Canister Filters Decoded, Everything you Need To Know!
Here is your one stop guide to canister filters. If this is a filter that you are considering but maybe scared to pull the trigger this episode will calm your fears.
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My tip for air pump noise; I use knitted plant hanger baskets and suspend my air pumps from the ceiling. It has cut down the noise in my fish room considerably.
This is genius. I'm moving soon and will absolutely be doing this!
@@feliciaheater5548 also, no more check valves!
@@CritterStyle I'm not worried about anyone but myself. The noise bothers ME
I have a 20 gallon long and a sun sun canister filter that someone gave me at work. Some people would say it’s overkill to put such a beast on a small aquarium but I have my reasons. Ever since I got it my aquarium has been more quieter cause like John when I’m trying to sleep that vibration from the air pump drove me crazy as my tank is in my room. It hits very different now, complete silence. Secondly, my maintenance has went from twice a week to pretty much once a month or when I notice a rise in nitrates or nitrates, but that is rare same applies with my ammonia. When it comes to surface agitation on my canister filter, I had to make a few modifications to make the flow more tolerable for my small fish it works great and it’s nice to see the plants moving like in a river. My only pet peeve is getting the angle right so everyone isn’t blown around and I have noticed that oily film crap in the spots where the canister filter flow can’t reach also my fish keep gasping for air even when I crank it up to the max. Any suggestions?
I like using a mix. On most of my tanks I have at least 2 HOB filters and a canister. On my one 6 foot tank I have 3 HOB filters and three canisters and a sponge. Admittedly, 2 of the canisters are there just to be seeded for when I set up new tanks.
FYI, the flow rate on the 07 series from Fluval can be throttled with the Aquastop valve.
Flow rate can be adjusted on any cannister with a valve on the output. And no the restricted flow will not harm the motor on a magnetic driven pump.
My Sunday night shift reward awaits me for my drive home. Thank you!
Woohoo!
I listen on Apple Podcasts, but KZhead is the only way to leave you guys comments. My comment is that I love listening to you two guys together. You make a great podcast team. You’re my new “Click and Clack the tap-it brothers”. Thanks for the great topics and conversation!
Great podcast. I've run canisters for 15+ years on my 46 gal bow front. About a year ago I had a filter failure and water on the floor. Fortunately, I was home and could shut it off quickly. That scared me so I decided to try HOB - I have a Tidal 55 and Penguin 375. I really don't like them. I have constant water sounds like a waterfall, no matter how full the tank and my tank is not as clean. I'm getting ready to set my Fluval 307 canister back up again. I love the Fluval and don't find it difficult at all to clean...and I don't have to clean it as often - usually every 2 months. I'm setting up a 20 gal long and will be putting the Fluval 207 on it. I love the ability to slow the flow if needed and I added a spray bar as well. Thanks for a great show of pros and cons!!
Canister filters are the best, they have plenty of flow and filtering power all in one plug. The only problem I see is perhaps the location of the tank, type or fish and maintenance when things break isn’t cheap But rest assured every brand new part if used correct will last years.
You two are the best thing since sliced bread. I really needed to hear this comparison.
I went from a Fluval 406 to a Oase 250 bio master. ❤❤
Great back and forth on the subject. It was like watching Federer and Nadal go back and forth. I know my issues with canister was the exact scenario you brought up. The hose came loose, spill a lot of water all over a blew out my filter. Ended up with a very unhappy wife.
I just got back into the hobby, I bought a 110G tall tank off a friend, it came with two old Eheim canister filters. I plumbed one into a home made under gravel filter, I am really happy I did that. It had a huge amount of media and it only processes microscopic pieces bits rather than large chunks, does a great job. The other one I plumbed in with a home made spreader arm for the return water so it slows down the high speed return flow, it also has a home made intake with sponge pre-filter, works great. AND...no sound at all. I like that too. Tons of filtration, zero nitrites, zero nitrates, zero ammonia. That might change as the fish get bigger, but for now, three months in, it's perfect.
I am a huge proponent of silent tanks but always run sumps. The key to a silent sump is a 3 standpipe system. Look up beananimal style overflow. One standpipe is full siphon, one is a slight trickle and the other is an emergency drain. Run the pipes to just below water level and they are perfectly silent. My 300 gallon sits 10 feet behind the coach in our main room. The stand is open right now since we are still finishing the facade. The tank is absolutely silent.
Speaking of large like a 5 gallon bucket, you guys should do an episode about DIY filtration. I’ve always loved making DIY filters from air driven to big DIY canister filters for my stock tank ponds.
I have a canister filter on a 3.5 gallon tank. It's at the top of a shelf so the length of the hose reduces the flow to a manageable level for that size tank.
I am not a huge canister filter fan. I have a 125 and 180 that I’m running multiple AquaClear 110s HOB on. So far so good.
John speaks. Internet *Boom* Lisa: Stink eye :) Also TV quote based on something you said "I drink and I know things" Back to the topic. I had one external canister filter that was a name brand and not too much. I ended up tossing it because every time I went to clean it, regardless of the order I did the disconnects, it would spill half it's contents on the floor and run into the basement. With an almighty "YEET" it went into the trash and I bought a Shark PRO in it's place. It was very quiet though. Granted it might of been overkill for a 20g long. If I had a 125,+ it would be in the basement on concrete and near the pipe to get rid of flood water so not a big deal. At that point I would go canister or sump as I would have Oscar(s) in it and don't need them rearranging the filter. Speaking of Custom Aquariums, I priced out a 150 with a sump and stand. Nothing fancy (steel stand, upgraded the pumps) and when I looked at that total...wow I paid less for cars. I know they are worth it but it is a bit of sticker shock.
I'm starting to think canisters need to be considered for nano tanks too (granted they may need smaller ones), simply because they add extra water volume to help stabilize parameters. Another benefit of canisters is, ironically, space limitations. I put one on my 10g because the internal filter I started with wasn't doing what I needed, and the location of this tank doesn't allow room for a HOB. Using a canister allowed me to run hoses through limited clearance and hide the filter under the tank. Bonus is that the intake/outflow also takes up less space inside the tank than the internal filter. I really really wish fluval would make another canister a step smaller than the 107 for nanos.
Sumps can be very quiet. Mine is every bit as quiet as any canister is. So it’s very possible. It just depends how it’s configured. I have a herbie drain. (Full siphon) it’s absolutely silent. And a quiet dc return pump. You can’t hear it in the next room at all.
I have a canister filter on my 10 gallon betta tank. I also put an inline CO2 diffuser on it to see if I could. Since the filter would blow that poor fish into oblivion I purposely put a bunch of filter floss and a ton of sponges in there to slow the flow for the little guy. Works really well and he's able to swim around and not be blasted against the glass.
Loved that episode. Personnally I have 2 fx6 and a 07 that the handle broke..still works but it's not as fun to prime...which makes me appreciate the fx series more. hehe I breed fish, as an extention of the hobby which also helps to support it, I have a rack of 10 tanks for my fry ranging from 2 1/2 to 7 gal. and they are on a sump system, 2 reasons. 1. Water stability, having more volume of water and the sump itself is 50 gal .I breed BN pleco which are messy but also gouramis that I feed hardboiled eggyolk..which is messy too so having that extra water and filtration sure helps. 2. Heat, unfinished basement can't heat a ''room'' and having 10 heaters makes no sense. Once the fry have grown to a certain size, they go to one of my 125 tanks with a fx6. Love canisters...but whenever you leave the beaten path, I feel that sumps are often the way to go.
I’m with you John fx filter is just the best, but yet again an awesome podcast guys
I recently set up a 45 gallon Clear for Life acrylic in my living room. I am a long time HOB person but needed this one to be quiet. I strayed over to the dark side and installed an Oase Biomaster Thermo 350. It’s silent……….and the pre-filter design is pretty cool. Priming is easy………..no “canister elbo”……….
This is the one I’ve been waiting for!
This podcast is breaking the internet 🙌🙌🙌
For big tanks I would go sump hands down. I've had canisters I hated them.😅😅😅 last time I ran alot of aquariums my big ones had sumps. Easy to maintain, more media space than you could ever use, and you can greatly add to your total water volume.
Canisters for 55 gal and up, hob 20-55gal and sponge filters for 15 gal and under. Canisters are virtually silent if set up correctly, I like the hob on my 55 cause it lets me know when I need to add water cause of evaporation and I also like the sound of bubble from air pumps (as long as the pump isn’t louder than the bubbles). Canisters over sumps because of how quiet they are, but if I had a designated fish room in the basement or a room off my house I would definitely have sumps on my big tanks.
I've seen a few FX6 owners with heavily stocked American cichlids, and if set up correctly and the flush valve properly used they just change a polishing pad every 4 months and only break it down like every 18-24months
I went with our boy Jason's recommendation on my 55, the tidal 75. Also got a small wave maker and 1 sponge filter. Love this Podcast guys!
I had the aquaclear 110 HOB on my 75g. I got my self a eheim 2217 and dear lord I LOVE IT. Canister filter it is specially for 75g.
I have to agree with Jason, sumps just work well for me and I don’t mind the noise
My 75g salt water has an Eheim canister, a Tidal 110 hang on the back, and an under gravel filter with two power heads on it.
I got a Tetra EX 1000 filter for my 29G and filed it with tons of biomedia, extremely satisfied with it. Fish are happy and water quality has never been better. They way it comes out of the box with coarse sponges and plastic media is not good though.
John, if your sump is that noisy it's either a bad design or set up incorrectly.
Getting canister filter going is super easy all off them. Use Some double shut off valves for more ease. For the first time plum it up complete and suck on the exhaust side its fils itself up wait 5 minutes and plug it in done. If you use the double shut off valves and you want to close them take the filter off clean it and put it back on open de valves wait 5 minutes and youre good to go
I love canister filters. I have them on a 12g, 15g, 22g long and 40 breeder. One 40 breeder has the Shark Pro700. John, I know you were talking about the Cascade Canister filter not priming lol. I have a Cascade 1500 on my other 40 breeder with my EBA's and had no trouble priming it and it has a handle like a bucket which makes it easy to carry to my sink for maintenance;)
Just bought my first canister filter for my 75 gallon tank
You know I’ve been waiting for this one
I have a 75 with a 207 and a 307 on it. Its probably overkill, but i love the flow its created. I have the inputs on either side of the brace with a heater in between. The outputs are at either end pointing out from the corner towards the front.
Great informative podcast !
Love the podcast. So informative & lots of fun too. Thank you John & Jason.
I have a classic eheim on my 35 gal and love it!
Just installed an FX6 on my 240 gallon a week ago. Loving it ! Quietest filter I’ve ever had. On the other end of the tank, I still have my Eheim 2215 that has been carried over from my 2 previous tanks over the last 12 years. I prefer to have at least 2 filters on tanks longer than 4 feet. I’ve had my share of hang-on-back filters and they were annoying. I’d still use canisters even on a 40 gallon (of course not an FX series). Canisters are not fun to maintain but at least I don’t have to mess with them nearly as often as HOBs
Maintenance on hang on backs take for ever on my tanks i would clean a canister over a hang on the back any day. To completely remove a HOB to clean it properly, check your impellers that fail so often, sucks so much. Just a quick manitenance on a HOB filter sure simple but taking it off the tank disconnecting the intake tube, cleaning out the impeller area, nit to mention scrumbing the algae off the filter box because guess what the HOB sits right next to the lights.... I dread my HOB deep cleans. Most canisters do have flow control. Shut the the hoses off pull the canister out crack it open rinse it off put back together, connect the hoses open the lines let it fill then plug in.
I have Sun Sun 704b running on my 65 since June 2021 not to bad for the lower spectrum on canisters. Once again Gentleman I appreciate the "Tank Talk ,Nerd Talk" long live the Tank Talk Podcast.
Lovely
I have a canister on my 40b. Its the sicce eko 200. I love it. Easy to hide the intake and return and gets good flow across the tank so theres no dead spots. I also always have air in my tank so I also run a small sponge filter. I know people have mixed feelings about maintaining a canister filter but for me it is so much easier than a hang on back. There's no water dripping all over the place as you pull the basket out there's no having to siphon the water out of the back of the hang on back to get all the crud that fell out of the basket. You can just carry the whole canister to the sink and deal with all of the ich directly in the sink. For me I love that feature.
I KNEW IT! You don't even have to get into brands because even listening to all the pros and cons are exactly how I wound up choosing the brand that I did and the size that I did. Really it's best for people to do the research for their own needs but with this podcast out there people will be able to listen to it and make their decision. When I originally bought my canister filter it was one of your videos John that taught me how to move my tank from one apartment to another and I was able to do it because I had that filter and I didn't have to worry about the substrate because I had it. So you guys are doing great work. Thanks so much. ❤
And also- I have an eheim 2215 which I first bought for a 46 gallon bowfront. I didn't open it for 3 years & it caused zero problems. You're not an idiot. I had to look it up I thought I had the thing hooked up wrong. I thought there might be some kind of monsters growing in there. HAHA
I have a 125 with a Fahaka puffer, and over the past 6 years i have used a few different filtration methods. Some out of curiosity and some out of necessity. The only type of filtration i have no experience with is a sump, but other than that it's pretty much all the same in my experience. As far as water quality goes. Ammonia, nitrite etc
Canister Filters are much more efficient for the size and not that difficult to clean. Plus you don’t have to do maintenance as often due to their much larger Effective Filtration Area. Size them on 29g thru 135g.
The sump on my waterbox salt water aquarium is dead silent. I haven't experienced the noise that John is talking about
Actually, based on my experience on canister filter maintenance, you shouldn't really maintain it once a week cuz there's ONE aspect of the canister that you can hurt and damage every time you take it apart: the rubber O-rings. This is especially if you don't know about lubricating O-rings, since they will actually shrink and lose their ability to stop water from leaking out. My advice is to maintain canisters around every 1~2 months, and lubricate the O-rings every single time you do maintenance to prolong its lifespan
Sorry just to add on: use food-grade silicone grease to lubricate O-rings
Running Eheim canister. And those have realy good adjustments options. Thought u could adjust the flow on Fluval FX aswell on both intake and outflow?
👍🤠 John, sometimes I listen to you and Lisa while doing stuff around the house with headphones, a couple times I was looking around thinking I have water running somewhere. I’ll pause so I can find it and it goes away. Doesn’t bother me now I know what it is. Must be loud in there. Love these podcasts.
Great Podcast guys! I was wondering if you guys could discuss the different types of tanks. I know some are acrylic, glass and glass framed. Maybe the pros and cons of both. Heat dissipation, scratches, weight, structural integrity, cost and if lids have to be custom made. I've been told that acrylic is better for very large tanks.
I used to have cannisters years ago same with sumps. And not a fan. Yes they have there advantages, but just not in my fishroom. Even when i had 240s and a 310 i didn't run them. I actually gave the ones that came with the tanks away. yes they work just not a fan. I actually still have one. An fx4. It makes a great flower pot😂
Coffee and TankTalk at 5am! Life is good!
I wait until about 7:00 am or so, but same objective
I haven’t listened to this yet. I’m caught up on all the rest of y’all’s videos. I save them for while I’m working during the week and listen on Spotify. Thank you guys for doing this podcast. I appreciate you.
I live in a Condo with a 250 and 125 gallon aquariums, 2-FX6 and a Emperor 450 on the 250 and 1-FX6 and a Emperor 450 on the 125, and the loudest thing in the Apt is the Eco, Air Pump
I have a lot of problems with my biomaster thermo 250. Purging air, grinding noises, low flow. I ended up modifying the internal intake tube by adding more holes after reading suggestions online. That helped with the flow issue. Bought lubricant for the o-rings. Checked all my connections. It still spits out air bubbles and is really loud. Can’t figure out why. Emailed oase customer service with no responses on how to fix it. Wish I went with another fluval. Love the fluval canisters. Perfect, quiet, easy filters. Hate the stock tubing they come with though.
Would it be safe to say, a spray bar would be better for nano fish with perhaps a tall plant "wall" to help soften the flow return? I didn't even think about not being able to adjust the flow of a canister. 😮 you two have given me something to think about. The aqueon corner tank with an actual point stinks. But! I got it for free with a canister.
Aqua One Aquis Canister Filter 1250 Series II Using this tank for two years now. Easy to setup and quite to run.. Only thing to do is improve the filtration to finer filters pads and add and extra kilo or more of bio media. Best to price match or get on sale. '
Hey I saw some information talking about negative effects of too high of flow speed over media for the proliferation of beneficial bacteria, is there any truth to that?
I've responded with 125G as the tank volume to adopt a canister. This is because I like to have full tank volume filtration redundancy, and the max HOB filtration volume available is 110G. Running two HOB filters with 110G capacity (in reality it's lower) does not give you that complete tank volume filtration redundancy. I agree that there are other drivers to consider a canister, but in my case, that was the decision factor.
Guy on the left said in a previous video that “you don’t need an FX6 for a 75gal full of goldfish and white clouds”. I’m using a Fluval Tidal 110 and now four (instead of two before) 10 inch sponge filters(each sponge filter rated at 150gal) in my 75 with five large goldfish and 20 white clouds. What do I not know?
Another con. If the refill media cartridges/baskets/sponges are expensive. Very expensive in the long run.
Sponge is sponge, buy it in a big sheet from the pond department and cut to size. Chemical media is only as and when required. Problem solved? I think so.
I have 20 tanks. Only use one canister . Hob and sponges for all of the others
I’ve had as many as 11 tanks running at one time with canisters. I’m down to 6 tanks now - 3 with canisters, 1 AIO, 1 sponge filters and 1 sump…
❤
John the interwebs may never recover after what you said infront of the largest Fish related podcast ever. LOL
Can't believe John referenced size so many times without saying "that's what she said"
Canisters are definitely expensive to run. Adding an FX2 jacked my electric from $240 and month to over $300
Yep - I pulled down an entire side of the fish room - went from 35 tanks down to 5, but added canisters for those five - electricity usage actually went up.
I disagree with the canister con argument with Angels. I have run canisters on my angelfish tanks for decades now. They dont mind remember angels are found in rivers. Yes they like the slower moving areas but your canister is not producing a flow over the entire aquarium like the flow that exists in the amazon river.
I skipped the canister filters for 6 foot plus aquariums straight to sumps. Aeasthic wise, it was much better, and imo much easier maintenance.
Step brother’s movie quote at 17:16? Correct if I’m wrong, just the way he said reminded me of it 🤣
Did we just become best friends?........... YEP!
I'm a slob during maintenance 😂
Disagreement?! Keep the triton away from Jason!
First 😂
The word you were looking for is Selective Hearing 😂 @jasonadams