*If you only get one fertilizer, Easy Green is the one you want. Our unique formula is comprehensive, concentrated, and easy to use. Just dose 1 pump per 10 gallons of water and watch your planted tank flourish! Try it out: **www.aquariumcoop.com/products/easy-green-all-in-one-fertilizer*
I have so many questions I got root tabs and easy green fertilizer one of my questions is am I over fertilizing I'm using both root tabs and aqua soil. And what plants are best for out competing algea for nutrients can someone please give me some advice.
I ran HOB for years. They are fine. I still run them on quarantine and small tanks. I run canisters because I like the silence, the aesthetics of not having a big plastic box hanging off the back of my tank, smaller cutouts in the lid helping with heat retention, evaporation, and jump prevention, customizable flow direction, and once a year cleaning. I also know that no one method is perfect. Do what you want. Doesn't matter to me!😃
I love persnickety people who go into a lot of detail as it helps me make informed decisions & often introduces info that I haven't really thought about. Then over time, I become the persnickety, helpful person on down the line & so on. 🤗
Ok, so I've had canister filters my entire aquarium life... :) Since 1983. Now, you have me rethinking that. My aquarium is very near to the back wall, soooo... having the filter system under the aquarium saves space :) 2:38 No filtration needed? (';') ? and I do have lots of live plants in my tank. But wait, it's a Ferrari? or It's for arrogant aquatic enthusiasts? Under gravel filter? I like the sound of that! I'm solar-powered, so the energy isn't bad. I'm worried more about the heater that I run and how much that's consuming. Thanks for this video, now I'm not sure how I feel about my filter system. But since I already have it, I guess just go with it. In closing "no perfect filter" ok, thank you. This was a great video! Stay awesome!
Here’s the thing. I agree they’re unnecessary but they’re so convenient. They’re silent, easy to clean, and do a great job polishing water. Plus they are easy to hide in a nice aqua scape. Just like a HOB, canister filters can have adjustable flow.
These videos are super great for viewers who haven’t been watching for years/seen every single live stream twice. Some of the golden nuggets of info are buried deep within those videos! Good work. ❤
I use a fluval 407 canister in my turtle tank because turtles are slobs. I also have a few fish in that tank. The filter is great, easy to maintain and keeps the tank very clean. I clean the filter every other month. I use internal filters on my other tanks and they also do a good job, in my opinion.
Thank you, Cory. I was getting back into the hobby after 16 years and I was on the fence about using a canister filter. After seeing this I'm not getting one.
I think the problem with the hobby is there are too many elitists who think they’re geniuses for blowing all their money on gear. As a result, they have a tendency to pressure others into doing the same. At the end of the day, a filter is only sifting particles out of the water column. Having a balanced aquarium means you don’t need tech to keep your fish alive.
I think you should delineate between just keeping fish and aquascaping. If you want a pristine high tech aquascape like you see on social media, a canister filter is by far the best option. We understand it’s not a panacea and often unnecessary, but using your car analogy, sometimes you don’t need to just get from a to b, but you may need to do it as fast as possible. In that case you would want a Ferrari
They are hard to clean, expensive, use a lot of energy and therefore also create a lot of heat, most of the time are not needed, and can leak ruining your floor. Other than that they are OK I guess.
Some people have no option but to get a canister my 800 liter tank is braced all the way around apart from the corners, being in the lounge an airline filter would be to intrusive. I had to have a JBL greenline 902e due to my low cabinet it's the only canister I could find that had 90° in/outlet. I get plenty of gripe from forums about the low turnover of water, but it is a jungle tank and the canister is simply there to move water from one end of the tank to other.
@@LJMayhew Every aquarium is a little bit different but for the most part turnover is over rated. Some of my best aquariums have no flow at all. Truth is a lot of plants and fish don’t like fighting the current all the time. Some think you have to have flow for the heater to work also. If you mount it horizontal almost touching the gravel, the heat from it will create flow. Hot water rises, slowly cools off and falls back to the bottom, starting the cycle over again. I turn the heater off in the summer and still have no issues. Maybe you have fish or plants from fast moving streams that can’t live in an environment like that. Maybe a tank is over stocked on fish and doesn’t have enough plants. Maybe someone feeds their fish tons and tons of food just because they enjoy it. I don’t know every situation but so so many planted tanks are over filtered and have too much current. Too much current and over filtration cause their own issues. Everyone thinks they need it and people who sell aquariums make money on filters.
I fitted a pre filter to my main external filter, the main reason the sponge only pre filter is simple to clean once a fortnight. But I wish I knew what is needed as i am running an air filter as a backup, just would be good to know if it's all over kill.
Totally agree with this view, with one caveat. When you're doing larger aquascaping focused tanks, canister is the ideal filter. It doesn't de-gas a lot of the CO2 we're injecting (unlike a HOB, for example), looks discrete and tidy (vs. a sponge). and also it provides good amount of flow around to bring around the CO2 bubbles.
If I had a fish room and was running 40 tanks I wouldn’t use a canister, but my focus is on having one mid size (43 gallon long) tank that is heavily planted and aquascaped. I want to see as little equipment as possible in my tank and I also like it to be as quite as possible. Sponges would not only be an eyesore but limit hard scape and plant amounts/placement. My ideal would likely be a sump, but a canister for me works well enough. The canister I use has a dc pump with adjustable flow strong enough that for now I don’t see the need for an extra power head. I think the question really depends on what you care about in the hobby. If you want to work towards a pristine display tank like those IAPLC then you kinda need one or a sump. Sure you could try and use sponges and hobs and take them off to submit your competition photo, but if you’re going through all that work making an aquascape (plus the cost) why would you want to see sponges day in and day out in that tank
needed this. i asked in a aquarium group about one or two HOB’s on a 75 gallon. pretty much every single person said canister filter. when i said i wasn’t going that route, they got snippy. like ok so sorry guys, i am not spending $400 Fx6. that’s more than half my rent. especially in a heavily planted aquascape. literally not happening & ppl get so upset about someone ELSES decision.
I have 2 Seachem tidal 110s on my 75. The water is crystal clear, they are quiet, and SO easy to clean. Plus you don't need cartridges. They have huge media baskets so it's choose your own adventure 😊
@@maevecoakley8333 this is exactly what i did! two seachem tidals on my 75. perfect water, perfect flow that’s adjustable, quiet, fits snugly, widely customizable media. absolutely no regrets whatsoever & people are STILL trying to convince me to go the canister route. no thanks! i did my research & made my choice & im happy with it!
I've got 2 Eheim Classics. 2215 and 2217, one of them running for almost 10 years. Classic, one of the most reliable out there. I got them running on 2 planted tanks, and hooking them up in an in line CO2 makes the setup look cleaner and efficient.
I run a sponge-filter + a DIY canister filter that uses siphons and 1 super tiny weak 1 watt pump (yes, 1 watt, i measured it). If there is a power outage (or any reason for the pump to stop), the water levels just level out. Flooding isn't possible with my design/setup. I'm mass-breeding snails, shrimp, dwarf top minnows, a million floating plants and micro-organisms, just for fun. My bio-load is insanely high. The water is tea-colored and a little cloudy and everything is thriving on over-drive. A hang-on-back filter would clog instantly. Having said that, my setup is NOT at all normal. Most people have a 1-20 fish/creatures in their aquarium and pretty much anything would work for them.
My #1 reason for an FX is the easy water changes. Being able to hook up a house through a quick-connect, pump 20% in a few minutes, connect the hose to the spigot, fill up and I'm good to go.
I think Corys point is do your own research and find out what’s best for your setups. I run canister filters because I’m not too worried about the upfront cost and monthly electric usage. I keep all my aquariums in my office and the sound of running water is very distracting, canister filters are silent. So the decision was very easy for me.
Ran HOBs forever and only have a canister because it was gifted to me. Definitely has it's pros and cons. Love the extremely quiet operation as the aquarium is in my room. Love extra long maintenance intervals as the amount of fish is nowhere near the filter's capacity. The hoses do look "cooler" to me than the big box on the back of the tank. Never considered buying one because the one I got is $200 (Ehiem Pro 4) and a HOB was working fine.
I'd take a canister filter over a HOB. The biggest benifit of a canister filter is the increase in total water volume. Also I don't use the inbuilt impeller pumps on my canister filters but run a DCT/DCP sinewave pump inline which is about 75% more efficient and near silent, so the canister pump is only a backup...Never had any real issues with canister filters and If i was running a barebottom tank its the first filter type i's use.
I run all sponge in my fx6 and also have a medium density prefilter sponge essentially making it a big sponge filter. My water is crystal clear and my fx requires minimal maintenance.
I got into fish after raising a turtle for 20 years. Back in the day, after those first few HOBs failed me, I went to a canister and eventually added a sump. But canisters kept my turtle alive for over a decade so they are what I knew and loved. I’d say turtles are kind of the use case for when they make most sense. They don’t take up a substantial amount of swimming space, there’s less equipment sticking out of the tank for them to climb onto, and (if you get a big one) they add water volume with nice strong flow for removing the copious amounts of turtle waste (and they’re psychologically easier for people to understand/deal with than sumps…but I love those too!). So, all of that is to say, I have a canister (and a HOB AND a sponge filter) on my 40gal community tank and I’m not ashamed 😂
Hard to go back from a canister once you get used to the ease and benefits of owning one. They are quite, have more media room, better flow, they don't need cleaned or replaced as often. Also, think of all the attachments: Spraybars, UV's, skimmers, etc. Why would I have 4 HOBS + a skimmer and whatever else take up all that space when I can just have a cannister do the same thing that isn't looking ugly sitting on top of my tank or taking up tank realestate. Cannister is the future, hob is the old. Hobbies evolve.
I tried the cheaper way to start. Sponge, hob, and finally canister. The canister by far has my fish looking like they are floating in air. I have 20 ppi, 30 ppi, 40ppi, 50ppi, floss. then my bio media. It’s probably overkill for some but my peacock cichlids and haps can be a little dirty so this works great for them
I love this channel and I respect Cory so much. He obviously knows a lot more than I do, but here are a few reasons I sometimes like a canister filter. #1 it's out of sight. With the filter below the aquarium in a cabinet it's out of sight and quieter. A HOB will be more visible and potentially louder. #2 the cost isn't a big deal. If you have a $1,500 aquarium (fish, plants, drift wood, heater, air pump, etc) $100 to $200 for a canister filter isn't a lot of money. For example you can get a Marine Land 220 and it should work up to about a 75 gallon tank and it's less than $90. #3 the inlet and outlet take up less space so you can push the aquarium/stand closer to the back wall. #4 you get better overall tank flow with fewer dead spots because the inlet and outlet are in opposite sides of the tank. An HOB puts the inlet right below the outlet. #5 the larger canister space gives you more room for sponge filets, filter floss, etc. I only find the cleaning of the tubing to be extra work over an HOB. Overall I prefer HOB, but canister has advantages nonetheless IMHO.
Very valid arguments. The reason why I'd consider a canister filter and a cheap branded SunSun one is because; (1) I'd like the convenience to clean my filter once every 3-4 months as oppose to once every 1-2 months for a HOB, (2) I don't have the depth space in my living room and do not like the look of the gap between my tank/stand and the wall, (3) Canisters are more quiet, easier to customize with media and do not require priming after power loss (depending on HOB compared to), (4) Like you said; it just looks cool and I want to own one so I can say I have a canister filter even if it's a cheap one.
I totally agree with the sentiment behind this video, but there are always a tank or two where I enjoy geeking out on the tech. I bought a used 150 gallon tank with a sump that got me even deeper down that rabbit hole until I’ve decided to switch to a canister. Under certain circumstances, I’m still sold on the benefits of higher water flow and the larger volume of filter media. It gives you more freedom to get lazy on cleaning out the sponges. Unfortunately this also paves the way for bad maintenance habits. Also, if you use fine filter sponges in a power filter, the water will start flowing right over it in no time. It’s the same issue with sumps, though.
I just found your channel today and so glad i saw this video! Ive been keeping fish for nearly 20 years and absolutely hate dealing with a canister filter. I always thought of a sponge filter for just breeder tanks. My mind is blown at the moment! I'll be buying your sponge filter soon and ditch the canister! 🥳 Can't believe I didn't realize this sooner. 🤦🏻♀️
canister are mini sump. when you think about it. 10 years ago i don't think i ever saw or heard of underwater sump for freshwater (i mean i tought about it, but the guys on multiples forums said it would be useless) so canister filters were the high end for nice looking tank(at least in my online experience back then), like clear tubing in the aquascape and the canister was hidden under etc etc. but now, somehow freshwater sump are a thing, natural filtration and sponge filters are now all the rage. things changed. i still love canister filters, imho it's easier to diy your own filtering media, also i often found baby fish that were living in there from time to time. i had 2 koi a shubunkin, platies (20 i think) a pleco, a loach in a long 55. (i was rehousing the koi every 3-4 years to people i knew who had pond)
I bought a cabinet aquarium that came with a canister filter and I got the store to swap the canister for an internal filter. My main reason is that physically I'm not good these days at getting down on my knees and rummaging about in the cabinet. I would say the canister has many advantages though e.g. it holds a larger area for bacterial growth, it can house your heater and it can run an inline CO2 reactor which is the best form of CO2 addition, while keeping all this outside of the aquarium. So I'd say, internal for convenience, Canister for cosmetics.
a little over a month ago I switched to a cannister filter (Fluval 407) on my 75gal, it's a heavily planted tank, it also has a pretty heavy community fish load in it - the tank had been running for about a year and a half on a single in tank filter with just sponges as well as a HOB cartridge filter and it has been fine but I don't think I would ever go back, I do see better water clarity but the difference maker is I checked the filter after about a month and I estimate I can go 3 or more month's before cleaning it where with the old filter setup it was at least an hour weekly, sometimes twice a week - this is much more set it and forget it, time will tell but even if I had to clean it more often, it's much easier to clean and aesthetically looks much better and is much more silent. That said I also have 29 and 10 gallon tanks which I use HOB for and I feel no need to change those.
I got rid of my canister. I'm older and it was hard getting down there to get that heavy thing out to clean. Also, it often had a slow leak around the seal.
Canister filter is needed to where you really do need it, especially in an aquarium over 100 gallons with tons of fishes. Putting multiple HOF in an aquarium that big, you’ll need atleast 2-3 of them. There’s so many reasons why you need a canister filter!!
My main display tanks that run co2 and are blasted with light and fed heavily run canisters. My smaller tanks, ones I use for quarantine, or shrimp - future breeding projects...sponge filters. It's all situational.
Canister filters are great when you have a big tank just for the water flow to get around the tank fully, I run it all bio filtration never done filter maintenance in 3 years.
I liken a canister filter more to a truck than sports car, but very good point! For most people they are not necessary. I was considering swapping my HOB on a heavily stocked tank to canister, but after this video I think I won't because I don't have a water clarity issue, rather Nitrates, which require 50% weekly water changes.
i love my canister filter. I can keep a sponge for a hang on back for my quarantine or hospital tank and best of all i can feed it for a few weeks then put it on a tub to hold my fish while i totally redo my tank and not worry about cycling. maybe it costs a bit more but since i cant have all the tanks i want i can spend more on the tanks that i do.
I have planted tanks.....and I switched from canister to HOB just to polish the water.....still siphon the bottom part of the aquarium. One caveat I have with canister is that it is messy and smelly sometimes when you clean it. I rather just get a small bucket and clean the sponges from HOB and let the plants take care of the rest......works like a charm. Great video..keep rockin.
I've had nothing but problems with canisters. So took mine of few days ago I have a 300 litre tank low stocked no large fish as such and a good few live plants. I currently have a sponge filter I tank an internal fluval u4 and an aqua one internal idea was I wanted to transfer as much media as I could from the canister to keep cycle going. I was going to buy the oasie with built in heater now I'm thinking maybe just stick with what I now have or buy the one really good internal god I don't know what to do 😂
I have a canister filter and I completely agree it's total overkill for my tank. I certainly do not need a canister. It's not about the quantity of beneficial bacteria or media surface area or better flow. I clean it once every 4 weeks or so or when I notice the flow starts to drop off. The reason I like it is because unlike a HOB or sponge filter it consumes no space inside, on top or or directly around the tank. The canister hums away in the cabinetry below, it's out of the way and unseen and lets me maximise my available space. That's my entire motivation for having one. Completely agree it uses far more energy, its more complicated to maintain, more involved to clean the internals, more effort to assemble and disassemble and more subject to leaks etc than HoB and sponge filters.
A canister to me is the step between hang on back and sump. I’m at an apartment so my space is limited. The canister allows me to gain experience in the media types . I am learning so much about bio balls and ceramic rings and sponges . How naive I would have been if I went straight to a sump.
Was just on the website and notice live plant selection is very limited right now...will u be geeting more types in soon? Perticularly those moss bridges, christmas moss, ludwiga, nano anubus, reg or other bigger anubus, and dawrf baby tears?
Writing this sitting here in Delhi, India.....for me, it's mostly been a choice of what's available here. Canister filters, as of now, aren't made here so getting parts and media is prohibitively expensive. There, that's an automatic disqualification. We also mostly live in apartments and single floor homes here unlike America where suburbia is dominant. So that automatically makes very large aquariums a no-no. One advantage that we do have is that all the dust laden air (from the vast agricultural swathe that surrounds Delhi) automatically makes a planted aquarium far more effective by injecting infusoria constantly. The only bad thing is the otherwise polluted air, about which you can't do much with any kind of filter, except a real time monitoring, very high tech system which has all sorts of chemical scrubbers to scrub pollutant gases and their electrolytes in the water!!! Sponge filters with brown gunk which isn't cleaned that often, along with some version of a fluidized bed is what works best here. I reckon, you are right when it comes to buying stuff....if I had a thousand dollars to spend on accoutrements, I would have bought a canister filter, even for my 20 gallon tank. But a gradual approach to introducing fish, plants and other infusoria in the tank along with gradual investment in larger or more complex filters (as the bioload rises) is probably the best option. Patience was not a virtue I had in dollops when I was starting out my tank (and both I and my fish paid for it!) but it is probably the most valuable accessory that an aquarist can have access to....bar none!!!😅
I recently bought a Juwel Rio and this company builds their aquariums with internal filters stuck to the glass with silicone. I plan to leave that as is, (I did not follow their directions on filter medium content as I left out some of the sponges and white pads and instead added a lot of ceramic filter medium) but a lot of people remove that internal filter in favour of a canister because of convenience. You may know Nickey, she's become quite an authority on fish keeping in The Netherlands, has a video about removing an internal filter from a Juwel aquarium. As for me, for now I think the internal filter is more convenient for me. I can pull the filter contents out, give them a rinse in a bucket and put them back in. Canisters can be heavy, sit on the floor and I'd have to drag them to my bathroom for cleaning as I can't have all that on my carpet. So far, the internal filter produces a powerful outflow. I'm wondering how the fish will like it once they're here.
I recently replaced my canister because it started leaking. Moved to a fluval fx2 and so far I love it. I know its secure when shut and its smaller for my tank while still providing more filtration than I need. I like a canister because of noise and I have a puffer fish so I want to make sure I am over filtered due to the messy nature of puffers.
I have actually had people tell me they had over 3 canister filters on their aquarium, and I just said that sounds way over filtered. Then they tell me that it better to over filter then under filter. They also say silly things like you should have a flow rate 10x the tanks gallon, and I am like that sounds like such a strong flow it would kill some fish.
I've got a 250l tank full of platys 1 angel fish and a musk turtle. I have alot of plants in the tank, loads of hornwort, corymbosa, amazon swords and java fern, that's had loads of babies also plants growing out of the tank, like pothos, spiderplants, palms, and a maiden hair fern... I bought a good canister filter because the tank got so dirty even with the plants in. with a hang on the back filter just didn't clean the water enough.. the turtle is a baby, it gets fed the appropriate amount every day. Then the fish get fed every 2 to 3 days. Without that canister filter since my back injury, I wouldn't be able to maintain the aquarium at all.
#1 advantage of canister filters: They take minimum of a tank volume and actually add some (bio-media mostly, if set and cleaned properly). Yes, they have their disadvantages, so for a beginner I'd recommend sponge, under-gravel, HOB or a (big) sponge with power-head. That bedroom tank (which is against psychology of Feng Shuei, obviously) would be better with a power head sitting on a block of foam, that near-mythical silent air pump (or air pump in another room) or HOB filter. Again it may depend on a model, cables and hoses, but I've got to see a canister filter, which is near-silent. Eheim is close enough, so usually I can fall asleep with my head few feet from it, but sometimes the outtake hose gets noisy. Like with HOB fries get sucked in, if you don't add any sponge, sieve or pantyhose on the intake. All, but 1 of my canister filters have sponge on them. Also all my tanks are heavily planted and plants use oxygen at night. If the prefilter gets clogged in the middle of a heat wave... Similarly canister filters allow to overstock, which is risky for the same reasons. The flow can be regulated, either by valve on the outtake or a spray bar (which can be kept underwater). The maintenance is also easy, prefilter sponges every few weeks, filter itself every 3-4 months. Some canister filters can be unplugged in about 2 seconds (if they have hose cartridge), others in more, but it's basically taking a bucket full of water, media and muck to the bathroom. Foams and filter floss go under the tap. But I can see, where beginners could make a mistake. Accidents happen.
I have a 120 gallon south American tank with corys, medium to small sized cichlids, hoplos, bunch of tetras, I used 3 big sponge filters with a good pump that didnt do the job, then moved to 1 2000L/H canister with 1 big sponger filter at the other end now I have another 2000L/H on the tank and put the sponge filters for my 95 gallon snakehead tank 2 snakeheads about 20cm it works well for that tank as its only 2 fish and im able to keep plants with the snakehead including floating plants as the sponge filters dont blow that plants away, for my 120 gallon its more heavily stocked and not able to keep plants as they would be destroyed by my cichlids. My canisters het cleaned every 4 to 6 months and sponges get cleaned every month
i have 38 tanks. 37 of them are all run by a big air pump and sponge filters. that last one is my 150 oscar tank, only because theyve broken too many heaters and they really dont like the sponge filters... they have a canister with an inline heater.
I wanted to talk about controversial topics but ill stick to filters.... just use a 5 g bucket, polyfil, lava rock , and magdrive pump.... everythings fine.
I’m not sure if you get those in the US but to me the best filter is the Juwel Bioflow. The only downside is that it takes up room in your tank but it’s easy to hide behind plants or decor. It’s quiet, has modular filtration, the water stays inside the tank, no tubes, perfect if you don’t have an aquarium cabinet to put a canister. 😁
Can i use only internal filter for 30 gal-112liter aquarium,something like fluval U3 or U4(i dont know wich one is beter,one is 600l per hour the other one is 1000l).I want to set more nature style or african stile aqua with plants, wood and rock in it,and small fishes 5,6 cm..?
I switched to a canister filter because as a senior I’m very uncomfortable climbing up on a step ladder to service the HOB filters on my 65 gallon tall tank, it’s an accident waiting to happen. With the canister I simply pull it out of the stand to service.
I like my canisters for the flow rate and the ease of directing the current how/where I want it. I get a powerhead plus filtration is what it boils down to. But anything below 20 gallons a canister is overkill
Your last observation was almost like a throwaway comment but it's something I have thought about frequently - how much fish food can your canister filter process. If we could establish that it would make life a lot easier. I have a 100 gallon tank running a Fluval 407. I have over 100 fish in the tank but they are all small fish, all tetras, rummy nose, ember, x-ray, lemon etc. as well as a dozen Sterbai corys. The largest fish I have are 6 Congo Tetras. Although the actual numbers are pretty high I am actually well understocked for the volume of water and more importantly for the amount of filtration that I have. The tank looks like a jungle, it is rammed full of live plants and yes, I could probably do away with the Fluval canister altogether and everything would be fine. I get phenomenal growth rates from my fish because I overfeed them (allegedly). I know the amount of food I'm adding is high but I also know that my canister filter, in addition to all of the plants can handle the amount of waste that gets produced. I only clean the Fluval every 2 months, my water parameters remain good. I would only bin the canister if I was to add a sump.
Getting ready to set up 40gal breeder, going to be heavily planted and was gona get the fluval u3 submersible filter but not 100% sure... insight or opinions would be helpfull!
I've never used a canister so I have no reference other then what I've leared about them via others. From what I understand they help filter better so less water changes are needed? Not sure if that is correct though because I have no first hand experience with trying one on an existing system I have to see if it makes that type of difference.
Pimped/optimized canister is the way to go, for me at least. It's a must to pay attention to the internal water flow and place the media accordingly in the canister. Hope you get to have the discussion.
I personally want a small canister filter for aesthetics. I don't like seeing sponge and HOB filters. I'd rather just have the two tubes from the canister using those glass pipes.
There are people who use canister filters and people who are wrong. If they made one small enough, id have one on my 10g hospital tank. I have 2 magniflow 360s and a FX6 on my 210. 😂😂😂
Do I NEED one? No. Do I WANT one? YES! Simply for the fact that I like to have all my equipment out of sight. I want you to see a perfectly untethered, unbroken, illusion of a glass box.
I have all planted aquariums, never clean my small filters...use air stones and do monthly water changes of about 30% and I just have mostly live barer fish. One of my problems is one tank is over crowded with small snails.
Is the grams of food per day something that could be tested with a test kit using a cycled filter in a empty tank? Would the success criteria be something like no ammonia spikes?
I'm going to be having axolotls in a coffee table fish tank I was thinking of using a canister filter on it And reduce the flow rate for the current. What would your opinion be on that
Thinking of getting a 125gal this year. Ive been drooling over the fx6 for awhile but still not sure if i want the wearable parts issues or any leaking issues over time. So i can either get 2 fx6 for the 125gal or 3 tidal 110 hobs instead. Still not sure yet.
My mom bought me my first canister filter today as an early xmas gift and iv been looking at them for a while because i have fish the produce a large bioload but she bought it for me because it was on sale
Idk what midads is but I have a 135 gallon 6ft overstocked cichlid tank and I use a Fluval FX4 and a simple sponge filter. Before that, always had problems.
I will say this: I've owned exactly two canister filters. One is 13 years old... the other is 7 years old. Media cost is CHEAP, because I buy bulk, and cut it to size. So.... there is that.
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*If you only get one fertilizer, Easy Green is the one you want. Our unique formula is comprehensive, concentrated, and easy to use. Just dose 1 pump per 10 gallons of water and watch your planted tank flourish! Try it out: **www.aquariumcoop.com/products/easy-green-all-in-one-fertilizer*
I have so many questions I got root tabs and easy green fertilizer one of my questions is am I over fertilizing I'm using both root tabs and aqua soil. And what plants are best for out competing algea for nutrients can someone please give me some advice.
can you start exporting internationally?
I ran HOB for years. They are fine. I still run them on quarantine and small tanks. I run canisters because I like the silence, the aesthetics of not having a big plastic box hanging off the back of my tank, smaller cutouts in the lid helping with heat retention, evaporation, and jump prevention, customizable flow direction, and once a year cleaning. I also know that no one method is perfect. Do what you want. Doesn't matter to me!😃
lol that’s the key! Do what you want. People get so pressed!
Same reasons for me!
I use Both! haha
I love persnickety people who go into a lot of detail as it helps me make informed decisions & often introduces info that I haven't really thought about.
Then over time, I become the persnickety, helpful person on down the line & so on. 🤗
Ok, so I've had canister filters my entire aquarium life... :) Since 1983. Now, you have me rethinking that. My aquarium is very near to the back wall, soooo... having the filter system under the aquarium saves space :) 2:38 No filtration needed? (';') ? and I do have lots of live plants in my tank. But wait, it's a Ferrari? or It's for arrogant aquatic enthusiasts? Under gravel filter? I like the sound of that! I'm solar-powered, so the energy isn't bad. I'm worried more about the heater that I run and how much that's consuming. Thanks for this video, now I'm not sure how I feel about my filter system. But since I already have it, I guess just go with it. In closing "no perfect filter" ok, thank you. This was a great video! Stay awesome!
Here’s the thing. I agree they’re unnecessary but they’re so convenient. They’re silent, easy to clean, and do a great job polishing water. Plus they are easy to hide in a nice aqua scape. Just like a HOB, canister filters can have adjustable flow.
Plus canisters are fun to tinker with and optimize for a purpose.
@@varanidguy And the oase ones have a built in heater.
Easy to clean? Compared to what? They are heavy to lift, make a mess when you open them, and have lots of parts to put back together after cleaning.
I would rather change water than clean a canister filter and I don’t like changing water very well. Lol.
@@travismorgan9273 Have you tried biomaster range? Very easy to clean and no spills.
These videos are super great for viewers who haven’t been watching for years/seen every single live stream twice. Some of the golden nuggets of info are buried deep within those videos! Good work. ❤
I use a fluval 407 canister in my turtle tank because turtles are slobs. I also have a few fish in that tank. The filter is great, easy to maintain and keeps the tank very clean. I clean the filter every other month. I use internal filters on my other tanks and they also do a good job, in my opinion.
Thank you, Cory. I was getting back into the hobby after 16 years and I was on the fence about using a canister filter. After seeing this I'm not getting one.
I think the problem with the hobby is there are too many elitists who think they’re geniuses for blowing all their money on gear. As a result, they have a tendency to pressure others into doing the same. At the end of the day, a filter is only sifting particles out of the water column. Having a balanced aquarium means you don’t need tech to keep your fish alive.
I think you should delineate between just keeping fish and aquascaping. If you want a pristine high tech aquascape like you see on social media, a canister filter is by far the best option. We understand it’s not a panacea and often unnecessary, but using your car analogy, sometimes you don’t need to just get from a to b, but you may need to do it as fast as possible. In that case you would want a Ferrari
………and just because you don’t need it doesn’t mean you still can’t do it with style……lol
Is that simply for aesthetic reasons over a sponge filter?
Canisters are great, they are pretty compact and quiet.
Coz you own one..?
They are hard to clean, expensive, use a lot of energy and therefore also create a lot of heat, most of the time are not needed, and can leak ruining your floor.
Other than that they are OK I guess.
Some people have no option but to get a canister my 800 liter tank is braced all the way around apart from the corners, being in the lounge an airline filter would be to intrusive. I had to have a JBL greenline 902e due to my low cabinet it's the only canister I could find that had 90° in/outlet. I get plenty of gripe from forums about the low turnover of water, but it is a jungle tank and the canister is simply there to move water from one end of the tank to other.
@@LJMayhew Every aquarium is a little bit different but for the most part turnover is over rated. Some of my best aquariums have no flow at all. Truth is a lot of plants and fish don’t like fighting the current all the time.
Some think you have to have flow for the heater to work also. If you mount it horizontal almost touching the gravel, the heat from it will create flow. Hot water rises, slowly cools off and falls back to the bottom, starting the cycle over again.
I turn the heater off in the summer and still have no issues.
Maybe you have fish or plants from fast moving streams that can’t live in an environment like that. Maybe a tank is over stocked on fish and doesn’t have enough plants. Maybe someone feeds their fish tons and tons of food just because they enjoy it. I don’t know every situation but so so many planted tanks are over filtered and have too much current. Too much current and over filtration cause their own issues. Everyone thinks they need it and people who sell aquariums make money on filters.
I fitted a pre filter to my main external filter, the main reason the sponge only pre filter is simple to clean once a fortnight. But I wish I knew what is needed as i am running an air filter as a backup, just would be good to know if it's all over kill.
Totally agree with this view, with one caveat. When you're doing larger aquascaping focused tanks, canister is the ideal filter. It doesn't de-gas a lot of the CO2 we're injecting (unlike a HOB, for example), looks discrete and tidy (vs. a sponge). and also it provides good amount of flow around to bring around the CO2 bubbles.
That's why I run inline diffusers with my canister filters and put the co2 diffuser inside my hob
If I had a fish room and was running 40 tanks I wouldn’t use a canister, but my focus is on having one mid size (43 gallon long) tank that is heavily planted and aquascaped. I want to see as little equipment as possible in my tank and I also like it to be as quite as possible. Sponges would not only be an eyesore but limit hard scape and plant amounts/placement. My ideal would likely be a sump, but a canister for me works well enough. The canister I use has a dc pump with adjustable flow strong enough that for now I don’t see the need for an extra power head.
I think the question really depends on what you care about in the hobby. If you want to work towards a pristine display tank like those IAPLC then you kinda need one or a sump. Sure you could try and use sponges and hobs and take them off to submit your competition photo, but if you’re going through all that work making an aquascape (plus the cost) why would you want to see sponges day in and day out in that tank
needed this. i asked in a aquarium group about one or two HOB’s on a 75 gallon. pretty much every single person said canister filter. when i said i wasn’t going that route, they got snippy.
like ok so sorry guys, i am not spending $400 Fx6. that’s more than half my rent. especially in a heavily planted aquascape. literally not happening & ppl get so upset about someone ELSES decision.
I have 2 Seachem tidal 110s on my 75. The water is crystal clear, they are quiet, and SO easy to clean. Plus you don't need cartridges. They have huge media baskets so it's choose your own adventure 😊
@@maevecoakley8333 this is exactly what i did! two seachem tidals on my 75. perfect water, perfect flow that’s adjustable, quiet, fits snugly, widely customizable media. absolutely no regrets whatsoever & people are STILL trying to convince me to go the canister route. no thanks! i did my research & made my choice & im happy with it!
@@alexia5880 I've been running 2 penguin 350s on my 55 gallon for almost 5 years now. Heavy plant load, my water is clear.
I've got 2 Eheim Classics. 2215 and 2217, one of them running for almost 10 years. Classic, one of the most reliable out there. I got them running on 2 planted tanks, and hooking them up in an in line CO2 makes the setup look cleaner and efficient.
I run a sponge-filter + a DIY canister filter that uses siphons and 1 super tiny weak 1 watt pump (yes, 1 watt, i measured it).
If there is a power outage (or any reason for the pump to stop), the water levels just level out. Flooding isn't possible with my design/setup.
I'm mass-breeding snails, shrimp, dwarf top minnows, a million floating plants and micro-organisms, just for fun.
My bio-load is insanely high. The water is tea-colored and a little cloudy and everything is thriving on over-drive.
A hang-on-back filter would clog instantly.
Having said that, my setup is NOT at all normal.
Most people have a 1-20 fish/creatures in their aquarium and pretty much anything would work for them.
6:21 Did his pinky just go up? 😂😂 Love it!
My #1 reason for an FX is the easy water changes. Being able to hook up a house through a quick-connect, pump 20% in a few minutes, connect the hose to the spigot, fill up and I'm good to go.
I use all kinds of filters. and my fluval cannister filter is by FAR my favorite
I think Corys point is do your own research and find out what’s best for your setups. I run canister filters because I’m not too worried about the upfront cost and monthly electric usage. I keep all my aquariums in my office and the sound of running water is very distracting, canister filters are silent. So the decision was very easy for me.
HOB and sponge filters have been working fine for me for a while, even on larger tanks
Ran HOBs forever and only have a canister because it was gifted to me. Definitely has it's pros and cons. Love the extremely quiet operation as the aquarium is in my room. Love extra long maintenance intervals as the amount of fish is nowhere near the filter's capacity. The hoses do look "cooler" to me than the big box on the back of the tank.
Never considered buying one because the one I got is $200 (Ehiem Pro 4) and a HOB was working fine.
I'd take a canister filter over a HOB. The biggest benifit of a canister filter is the increase in total water volume. Also I don't use the inbuilt impeller pumps on my canister filters but run a DCT/DCP sinewave pump inline which is about 75% more efficient and near silent, so the canister pump is only a backup...Never had any real issues with canister filters and If i was running a barebottom tank its the first filter type i's use.
Best video I've ever seen. Finally honest advice
I run all sponge in my fx6 and also have a medium density prefilter sponge essentially making it a big sponge filter. My water is crystal clear and my fx requires minimal maintenance.
I got into fish after raising a turtle for 20 years. Back in the day, after those first few HOBs failed me, I went to a canister and eventually added a sump. But canisters kept my turtle alive for over a decade so they are what I knew and loved.
I’d say turtles are kind of the use case for when they make most sense. They don’t take up a substantial amount of swimming space, there’s less equipment sticking out of the tank for them to climb onto, and (if you get a big one) they add water volume with nice strong flow for removing the copious amounts of turtle waste (and they’re psychologically easier for people to understand/deal with than sumps…but I love those too!).
So, all of that is to say, I have a canister (and a HOB AND a sponge filter) on my 40gal community tank and I’m not ashamed 😂
Turtles is when I used a canister too.
Hard to go back from a canister once you get used to the ease and benefits of owning one. They are quite, have more media room, better flow, they don't need cleaned or replaced as often. Also, think of all the attachments: Spraybars, UV's, skimmers, etc. Why would I have 4 HOBS + a skimmer and whatever else take up all that space when I can just have a cannister do the same thing that isn't looking ugly sitting on top of my tank or taking up tank realestate. Cannister is the future, hob is the old. Hobbies evolve.
I tried the cheaper way to start. Sponge, hob, and finally canister. The canister by far has my fish looking like they are floating in air. I have 20 ppi, 30 ppi, 40ppi, 50ppi, floss. then my bio media. It’s probably overkill for some but my peacock cichlids and haps can be a little dirty so this works great for them
I needed this video like 5 years ago haha but now I have one and I love it.
I love this channel and I respect Cory so much. He obviously knows a lot more than I do, but here are a few reasons I sometimes like a canister filter. #1 it's out of sight. With the filter below the aquarium in a cabinet it's out of sight and quieter. A HOB will be more visible and potentially louder. #2 the cost isn't a big deal. If you have a $1,500 aquarium (fish, plants, drift wood, heater, air pump, etc) $100 to $200 for a canister filter isn't a lot of money. For example you can get a Marine Land 220 and it should work up to about a 75 gallon tank and it's less than $90. #3 the inlet and outlet take up less space so you can push the aquarium/stand closer to the back wall. #4 you get better overall tank flow with fewer dead spots because the inlet and outlet are in opposite sides of the tank. An HOB puts the inlet right below the outlet. #5 the larger canister space gives you more room for sponge filets, filter floss, etc. I only find the cleaning of the tubing to be extra work over an HOB. Overall I prefer HOB, but canister has advantages nonetheless IMHO.
Very valid arguments. The reason why I'd consider a canister filter and a cheap branded SunSun one is because; (1) I'd like the convenience to clean my filter once every 3-4 months as oppose to once every 1-2 months for a HOB, (2) I don't have the depth space in my living room and do not like the look of the gap between my tank/stand and the wall, (3) Canisters are more quiet, easier to customize with media and do not require priming after power loss (depending on HOB compared to), (4) Like you said; it just looks cool and I want to own one so I can say I have a canister filter even if it's a cheap one.
Good discussion. Canister filters look cool, but I've always struggled to find a scenario where I'd really need one.
I totally agree with the sentiment behind this video, but there are always a tank or two where I enjoy geeking out on the tech. I bought a used 150 gallon tank with a sump that got me even deeper down that rabbit hole until I’ve decided to switch to a canister. Under certain circumstances, I’m still sold on the benefits of higher water flow and the larger volume of filter media. It gives you more freedom to get lazy on cleaning out the sponges. Unfortunately this also paves the way for bad maintenance habits. Also, if you use fine filter sponges in a power filter, the water will start flowing right over it in no time. It’s the same issue with sumps, though.
Love how he tosses the canister box afterwards lol
Made a fish friend IRL, today. Both bonded over your products for a bit. Cheers!
I just found your channel today and so glad i saw this video! Ive been keeping fish for nearly 20 years and absolutely hate dealing with a canister filter. I always thought of a sponge filter for just breeder tanks. My mind is blown at the moment!
I'll be buying your sponge filter soon and ditch the canister! 🥳 Can't believe I didn't realize this sooner.
🤦🏻♀️
Our sponge filters are optimized as well for more flow ;) www.aquariumcoop.com/collections/filtration/products/aquarium-co-op-coarse-sponge-filter
Just well said, thank you.
canister are mini sump.
when you think about it.
10 years ago i don't think i ever saw or heard of underwater sump for freshwater (i mean i tought about it, but the guys on multiples forums said it would be useless)
so canister filters were the high end for nice looking tank(at least in my online experience back then), like clear tubing in the aquascape and the canister was hidden under etc etc.
but now, somehow freshwater sump are a thing, natural filtration and sponge filters are now all the rage.
things changed.
i still love canister filters, imho it's easier to diy your own filtering media, also i often found baby fish that were living in there from time to time.
i had 2 koi a shubunkin, platies (20 i think) a pleco, a loach in a long 55. (i was rehousing the koi every 3-4 years to people i knew who had pond)
"Turns out you needed a truck!" *cuts to the most massive sponge filter ever used by professional fishkeepers*😂😂
great video ! .... makes me think twice about replacing my HOB ... lol ... thanks so much for sharing
seeing the parts where they are cleaning out the canisters are enough for me to know i'm sticking to the hob filters. lol
I needed this video, have been thinking about getting a canister filter lately - I 100% don't need one. Thank you for another great video!
Thank you!!!
I bought a cabinet aquarium that came with a canister filter and I got the store to swap the canister for an internal filter. My main reason is that physically I'm not good these days at getting down on my knees and rummaging about in the cabinet.
I would say the canister has many advantages though e.g. it holds a larger area for bacterial growth, it can house your heater and it can run an inline CO2 reactor which is the best form of CO2 addition, while keeping all this outside of the aquarium.
So I'd say, internal for convenience, Canister for cosmetics.
a little over a month ago I switched to a cannister filter (Fluval 407) on my 75gal, it's a heavily planted tank, it also has a pretty heavy community fish load in it - the tank had been running for about a year and a half on a single in tank filter with just sponges as well as a HOB cartridge filter and it has been fine but I don't think I would ever go back, I do see better water clarity but the difference maker is I checked the filter after about a month and I estimate I can go 3 or more month's before cleaning it where with the old filter setup it was at least an hour weekly, sometimes twice a week - this is much more set it and forget it, time will tell but even if I had to clean it more often, it's much easier to clean and aesthetically looks much better and is much more silent. That said I also have 29 and 10 gallon tanks which I use HOB for and I feel no need to change those.
I got rid of my canister. I'm older and it was hard getting down there to get that heavy thing out to clean. Also, it often had a slow leak around the seal.
Canister filter is needed to where you really do need it, especially in an aquarium over 100 gallons with tons of fishes. Putting multiple HOF in an aquarium that big, you’ll need atleast 2-3 of them. There’s so many reasons why you need a canister filter!!
My main display tanks that run co2 and are blasted with light and fed heavily run canisters. My smaller tanks, ones I use for quarantine, or shrimp - future breeding projects...sponge filters. It's all situational.
Canister filters are great when you have a big tank just for the water flow to get around the tank fully, I run it all bio filtration never done filter maintenance in 3 years.
I liken a canister filter more to a truck than sports car, but very good point! For most people they are not necessary. I was considering swapping my HOB on a heavily stocked tank to canister, but after this video I think I won't because I don't have a water clarity issue, rather Nitrates, which require 50% weekly water changes.
For years Ive mostly only run sponge filters because of your helpful videos. No issues at all! 😊
Amazing Video! Thankyou!!!!
i love my canister filter. I can keep a sponge for a hang on back for my quarantine or hospital tank and best of all i can feed it for a few weeks then put it on a tub to hold my fish while i totally redo my tank and not worry about cycling. maybe it costs a bit more but since i cant have all the tanks i want i can spend more on the tanks that i do.
I have planted tanks.....and I switched from canister to HOB just to polish the water.....still siphon the bottom part of the aquarium. One caveat I have with canister is that it is messy and smelly sometimes when you clean it. I rather just get a small bucket and clean the sponges from HOB and let the plants take care of the rest......works like a charm. Great video..keep rockin.
I've had nothing but problems with canisters. So took mine of few days ago I have a 300 litre tank low stocked no large fish as such and a good few live plants. I currently have a sponge filter I tank an internal fluval u4 and an aqua one internal idea was I wanted to transfer as much media as I could from the canister to keep cycle going. I was going to buy the oasie with built in heater now I'm thinking maybe just stick with what I now have or buy the one really good internal god I don't know what to do 😂
"I'm better than you!" Lol. Great video.
I have a canister filter and I completely agree it's total overkill for my tank. I certainly do not need a canister.
It's not about the quantity of beneficial bacteria or media surface area or better flow. I clean it once every 4 weeks or so or when I notice the flow starts to drop off. The reason I like it is because unlike a HOB or sponge filter it consumes no space inside, on top or or directly around the tank. The canister hums away in the cabinetry below, it's out of the way and unseen and lets me maximise my available space.
That's my entire motivation for having one. Completely agree it uses far more energy, its more complicated to maintain, more involved to clean the internals, more effort to assemble and disassemble and more subject to leaks etc than HoB and sponge filters.
Had one on my 10 gallon. Switched to HOB.
Didn’t need it. Both good for size of tank and stock
A canister to me is the step between hang on back and sump. I’m at an apartment so my space is limited. The canister allows me to gain experience in the media types . I am learning so much about bio balls and ceramic rings and sponges . How naive I would have been if I went straight to a sump.
Was just on the website and notice live plant selection is very limited right now...will u be geeting more types in soon? Perticularly those moss bridges, christmas moss, ludwiga, nano anubus, reg or other bigger anubus, and dawrf baby tears?
Writing this sitting here in Delhi, India.....for me, it's mostly been a choice of what's available here. Canister filters, as of now, aren't made here so getting parts and media is prohibitively expensive. There, that's an automatic disqualification. We also mostly live in apartments and single floor homes here unlike America where suburbia is dominant. So that automatically makes very large aquariums a no-no. One advantage that we do have is that all the dust laden air (from the vast agricultural swathe that surrounds Delhi) automatically makes a planted aquarium far more effective by injecting infusoria constantly. The only bad thing is the otherwise polluted air, about which you can't do much with any kind of filter, except a real time monitoring, very high tech system which has all sorts of chemical scrubbers to scrub pollutant gases and their electrolytes in the water!!! Sponge filters with brown gunk which isn't cleaned that often, along with some version of a fluidized bed is what works best here. I reckon, you are right when it comes to buying stuff....if I had a thousand dollars to spend on accoutrements, I would have bought a canister filter, even for my 20 gallon tank. But a gradual approach to introducing fish, plants and other infusoria in the tank along with gradual investment in larger or more complex filters (as the bioload rises) is probably the best option. Patience was not a virtue I had in dollops when I was starting out my tank (and both I and my fish paid for it!) but it is probably the most valuable accessory that an aquarist can have access to....bar none!!!😅
you nailed it bud
I love my fluval canister. I'm so over having hang on filter. I love doing the maintenance on a canister.
I recently bought a Juwel Rio and this company builds their aquariums with internal filters stuck to the glass with silicone. I plan to leave that as is, (I did not follow their directions on filter medium content as I left out some of the sponges and white pads and instead added a lot of ceramic filter medium) but a lot of people remove that internal filter in favour of a canister because of convenience. You may know Nickey, she's become quite an authority on fish keeping in The Netherlands, has a video about removing an internal filter from a Juwel aquarium.
As for me, for now I think the internal filter is more convenient for me. I can pull the filter contents out, give them a rinse in a bucket and put them back in. Canisters can be heavy, sit on the floor and I'd have to drag them to my bathroom for cleaning as I can't have all that on my carpet.
So far, the internal filter produces a powerful outflow. I'm wondering how the fish will like it once they're here.
I recently replaced my canister because it started leaking. Moved to a fluval fx2 and so far I love it. I know its secure when shut and its smaller for my tank while still providing more filtration than I need. I like a canister because of noise and I have a puffer fish so I want to make sure I am over filtered due to the messy nature of puffers.
Naughty Cory!!!!!!!!!
hey i usually never comment but i really appreciate this
I have actually had people tell me they had over 3 canister filters on their aquarium, and I just said that sounds way over filtered. Then they tell me that it better to over filter then under filter. They also say silly things like you should have a flow rate 10x the tanks gallon, and I am like that sounds like such a strong flow it would kill some fish.
I've got a 250l tank full of platys 1 angel fish and a musk turtle. I have alot of plants in the tank, loads of hornwort, corymbosa, amazon swords and java fern, that's had loads of babies also plants growing out of the tank, like pothos, spiderplants, palms, and a maiden hair fern... I bought a good canister filter because the tank got so dirty even with the plants in. with a hang on the back filter just didn't clean the water enough.. the turtle is a baby, it gets fed the appropriate amount every day. Then the fish get fed every 2 to 3 days. Without that canister filter since my back injury, I wouldn't be able to maintain the aquarium at all.
#1 advantage of canister filters: They take minimum of a tank volume and actually add some (bio-media mostly, if set and cleaned properly). Yes, they have their disadvantages, so for a beginner I'd recommend sponge, under-gravel, HOB or a (big) sponge with power-head. That bedroom tank (which is against psychology of Feng Shuei, obviously) would be better with a power head sitting on a block of foam, that near-mythical silent air pump (or air pump in another room) or HOB filter. Again it may depend on a model, cables and hoses, but I've got to see a canister filter, which is near-silent. Eheim is close enough, so usually I can fall asleep with my head few feet from it, but sometimes the outtake hose gets noisy.
Like with HOB fries get sucked in, if you don't add any sponge, sieve or pantyhose on the intake. All, but 1 of my canister filters have sponge on them. Also all my tanks are heavily planted and plants use oxygen at night. If the prefilter gets clogged in the middle of a heat wave... Similarly canister filters allow to overstock, which is risky for the same reasons.
The flow can be regulated, either by valve on the outtake or a spray bar (which can be kept underwater). The maintenance is also easy, prefilter sponges every few weeks, filter itself every 3-4 months. Some canister filters can be unplugged in about 2 seconds (if they have hose cartridge), others in more, but it's basically taking a bucket full of water, media and muck to the bathroom. Foams and filter floss go under the tap. But I can see, where beginners could make a mistake. Accidents happen.
I have a 120 gallon south American tank with corys, medium to small sized cichlids, hoplos, bunch of tetras, I used 3 big sponge filters with a good pump that didnt do the job, then moved to 1 2000L/H canister with 1 big sponger filter at the other end now I have another 2000L/H on the tank and put the sponge filters for my 95 gallon snakehead tank 2 snakeheads about 20cm it works well for that tank as its only 2 fish and im able to keep plants with the snakehead including floating plants as the sponge filters dont blow that plants away, for my 120 gallon its more heavily stocked and not able to keep plants as they would be destroyed by my cichlids. My canisters het cleaned every 4 to 6 months and sponges get cleaned every month
Can you recommend the honda accord of filters for a 75g planted tank with a lil school of rasboras
i have 38 tanks. 37 of them are all run by a big air pump and sponge filters.
that last one is my 150 oscar tank, only because theyve broken too many heaters and they really dont like the sponge filters... they have a canister with an inline heater.
I run mostly sponge filters because of how easy and better they are for my fish (they need slow flow). Ive got only one canister on a 45 gal.
I wanted to talk about controversial topics but ill stick to filters.... just use a 5 g bucket, polyfil, lava rock , and magdrive pump.... everythings fine.
I’m not sure if you get those in the US but to me the best filter is the Juwel Bioflow. The only downside is that it takes up room in your tank but it’s easy to hide behind plants or decor. It’s quiet, has modular filtration, the water stays inside the tank, no tubes, perfect if you don’t have an aquarium cabinet to put a canister. 😁
Can i use only internal filter for 30 gal-112liter aquarium,something like fluval U3 or U4(i dont know wich one is beter,one is 600l per hour the other one is 1000l).I want to set more nature style or african stile aqua with plants, wood and rock in it,and small fishes 5,6 cm..?
I switched to a canister filter because as a senior I’m very uncomfortable climbing up on a step ladder to service the HOB filters on my 65 gallon tall tank, it’s an accident waiting to happen. With the canister I simply pull it out of the stand to service.
I like my canisters for the flow rate and the ease of directing the current how/where I want it. I get a powerhead plus filtration is what it boils down to. But anything below 20 gallons a canister is overkill
Your last observation was almost like a throwaway comment but it's something I have thought about frequently - how much fish food can your canister filter process. If we could establish that it would make life a lot easier.
I have a 100 gallon tank running a Fluval 407. I have over 100 fish in the tank but they are all small fish, all tetras, rummy nose, ember, x-ray, lemon etc. as well as a dozen Sterbai corys.
The largest fish I have are 6 Congo Tetras. Although the actual numbers are pretty high I am actually well understocked for the volume of water and more importantly for the amount of filtration that I have. The tank looks like a jungle, it is rammed full of live plants and yes, I could probably do away with the Fluval canister altogether and everything would be fine.
I get phenomenal growth rates from my fish because I overfeed them (allegedly). I know the amount of food I'm adding is high but I also know that my canister filter, in addition to all of the plants can handle the amount of waste that gets produced. I only clean the Fluval every 2 months, my water parameters remain good. I would only bin the canister if I was to add a sump.
Getting ready to set up 40gal breeder, going to be heavily planted and was gona get the fluval u3 submersible filter but not 100% sure... insight or opinions would be helpfull!
I like canister filters
I've never used a canister so I have no reference other then what I've leared about them via others. From what I understand they help filter better so less water changes are needed? Not sure if that is correct though because I have no first hand experience with trying one on an existing system I have to see if it makes that type of difference.
I'd love to have a collab discussion with you on this topic. Your points are strong, but we would have a lively discussion about this :)
Pimped/optimized canister is the way to go, for me at least. It's a must to pay attention to the internal water flow and place the media accordingly in the canister.
Hope you get to have the discussion.
Thank you. I am starting for the first with a 40 gallon breeder. I think I will just start with my hung on back for now.
You’re 100% correct. You need to know your needs before purchasing anything. I know people who run 300 gallon canister filters on 55 gallon tanks 🫠
I personally want a small canister filter for aesthetics. I don't like seeing sponge and HOB filters. I'd rather just have the two tubes from the canister using those glass pipes.
That's why you need plant to cover the sponges it's not hard to do that
@@notme4597for someone who heavily high tech plants you lose a lot of space with big sponges.
There are people who use canister filters and people who are wrong. If they made one small enough, id have one on my 10g hospital tank. I have 2 magniflow 360s and a FX6 on my 210. 😂😂😂
“It’s fun to buy gadgets” This should be the first law of economics.
Do you think a canister would do good for a snapping turtle enclosure
Do I NEED one? No.
Do I WANT one? YES!
Simply for the fact that I like to have all my equipment out of sight.
I want you to see a perfectly untethered, unbroken, illusion of a glass box.
Cory, just curious…. I had heard in a podcast that you didn’t care for the tidal filters. Was it the skimmer? Thanks for your time and channel.
I was looking for that review today. That's how I ended up here. I have two Tidals, and I like them a lot.
Was this just some old footage someone found?
I'm getting a 180 gallon cichlid tank. An fx6 and 3 ac 110's is the plan
I already have all those filters sitting around so I may as well
I have all planted aquariums, never clean my small filters...use air stones and do monthly water changes of about 30% and I just have mostly live barer fish. One of my problems is one tank is over crowded with small snails.
Cars I do wish I had realized they are just transportation sooner
Is the grams of food per day something that could be tested with a test kit using a cycled filter in a empty tank? Would the success criteria be something like no ammonia spikes?
I'm going to be having axolotls in a coffee table fish tank
I was thinking of using a canister filter on it
And reduce the flow rate for the current.
What would your opinion be on that
Thinking of getting a 125gal this year. Ive been drooling over the fx6 for awhile but still not sure if i want the wearable parts issues or any leaking issues over time. So i can either get 2 fx6 for the 125gal or 3 tidal 110 hobs instead. Still not sure yet.
I have a heavily stocked 75gal and I run an fx4, tidal 110 and a co-op sponge and that’s more than enough.
I’m worried my fx4 is too much flow for my 125… I have 4 blood parrots 2 Siamese algae eaters and 11 Cory Doras. What are your thoughts ?
It’s a new tank for them. I have about 100 plants in there
My mom bought me my first canister filter today as an early xmas gift and iv been looking at them for a while because i have fish the produce a large bioload but she bought it for me because it was on sale
Question 5ft tank and 1 midads what filter would u recommend?😊
Idk what midads is but I have a 135 gallon 6ft overstocked cichlid tank and I use a Fluval FX4 and a simple sponge filter. Before that, always had problems.
I will say this: I've owned exactly two canister filters.
One is 13 years old... the other is 7 years old.
Media cost is CHEAP, because I buy bulk, and cut it to size. So.... there is that.