it a Ferrari.

 

I'm running aquaclear's with sponge on intake and air sponge filters on everything.
Could of got a AC70 for less than that. I like the simplicity and easy service. I'd probably run a sump instead of using a canister for a large tank.

Overall...I prefer a good HOB setup over a canister on tanks 75 gallons or less.

Funny thing is even some of the brand names we trust are now produced in China. One of the differences is the name brand company has a say so over quality control.

It's difficult to find anything that doesn't have a Chinese connection and that, I must say,
I don't like.

 

I have been using Marineland canisters for well over 20 years (have 6 running now) and have never had one fail or leak. I have two Mag 350's that are over 15 years old. I also have three Magnaflows that run flawlessly.

I also run HOB's with the canisters on all our aquariums but the 10 gallon betta aquarium.

 

Overall...I prefer a good HOB setup over a canister on tanks 75 gallons or less.

It's difficult to find anything that doesn't have a Chinese connection and that, I must say,
I don't like.

Just ask GM, some of the Buick's and Cadillac's are made in China. I didn't mind them importing the Chevy SS, Pontiac G8, and the GTO from Australia. They have good quality control down there, plus they know how to make a fast car.

I have been using Marineland canisters for well over 20 years (have 6 running now) and have never had one fail or leak. I have two Mag 350's that are over 15 years old. I also have three Magnaflows that run flawlessly.

I also run HOB's with the canisters on all our aquariums but the 10 gallon betta aquarium.

I have some Magnum 350's around to use just in case, good solid filter they got me into canister filters back in the early 90's. I have 4 Magniflow 360's and no complaints with them, but they are made overseas in China. Once again that goes back to the parent company have QA/QC oversight on production of the product.

 

After looking at the filter. The hinge let go. There is a thin metal rod that goes through the plastic articulating portion of the clampy thing. The rod was too short and one side was not long enough to distribute pressure evenly. It looks like it causes all the tension to be on the one side and I guess the other failed. He chucked the whole filter in the garbage. I was going to see if I could salvage any parts off it. Tubing or the spray head or such. But I am not digging in the garbage in the rain.

It has functioned well for over a year other than the intermittent stopping.

I think he will go HOB now for his 40. We used his cycled 20 gallon quarantine tank with sponge filter to put his fish and plants in until he gets a new filter from amazon. We have to get new floor before we set up the 40 so his fish will have to stay in the 20. They will be a bit overcrowded until then but we will keep up with very frequent water changes.

I will pass along the filter suggestions.

 

I use both a SunSun and an Eheim. The SunSun I still have running for well over a year now with no problems, and the Eheim a little less than that. I like them both equally, although the latter looks more aesthically pleasing to the eyes.

 

He did and it blew up at 4:30 this morning. Would not have been a big deal if it did not run behind the baseboards and in between the laminate floor and the underlayment. But it did, and the cheap laminate floor is toast. Started swelling almost immediately. We finished pulling out the floor about 9:15 after moving all his stuff out of his room as well as this tank and his small tanks.

It dumped about 4-5 gallons of water before he was able to shut it off.

I am an aquarium novice AT BEST, and maybe some folk have good luck with these ebay filters. I say buyer beware? He has had trouble with this one just stopping for no reason. He has to unplug and plug it back in and it will start up. This is the first catastrophic event.

Looks just like this one.

We are going to have to set up a 20 gallon to put his silver tips and otocinclus in. Luckily the tank was mostly plants and only had 8-9 silver tips and 5-6 otocinclus. We have to get a floor in so we can set it back up again.

I told him to get a fluval canister or some other top name brand or a hob filter. What do y'all think?

The aftermath pic.

I got the aquatop version of that one. Seems cheaply made. Connector valves broke when I tried putting it together and I had to order a new part. This filter kinda scares me...It works, but I handle it much more carefully than my Rena canister.

 

It’s about quality of conformance and how much a company is willing to spend in order to meet or exceed certain standards. This is called quality cost, which is separated into 4 categories: prevention costs, appraisal costs, internal failure costs, and external failure costs. The more money is spent on the first two cost group—prevention and appraisal—the more defects are discovered, and thus higher internal failures costs. But external failures are drastically diminished.

 

Most of all my aquatic gear is made in China with the exception of my Eheim which is made in Germany.

 

i'm Chinese, I can tell you there are a lot of cheap (price and quality) knockoffs made in China. I've been back 3 different times. Lots of vendors and stores selling knock off software, video games, clothing, shoes, fake jewelry, toys, collectibles, etc. There's also a lot of patent infringements. They usually copy a product or steal the schematics/blueprints. Their materials and tolerances aren't as good. I've bought some stuff off ebay and even Amazon that were advertised as authentic but ended up being a cheap knock off and were no where usable, or broke not too long after.

Like others have said the big name brands have R&D and QC departments to test and make sure their products are good.

 

roundhouse
Thanks for the heads-up. Did a ton of research before I switched from HOB's to canisters. As mentioned I know some "Fishlorians" and others on a few forums whom have never had a problem, almost purchased 1 just to give it go. But after reading quite a few negative reviews about the plastic failures, decided I"ll stick with my Eheims. A few more $'s but you can even catch them on sale, which is even better.
Good Luck on your replacement choice.

 

Ok - I cleaned up the thread with off topic posts. Please remember to keep it respectful.

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Thanks,
Mike

 

I highly recommend the Aquaclear HOB filters as well. I have an Eheim canister filter that is less than 3 months old. I really don’t like cleaning it every 2 weeks as the pipes are always clogging on me. Sadly I can’t return it because the store states “it’s not broken”.

A note to all readers. Please know that not all filters are safety rated. If you have a fire and it was caused by your filter, you may not have insurances coverage.

 

I will happily buy NICREW and COODIA lights until my entire house can be seen from space, but I do like going name brand with the things I put directly in my tank, or which have contact with the water, if just to have someone to complain to when it all goes to *bleep*. But canister filters can be tricky, even the name brand ones.
But I will say something about "Made in China", and that is that there are more hobbyists per square foot in Hong Kong than in most of the United States combined. I like to buy name brand because, as Skavatar said, you run the risk of getting bootleg otherwise. But I would love it if more of the genuine Chinese companies were marketing their good directly under their own brands, instead of them being relabeled as half a dozen different off-brand names and sold with no accountability or certainty that you're actually getting a Dongguan Hengyue Industries filter (which retails here in the US under the brand bane Aqueon).

 

look on the bright side...peel up that blue stuff and u have another laminate floor underneath lol. simple fix!

 

I have a Hydor 350 on one tank and a pen plax 1200 on another. Both work great.

 

From my experience, if you are looking for a budget canister filter make sure that spare parts are carried. I have 2 SunSun but don't use the UV the inside plastic will break down. Also a good HOB like the Aquaclear and Seachem Tidal, these let you put in your choice of media. If you son is unsure ask on this forum giving the needs and budget and there will be lots of suggestions.
With the sound of the damage, he did not get a very cheap filter after all.

 

look on the bright side...peel up that blue stuff and u have another laminate floor underneath lol. simple fix!

yeah it was linoleum underneath the laminate. It was put down in the 70s. Think we will do carpet. My son bought a aquaclear 60 hob. My tank has a AQ 50 on it and has been flawless for over 10 years.

 

Sorry for your misfortune, the leaking canister is a nightmare I have too laminated and wooden floors and I barely touch my fluval 406 from the fear of leaks. You should also check the aquarium stand if it got wet because if it is made of particle board it's done for.