# Looking for Best Canister Filters



## Mikolas (Jan 16, 2010)

Hey, I have a couple of questions concerning Canister filters.

I have 1x 55 and 1x 75 gallon tank running. Medium planted tank, the 55 has a 120 AquaClear running and the 75 has 2x 120 AquaClears running. 

I'm deciding to switch to canister filters because I want to be able to have floating plants without worrying about it being pushed around because of the HOB water flow. 

Which brand is the best? I've read that Eheim's are the best, but I'm not sure if they are honest opinions or just misleading advertisement. Any thoughts? I'm not too concerned with the pricing (unless it's significantly more expensive than other brands), quality of the filter comes first for me, followed by the price. 

Where should I go buy whatever it is that you recommend? Ebay, or are there any hidden aquarium websites that sell them cheap and reliably?

Also, I don't know which of the ones specifically I should buy, there are so many versions and variations like "Eheim Pro x3 21501 (making stuff up here), and I honestly don't know the difference, so if somebody could be a bit more detailed with which one I should purchase and why, that would be great. I need 2x, one for the 55 (mostly peaceful), and one for the 75 (peaceful - semi-aggressive).

I'm also a bit concerned with the idea if the canister filter malfunctions and somehow floods my apartment, is this possible? 

I'm having some difficulty keeping certain plant species alive, thus I often have a lot of dead plant matter laying on the floor that I rather not deal with the good'ol suction way during water changes. Is there a neat trick to having the canister filter suck it up for me?

Thanks for any assistance.


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## majerah1 (Oct 29, 2010)

Its true,Eheims are the best.They are very reliable,and I have read they last for years.As long as the canister is not cracked you wont overflow if it stops,save if the hoses bust(Which its not likely)You can look around on ebay,Craigslist,and even Aquabid.Or petco and petsmart or a good LFS will sell them.Not sure about the eheims,but i know the marineland magnum 360 has a way you can attach the siphon to the intake and itll suck the debris up and place the water back in,but honestly that sorta defeats the purpose of changing water so i dont use that.If the tank is planted,and you are not having massive plant die offs,then you can leave the leaves in to fertilize the other plants.I dont siphon my planted tanks gravel,just pull out 50% of the water and replace.

Forgot to add the eheim sizes.The ECCOs are really good for the price and its better that the hoses are both on the top of the filter.I am having issues with my internet search,but google Eheim ECCO.


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

I have 3 different Eheim models between my 125g and 75g tanks and love them. I would look into either the 2075 or 2229 wet/dry. I have both of those models on my 75g, but I think you'd be happy with either one or both on your tanks. The best price I have found is fosterandsmith. Petco and Petsmart won't carry the higher end Eheims and the other local store I found wanted a $100 more than any other site on the internet. They are sort of pricey.


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## Mikolas (Jan 16, 2010)

So Eheims or Fluval Fx5 seems to be on the top of the list. Any more opinions? I'd like to see people's experiences with them before I decide to spend all this money.


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## Guest (Jan 29, 2011)

Hey Mikolas, sounds like you have a couple of nice tanks going. I can't attest as to the best canister filter, but have a lot of personal experience with Marineland. I currently have a Marineland C-360 on a 55 gal. fish only tank and love it. It has been taking care of that tank for almost two years now. Never had a problem. Of course I do maintain it religiously. I hope you find what you are looking for. And I am a firm believer in Foster and Smith too. Very secure and very reliable........... good luck..........


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

I had the FX5 on one of my 125s before I bought a Eheim 2080....sold the FX5 first. From there it sort of snowballed being so impressed with them. My FX5 experience was okay and I have nothing bad to say about them, but the 2080 that replaced it doesn't even compare.


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## Mikolas (Jan 16, 2010)

But what are the differences between the 2080s, 2229, 2075, etc etc etc, I don't know if the numbers mean flow output or what? I hear that some of them have heaters installed, others auto prime, etc, there doesn't seem to be any consistency of technology between the numbers so I'm kinda confused as to which one I should get.


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

Mikolas said:


> But what are the differences between the 2080s, 2229, 2075, etc etc etc, I don't know if the numbers mean flow output or what? I hear that some of them have heaters installed, others auto prime, etc, there doesn't seem to be any consistency of technology between the numbers so I'm kinda confused as to which one I should get.


The 2075 and 2080 are of the Professional series 3 line. What separates them is the physical size and the rated capacity of them. The 2075 is rated for 160 gallons and pumps 330gph. the 2080 is rated for 320 gallons and pumps 450gph. The 2229 is in a separate category and is a wet/dry built into a canister filter. It is rated for a 159 gallon tank and pumps 277 gph.

I think the 2080 would be way overkill for you - debatable. Pretty costly also.


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## Mikolas (Jan 16, 2010)

jrman83 said:


> The 2075 and 2080 are of the Professional series 3 line. What separates them is the physical size and the rated capacity of them. The 2075 is rated for 160 gallons and pumps 330gph. the 2080 is rated for 320 gallons and pumps 450gph. The 2229 is in a separate category and is a wet/dry built into a canister filter. It is rated for a 159 gallon tank and pumps 277 gph.
> 
> I think the 2080 would be way overkill for you - debatable. Pretty costly also.


Great, thanks a lot for the help so far.

What's the advantages of a 2229 by the way? I'm not quite sure what the wet/dry filter does for the canister. 

And do you think overkill in the sense of, it would wreck my tank, or just that it's more than necessary? The thing is, I may be switching to 125-150 gallon tanks within the next two years, and I rather just buy the best for the buck that can handle all of my tanks regardless of what I choose rather than having all these extra filters at the end of the year.


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

The 2080 is made for a 320g tank and pumps 450gph. It also cost around $550 with media. So personally, I think that is overkill for just a 55g tank.

Wet/dry filters perform a faster decomposition of pollutants than with conventional filters and break down ammonium by 73%, nitrite by 67% faster. Also puts much more oxygen in the water than a standard filter.


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