Caniser filter..which brand is the best

[Diver Doug]

Hi all,

I'm looking for some help with buying a canister filer, but I've heard so many different opinions on which brand is the most reliable and best deal for the money. These are the following brands I'm looking at :

Tota
Jebao
Resun
SunSun
Unistar
Eheim
Fluval

I'm figuring that most (if not all) come out of China. I've heard that some have a fairly short lifespan and/or aren't reliable, or do not have a flow rate as advertised.

The tank I'm looking at getting would be between 3-430 L in volume and I'm figuring that I should look for a flow rate in the range of 1000-1500L/hr, but any other advice anyone might have in this area would be greatly appreciated. I figure that I'll be looking at Ebay, as the prices are generally a lot cheaper than the LFS for the same product.

Any other advice with regards to filtration would be greatly appreciated.

Regards,


Diver Doug

[g.c.discus]

was topic about two weeks ago with poll, and lots of filter opinions
http://www.discusforums.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=8177&highlight=

[Proteus]

Of the brands listed

Eheim & Fluval


thats it

[Diver Doug]

Has anyone had any experience with the lesser known brands (ie besides Eheim and Fluval) ?

[Proteus]

Yes, you get what you pay for.

I have tried, and still have some cheapies, they serve a purpose, but I wouldnt have them as my main filter

[taksan]

Ehiem is really the only serious option.

[twobunnyrabbit]

Stay away from Resun filters. I had one of them earlier this year. One of the clip that holds the lid in place broke off before i even used it. :x

Like Proteus says, you pay for what you get.

[Davo]

Eheim, Eheim, Eheim in my opinion.

Dave.

[spartan.mike]

Eheim is the better filter in many aquariust's (did i spell that right?) opinions. They provide loads of biological filtration, and are the quitest filters on the current market. I have the Eheim Ecco, the lower line of the Eheim's, and it suits my discus perfectly! :)

[psamers]

I've been using a couple of the Jebao filters for the last couple of years. Can't really fault them. They are quiet and so far reliable (touch wood). Interesting to note they are identical to sera filters at about twice the price. And this means parts are obtainable. Yep, I used to have an Eheim but they have got to the point where you need to take out an xtension to the mortgage to buy one. If you have any doubts about whether they are overpriced, check the price of eheim hose or elbows and spray bars. Ridiculous!

[DiscusEden]

I've been using a couple of the Jebao filters for the last couple of years. Can't really fault them. They are quiet and so far reliable (touch wood). Interesting to note they are identical to sera filters at about twice the price. And this means parts are obtainable. Yep, I used to have an Eheim but they have got to the point where you need to take out an xtension to the mortgage to buy one. If you have any doubts about whether they are overpriced, check the price of eheim hose or elbows and spray bars. Ridiculous!Where do you check them? I haven't seen any for sale yet on the online sites.

I'd agree that some of the lfs prices involve a second mortgage, but the online prices of the sponsers here for the Eheim are very reasonable, especially if you pick one up on special.

[g.c.discus]

ordered 2028 last week from asa for nearly half the price of some places wanted you just need to shop around :D

[kaiser72]

i use a fluval 305 canister filter on my 4ft display tank. i have 8 discus 14 neon tetras, i pleco, 2 bristle nose, 3 clown loaches & it handles it all well. i still vacume the gravel twice a week & do 2 x 25% water changes a week. the tank is heavily planted & has several pieces of driftwood. i have bought & used Aquaone cf-1000 canister filter & am using one on my small breedind set up(1 x 4ft, 2 x 2 x 1 x 1 1/2ft tanks) + sump. i find them to be ok IMO.
Troy

[Greggy]

Hey team!

What is everyone's opinion on Aqua One canister filters, in particular their 'big' 2450 Advance filter? I have just ordered one of these to work in tandem with my fantastic Eheim 2228 canister filter which is currently running solo on my 6x2x2. The Eheim 2228 on its own does not have anough mechanical filtration or 'grunt' to keep the water in my 6x2x2 perfectly clear & polished... I want my fish to look like they are 'levitating' and to acheive this I need extremely effective mechanical filtration.

I wanted a reasonably big canister filter with media trays (for simple cleaning & maintenance) all for a low price of course. The Aqua One 2450 also includes a UV sterilizer (not sure how much this will actually help though) and has a decent amount of filter media area.

I considered the Eheim 2250 and Fluval FX5 but I decided against them for my own reasons, which were basically that the Eheim 2250 with all the required media & accesories like taps etc was extremely expensive, and I've read some reports of people not 100% happy with the FX5.

I may not end up being 100% happy with the Aqua One 2450 Advance canister filter but at least I'll only throw away AUD$300! If it doesn't work out I think I'll bite the bullet and consider the Eheim 2250, but this will almost require a small loan ;)

Maybe the Jebo Giant 950 is another viable option?

Regards,

Greggy

[Erk]

I use the rena filstar xP2, kinda wish I would have gotten the xP3, since im starting to run out of room in my media compartments to add things, like nitra-zorb, but oh well, i will figure something out. Im new to these cannister filters in general, but so far, Im happy...wasnt too expensive ($70 U.S.), its pretty quiet, and the priming of the filter is very very easy, which sounds like it can be rather complicated on some other filters

Good Luck

[nicholas76]

Ive gone through cheapies and a couple of 303 , 404 fluvols and I can quite happily state that my current ehiems are by far the best cannisters I have ever used.

Im currently running a classic and professional eheim models and they are non noisy and dont require so much attention. I love the turn of valves that came with the classic too.

eheim all the way