What's In Your Canister Filter?

Just wanted to see what some of you were putting in your canister filter, so I can compare my setups.

So I got an Eheim Pro 4+ 350 for my heavily stocked 29g. It had a Hydor 150, decided to retire that canister and use the 150 as a supplementary filter for my 55g.

For my trays (bottom to top): (Pre-Filter)- Coarse sponge -> Eheim mech pro with a Marineland Carbon bag on top -> Bio-Mech -> Eheim Substrat Pro with established media (ceramic cylinders from AquaClear filter) -> Polishing Pad

Wondering if I should still use a pre-filter sponge on the intake? Is it necessary in your guys' opinion? Eheim sells a pre-filter for around 15 bucks, has foam blocks around the intake.

So, what do you guys use?

 

my 3 ehiems have chemI pure, ceramic ring, bio max, and several pads
my sunsuns have many filter floss pads, chemI pure, zeolite, purigen, ceramic rings and bioballs
my aquatop has pretty much the same as sunsun. As well as my marineland.

 

Marineland Magniflow 160, with Hydor inline heater.

Trays: B-T (Mechanical Filtration Sponge)(Carbon Bags)(Living Media, plastic balls with grooves)(Filter Floss)
All of the mech is made by Marineland.

Don't have a prefilter, so I wouldn't say you'll need one unless you really want it.

 

I have a FX4...so the water comes down from the top.

Coarse sponge> Smaller sponge (Tray 1) >> poly-fil (Tray 2) >> sponge and crush coral (tray 3) >> Bio media (tray 4).

 

my 3 ehiems have chemI pure, ceramic ring, bio max, and several pads
my sunsuns have many filter floss pads, chemI pure, zeolite, purigen, ceramic rings and bioballs
my aquatop has pretty much the same as sunsun. As well as my marineland.

I like it. I'm thinking about using chemI pure, instead of the marineland carbon bag. I've heard good things about it.

Marineland Magniflow 160, with Hydor inline heater.

Trays: B-T (Mechanical Filtration Sponge)(Carbon Bags)(Living Media, plastic balls with grooves)(Filter Floss)
All of the mech is made by Marineland.

Don't have a prefilter, so I wouldn't say you'll need one unless you really want it.

Was thinking about giving that inline Hydor heater a shot. Creative idea, and would help with the look of the tank a bit.

 

I have a FX4...so the water comes down from the top.

Coarse sponge> Smaller sponge (Tray 1) >> poly-fil (Tray 2) >> sponge and crush coral (tray 3) >> Bio media (tray 4).

Nice, I like your choice of mechanical filtration. Must keep your water fairly clear. If I had more room I would've put some poly fil in one of my trays in the eheim 350... but I used it all for the bio media

 

Pair of fluval 305's. coarse sponge-> less coarse sponge -> filter floss ->pot scrubbies. I'm cheap. What can I say.

 

sometimes simple is better . I run a pretty standard system, first tray is coarse sponge 15ppi, second tray is a finer sponge something like 30ppi, I also put in some wool (my friend keeps all his off cuts of insulation polyester wool), then after that ceramic noodles, bacteria balls and some carbon depending. its simple yet effective.... also cheap lol

 

Nice, I like your choice of mechanical filtration. Must keep your water fairly clear. If I had more room I would've put some poly fil in one of my trays in the eheim 350... but I used it all for the bio media

Nope, my water is cloudy.
I added the HOB to give more GPH, and it cleared it right up.

 

Eheim so far is keeping my 29 gallon nice and clear. Only downside to Eheim's from what I've seen (the new pro 4 series) is they don't have the best gph for the price point. But the trays and functionality make up for it IMO.

Random question for anyone, when priming a new canister, and starting it for the first time once it's primed, some of my canisters will rattle (the impeller) due to air pockets I'm guessing since it is starting up. Some canisters do this that I've had and some don't. Is this a normal experience? I'm sure it doesn't harm the impeller or anything because it's only for few seconds.

 

Few seconds no. My one canister can't get rid of those air bubbles so it has to be completely full of it will buzz. Otherwise they are almost completely silent. I also have 2 HOB's running in the same room so my house is never silent.

 

Few seconds no. My one canister can't get rid of those air bubbles so it has to be completely full of it will buzz. Otherwise they are almost completely silent. I also have 2 HOB's running in the same room so my house is never silent.

Sorry I should've clarified. I meant when the canister is new and starting up for the very first time, the motor makes a louder sound like it's ratteling a little bit (due to air around the impeller purging out) then it goes away and is silent. My Fluval and Eheim did this but my Hydor didn't. Guessing it's just how they're designed