Best cannister filter....?

[Big Dummy]

Eheim, Fluval, or some other brand? Which model?
I've used power filters for two decades and primarily because my girlfriend
hates the sound of running water am finally switching to a cannister filter.
Problem is, while for example I know Aquaclear are the most reliable lowest
maintenance power filters made, and biowheels often fail to turn after a
while, I know nothing of Cannister filters, I'm like a veritable babe in the
woods.

Which are most reliable? Are there problems with leaks and the like? Which
type requires the most frequent maintenance. I like a hands-off aquarium.
Which types end up costing you the most with filter media etc.? Which type
are the least likely to break down? Which retain their flow best?

Jr

[Mark Stone]

"Big Dummy" > wrote in message
. com...
> Eheim, Fluval, or some other brand? Which model?
> I've used power filters for two decades and primarily because my
> girlfriend
> hates the sound of running water am finally switching to a cannister
> filter.
> Problem is, while for example I know Aquaclear are the most reliable
> lowest
> maintenance power filters made, and biowheels often fail to turn after a
> while, I know nothing of Cannister filters, I'm like a veritable babe in
> the
> woods.
>
> Which are most reliable? Are there problems with leaks and the like?
> Which
> type requires the most frequent maintenance. I like a hands-off aquarium.
> Which types end up costing you the most with filter media etc.? Which
> type
> are the least likely to break down? Which retain their flow best?
>
> Jr
>
>

Everybody's going to give you a different answer, because frankly most of
the manufacturers produce *excellent* canister filters and each brand has
developed it's own following. My choice is Aquaria, Inc., which makes Magnum
canisters. They are very quiet, strong and dependable. I've used the H.O.T.
250 with the available bio-wheel attachment and have never had any problems
since I started with them around 1995 or1996. The drawback with Magnum that
I've heard is that they are more difficult to open up and maintain than
other brands, but with me that's not an issue.

Mark Stone
The ".Edu" meens i are smart.

[Nate]

I've used them all, so I have a valid right to pass judgment on this
question.

My favorite would be the Eheim ProII series.
My second choice would be the Eheim Classic series.

Eheim's are the most expensive, but by far, the most well made. The
quietest, and the longest lasting. And I'm speaking from experience.

You won't be sorry with an Eheim. I think I can almost guarantee it.

N8




"Big Dummy" > wrote in message
. com...
> Eheim, Fluval, or some other brand? Which model?
> I've used power filters for two decades and primarily because my
> girlfriend
> hates the sound of running water am finally switching to a cannister
> filter.
> Problem is, while for example I know Aquaclear are the most reliable
> lowest
> maintenance power filters made, and biowheels often fail to turn after a
> while, I know nothing of Cannister filters, I'm like a veritable babe in
> the
> woods.
>
> Which are most reliable? Are there problems with leaks and the like?
> Which
> type requires the most frequent maintenance. I like a hands-off aquarium.
> Which types end up costing you the most with filter media etc.? Which
> type
> are the least likely to break down? Which retain their flow best?
>
> Jr
>
>
>

[George Pontis]

Nate wrote:

> I've used them all, so I have a valid right to pass judgment on this
> question.
>
> My favorite would be the Eheim ProII series.
> My second choice would be the Eheim Classic series.
>
> Eheim's are the most expensive, but by far, the most well made. The
> quietest, and the longest lasting. And I'm speaking from experience.
>
> You won't be sorry with an Eheim. I think I can almost guarantee it.
>
> N8


The lack of a quick disconnect on the Classic series would have to
knock them out of the running for "best", though they are just fine in
terms of filtration.

There is also an Eheim Pro Series that lacks the push to prime feature
and backpressure indicator. They are otherwise comparable to the ProII,
definitely high end.

--

[NetMax]

"George Pontis" > wrote in message
...
> Nate wrote:
>
>> I've used them all, so I have a valid right to pass judgment on this
>> question.
>>
>> My favorite would be the Eheim ProII series.
>> My second choice would be the Eheim Classic series.
>>
>> Eheim's are the most expensive, but by far, the most well made. The
>> quietest, and the longest lasting. And I'm speaking from experience.
>>
>> You won't be sorry with an Eheim. I think I can almost guarantee it.
>>
>> N8
>
>
> The lack of a quick disconnect on the Classic series would have to
> knock them out of the running for "best", though they are just fine in
> terms of filtration.
>
> There is also an Eheim Pro Series that lacks the push to prime feature
> and backpressure indicator. They are otherwise comparable to the ProII,
> definitely high end.
>
> --


I would agree that the current offerings from Rena, Fluval & Eheim are all
quite good and reliable so I don't think there's a bad choice (with the
exception of the Eco series from Eheim which I have no experience with but
have read lots of grumbles). For servicing, I much prefer the current
Fluvals over the Eheim Classic series (which is just getting a little
dated).

jmo
--
www.NetMax.tk

[Nate]

The double tap connectors that come with the latest Eheim classics are as
quick to disconnect as anything. I like the no possibility for bypass
design.

N8



> The lack of a quick disconnect on the Classic series would have to
> knock them out of the running for "best", though they are just fine in
> terms of filtration.
>
> There is also an Eheim Pro Series that lacks the push to prime feature
> and backpressure indicator. They are otherwise comparable to the ProII,
> definitely high end.
>
> --
>
>

[MarAzul]

"NetMax" > wrote in message
...
>
> I would agree that the current offerings from Rena, Fluval & Eheim are all
> quite good and reliable so I don't think there's a bad choice (with the
> exception of the Eco series from Eheim which I have no experience with but
> have read lots of grumbles). For servicing, I much prefer the current
> Fluvals over the Eheim Classic series (which is just getting a little
> dated).

I'm nowhere close to being canister-savy, but I have an Eheim Ecco (my first
and so far only cannister) and I haven't had problems with it (that I'm
aware of). LOL It came recommended to me as a nice, easy cannister for
beginners.
What kind of grumbles have you heard?

--
Mar
---------
VTIT

[Big Dummy]

Well, I wanted to get the Eheim but ran across a Fluval 204 on sale for just
over $50 at a corporate chain pet store I happened to be in because my
girlfriend buys cat litter there (I prefer the little mom and pop LFS
generally even if some of the kit is cheaper at the chain)

Anyway, thus begins my first experience with a cannister in something like
15 years of keeping cichlids and always having mulitple tanks. To
reiterate, I had always stuck with the good old Aquaclear 300 or 500 because
of their simplicity, reliability and effectiveness (every other power filter
I ever tried eventually broke or dramatically deteriorated in terms of
performance). The power filters always worked fine, providing good aeration
and biological filtration, enough to keep my 55 and 75 gallon tanks cristal
clear literally for years. They did have a few drawbacks which most here
probably know of. In this case though we just moved to a fancy new
apartment and my girlfriend demanded I get a noiseless and inconspicuous
filter so I went with the cannister finally.

Very first impressions were good, it came with a lot of filter media
including foam, carbon, and those ceramic noodles for bacteria growth. The
whole thing looked pretty clean in terms of design and competently put
together, and clearly a whole step beyond the power filter in filtration.
Yesterday I was pretty pleased with it as it lay still in the box.

Tonght I put it together and was a bit put off as I started. My god the
complexity! I build plastic model kits as a hobby some times, tanks and
airplanes, and I found the instuctions for this thing pretty daunting in
comparison. Next part of the setup is you are supposed to cut the hose with
a knife and use half of it for the input and half for the out-flow.
Couldn't they come up with a better system for that? I ended up screwing
this up a bit and my inflow tube is now about a foot longer than the
outflow, requiring me to put a couple of old phone books under the cannister
filter to allow it to reach.

More problems with the hoses followed... to secure the hoses to the brackets
hanging over the rim and from there to the inflow and outflow nozzles, the
kit comes with these rubber bands which are the chief way you hold the hose
down onto the clamps over the rim of the tank. A bit weak of a design
considering how catastrophic it could be if the outflow hose especially were
to come loose and fall out of the tank! Is this how all these things work?
I was suddenly missing my simple hard plastic Aquaclear inflow nozzle.

The instructions also don't explain that you are meant to double these
rubber bands to hold everything in place causing me to have to redo the damn
thing after setting it up the first time. Suckers were popping off, water
getting everywhere... I was getting pretty frazzled. I got it together more
or less finally, but this whole aspect left me rather uncomfortable and I'm
going to buy a new hose and redo the whole thing from scratch again so that
it all fits together a bit better.

After that, it was a breeze, I used the manual primer to pump water through
the thing, then plugged it in. So far so good. The tank is a bit milky
from fine particles I wasn't able to completely wash out of the gravel, so
I'll see if this new fangled cannister filter can clean it up a bit tonight.

It's not too powerful in terms of flow, I didn't look up how many GPH but
eyeballing it, it looks about the same as the Aquaclear 300 I had been using
on the (new) tank previously, but it's only a 30 gallon cube tank so it
should be powerful enough. And my better half appreciates that quiet
operation.

DB

[Nate]

You get what you pay for. You go cheap, you get cheap. Sorry for the
bluntness. Eheim's smoke those fluval's in every category. Except of
course, price.

N8







"Big Dummy" > wrote in message
. com...
> Well, I wanted to get the Eheim but ran across a Fluval 204 on sale for
> just
> over $50 at a corporate chain pet store I happened to be in because my
> girlfriend buys cat litter there (I prefer the little mom and pop LFS
> generally even if some of the kit is cheaper at the chain)
>
> Anyway, thus begins my first experience with a cannister in something like
> 15 years of keeping cichlids and always having mulitple tanks. To
> reiterate, I had always stuck with the good old Aquaclear 300 or 500
> because
> of their simplicity, reliability and effectiveness (every other power
> filter
> I ever tried eventually broke or dramatically deteriorated in terms of
> performance). The power filters always worked fine, providing good
> aeration
> and biological filtration, enough to keep my 55 and 75 gallon tanks
> cristal
> clear literally for years. They did have a few drawbacks which most here
> probably know of. In this case though we just moved to a fancy new
> apartment and my girlfriend demanded I get a noiseless and inconspicuous
> filter so I went with the cannister finally.
>
> Very first impressions were good, it came with a lot of filter media
> including foam, carbon, and those ceramic noodles for bacteria growth.
> The
> whole thing looked pretty clean in terms of design and competently put
> together, and clearly a whole step beyond the power filter in filtration.
> Yesterday I was pretty pleased with it as it lay still in the box.
>
> Tonght I put it together and was a bit put off as I started. My god the
> complexity! I build plastic model kits as a hobby some times, tanks and
> airplanes, and I found the instuctions for this thing pretty daunting in
> comparison. Next part of the setup is you are supposed to cut the hose
> with
> a knife and use half of it for the input and half for the out-flow.
> Couldn't they come up with a better system for that? I ended up screwing
> this up a bit and my inflow tube is now about a foot longer than the
> outflow, requiring me to put a couple of old phone books under the
> cannister
> filter to allow it to reach.
>
> More problems with the hoses followed... to secure the hoses to the
> brackets
> hanging over the rim and from there to the inflow and outflow nozzles, the
> kit comes with these rubber bands which are the chief way you hold the
> hose
> down onto the clamps over the rim of the tank. A bit weak of a design
> considering how catastrophic it could be if the outflow hose especially
> were
> to come loose and fall out of the tank! Is this how all these things
> work?
> I was suddenly missing my simple hard plastic Aquaclear inflow nozzle.
>
> The instructions also don't explain that you are meant to double these
> rubber bands to hold everything in place causing me to have to redo the
> damn
> thing after setting it up the first time. Suckers were popping off, water
> getting everywhere... I was getting pretty frazzled. I got it together
> more
> or less finally, but this whole aspect left me rather uncomfortable and
> I'm
> going to buy a new hose and redo the whole thing from scratch again so
> that
> it all fits together a bit better.
>
> After that, it was a breeze, I used the manual primer to pump water
> through
> the thing, then plugged it in. So far so good. The tank is a bit milky
> from fine particles I wasn't able to completely wash out of the gravel, so
> I'll see if this new fangled cannister filter can clean it up a bit
> tonight.
>
> It's not too powerful in terms of flow, I didn't look up how many GPH but
> eyeballing it, it looks about the same as the Aquaclear 300 I had been
> using
> on the (new) tank previously, but it's only a 30 gallon cube tank so it
> should be powerful enough. And my better half appreciates that quiet
> operation.
>
> DB
>
>
>

[Big Dummy]

"Nate" > wrote in message ...
> You get what you pay for. You go cheap, you get cheap. Sorry for the
> bluntness. Eheim's smoke those fluval's in every category. Except of
> course, price.
>
> N8

There seemed to be some ambiguity in the group, many people said most of the
cannister filters now on the market are pretty good. The price difference
was $50 something vs. $150...

Do you think I should expect trouble with this filter or just somewhat less
performance and / or ease of assembly?

DB

[NetMax]

"MarAzul" > wrote in message
news:qJWGf.16125$ZA5.7761@fed1read05...
> "NetMax" > wrote in message
> ...
>>
>> I would agree that the current offerings from Rena, Fluval & Eheim are
>> all quite good and reliable so I don't think there's a bad choice (with
>> the exception of the Eco series from Eheim which I have no experience
>> with but have read lots of grumbles). For servicing, I much prefer the
>> current Fluvals over the Eheim Classic series (which is just getting a
>> little dated).
>
> I'm nowhere close to being canister-savy, but I have an Eheim Ecco (my
> first and so far only cannister) and I haven't had problems with it (that
> I'm aware of). LOL It came recommended to me as a nice, easy cannister for
> beginners.
> What kind of grumbles have you heard?
>
> --
> Mar
> ---------
> VTIT


What I heard (but have never seen) is that the Ecco stands for ECOnomy, and
its construction was not up to Eheim's standards. Grumblings about the
capacity and the quality of the components. There is more, but I'm not
comfortable commenting further, as I have had no personal experience with
this model. It might be a very good value for it's cost, and just didn't
meet elevated expectations. You should speak with someone who has both
Ecco's and other Eheims (or Renas/Fluvals etc) who might be able to make
more objective comparisons.
--
www.NetMax.tk

[Nate]

Disregard any info you get from people who haven't used them all. I have,
I've had them all running side by side until I decided to ebay my Filstar
and my Fluval. Jebo's are an attempted cheap imitation of an Eheim.

In answer to your question, your probably going to be happy with it for a
while, because you haven't seen or used better, yet. I was the same way
until I bought an Eheim. Shortly after that, I started asking myself, "what
the hell is this piece of crap then?" Referring to my Rena inparticular on
that one. You get spoiled. It's like upgrading from a Ford to a BMW. At
first, you think your new Ford is pretty cool. But, you don't realize how
bad you had it until you take the BMW out for a spin.

You think your Fluval is quiet, you'll **** bricks if you had an Eheim
running. Your sense of hearing can no longer be used. You have to use site
and feel to tell if an Eheim is running. This is no joke. Back to your
question, you might expect some difficulty with your Fluval, but you won't
know anything better about performance or ease of assembly until you get an
Eheim Classic or Pro II series in your hands.

Plus, if you stay in the hobby for life, you'll likely recoup that money
spent down the road. Eheim's have been known to last for over 20 years.
There are folks who claim they have original classics from the 70's or 80's
that are still running. I don't know when they came out, but that's pretty
damn good in my book.

N8


"Big Dummy" > wrote in message
...
> "Nate" > wrote in message ...
>> You get what you pay for. You go cheap, you get cheap. Sorry for the
>> bluntness. Eheim's smoke those fluval's in every category. Except of
>> course, price.
>>
>> N8
>
> There seemed to be some ambiguity in the group, many people said most of
> the
> cannister filters now on the market are pretty good. The price difference
> was $50 something vs. $150...
>
> Do you think I should expect trouble with this filter or just somewhat
> less
> performance and / or ease of assembly?
>
> DB
>
>
>

[NetMax]

"Nate" > wrote in message ...
> Disregard any info you get from people who haven't used them all. I have,
> I've had them all running side by side

Good advice there. I have an Eheim Classic 2213 and a Fluval 304 running
side by side (about 14 feet away from each other in the same room). I once
tried to determine which is quieter, and basically they are different, but
both very quiet. The Fluval makes more of a breathing noise (like a never
ending exhale) which travels through the air. The Eheim has more of a
vibrational hum which travels through the base it's sitting on (perhaps
their feet are of a harder rubber). Neither of them sitting inside a
cabinet makes a significant sound level. If I was going to put one or the
other in my room, I would pick the Eheim. The noise it makes is a slightly
deeper hum (somewhat easier for my brain to relegate to white noise), and
the fact that it's a vibrational hum means that it would be easier to slip a
blanket underneath to quieten it further (the Fluval noise comes from the
pump area).

They are both much noisier when their impellers start failing, and both have
seen 2 replacement impellers.

I purposely have them arranged so that the Fluval does more work and gets
serviced more frequently. The Eheim is slightly more effort to service, but
unless you have them side by side, it's really not a big deal. For the
record, the shut-off valves, the sponge media and the basket media are all
easier to manage on the Fluval as compared to the Eheim's in-line shut-off
valves, spring-clip pump housing, twist media cartridge with all the media
sandwiched on top of each.

I find that all these filters (including HOBs), as you switch from
manufacturer to manufacturer, they have their 'characteristics'. If I was
to design the ultimate filter, it would have parts from many different
manufacturers.

Specifically to the 204 you bought (I'm also currently running a Fluval 201,
a seriously crappy antique which will just not die, and is a very distant
relative of your 204), the 104 and 204 series use a much smaller diameter
hose than the 304 and 404. They might be ok for smaller tanks, but I don't
have any small tanks. At the store, I think I ran a small hex tank on a 204
(it was all I could fit it between the narrow cabinet door) and it worked
ok. I think we had to service it more than we would have liked, but it was
a planted tank, so ymmv.
--
www.NetMax.tk

> until I decided to ebay my Filstar and my Fluval. Jebo's are an attempted
> cheap imitation of an Eheim.
>
> In answer to your question, your probably going to be happy with it for a
> while, because you haven't seen or used better, yet. I was the same way
> until I bought an Eheim. Shortly after that, I started asking myself,
> "what the hell is this piece of crap then?" Referring to my Rena
> inparticular on that one. You get spoiled. It's like upgrading from a
> Ford to a BMW. At first, you think your new Ford is pretty cool. But,
> you don't realize how bad you had it until you take the BMW out for a
> spin.
>
> You think your Fluval is quiet, you'll **** bricks if you had an Eheim
> running. Your sense of hearing can no longer be used. You have to use
> site and feel to tell if an Eheim is running. This is no joke. Back to
> your question, you might expect some difficulty with your Fluval, but you
> won't know anything better about performance or ease of assembly until you
> get an Eheim Classic or Pro II series in your hands.
>
> Plus, if you stay in the hobby for life, you'll likely recoup that money
> spent down the road. Eheim's have been known to last for over 20 years.
> There are folks who claim they have original classics from the 70's or
> 80's that are still running. I don't know when they came out, but that's
> pretty damn good in my book.
>
> N8
>
>
> "Big Dummy" > wrote in message
> ...
>> "Nate" > wrote in message ...
>>> You get what you pay for. You go cheap, you get cheap. Sorry for the
>>> bluntness. Eheim's smoke those fluval's in every category. Except of
>>> course, price.
>>>
>>> N8
>>
>> There seemed to be some ambiguity in the group, many people said most of
>> the
>> cannister filters now on the market are pretty good. The price
>> difference
>> was $50 something vs. $150...
>>
>> Do you think I should expect trouble with this filter or just somewhat
>> less
>> performance and / or ease of assembly?
>>
>> DB
>>
>>
>>
>
>

[George Pontis]

Big Dummy wrote:

> "Nate" > wrote in message
> ...
> > You get what you pay for. You go cheap, you get cheap. Sorry for
> > the bluntness. Eheim's smoke those fluval's in every category.
> > Except of course, price.
> >
> > N8
>
> There seemed to be some ambiguity in the group, many people said most
> of the cannister filters now on the market are pretty good. The
> price difference was $50 something vs. $150...
>
> Do you think I should expect trouble with this filter or just
> somewhat less performance and / or ease of assembly?
>
> DB


I have to agree that the hose management is not great on the Fluval,
but now that you are past that point the worst is behind you. The 204
is a fine size for a 30G tank. Although an Eheim might be quieter, it
won't matter if you can't hear either one. And $50 is a very good price
for a Fluval 204.

If it is any consolation, the Eheim pumps don't come with that great a
hose kit either. Eheim does make some very good, optional kits for
inlet and return but they are expensive. You can use them with any
canister, and you can also use plain hose with your Fluval. The Fluval
hose is more flexible, an advantage in many installations.

--

[Gill Passman]

George Pontis wrote:
> Big Dummy wrote:
>
>
>>"Nate" > wrote in message
...
>>
>>>You get what you pay for. You go cheap, you get cheap. Sorry for
>>>the bluntness. Eheim's smoke those fluval's in every category.
>>>Except of course, price.
>>>
>>>N8
>>
>>There seemed to be some ambiguity in the group, many people said most
>>of the cannister filters now on the market are pretty good. The
>>price difference was $50 something vs. $150...
>>
>>Do you think I should expect trouble with this filter or just
>>somewhat less performance and / or ease of assembly?
>>
>>DB
>
>
>
> I have to agree that the hose management is not great on the Fluval,
> but now that you are past that point the worst is behind you. The 204
> is a fine size for a 30G tank. Although an Eheim might be quieter, it
> won't matter if you can't hear either one. And $50 is a very good price
> for a Fluval 204.
>
> If it is any consolation, the Eheim pumps don't come with that great a
> hose kit either. Eheim does make some very good, optional kits for
> inlet and return but they are expensive. You can use them with any
> canister, and you can also use plain hose with your Fluval. The Fluval
> hose is more flexible, an advantage in many installations.
>

I'm running a 204 with no issues on a 30UK gall tank...a 304 on a
47.5gall tank supplemented by a Fluval 4 plus with no issues...a 404 on
a 47.5gall tank supplemented by a Fluval 4 Plus on a 47.5 gall tank with
no issues...and I've just bought a FX5 for new tank I've set up but
haven't tried it yet....I also run the Fluval 2 Plus and 1 Plus on
smaller tanks...

I have had problems with a 304 failing once but it got replaced FOC -
I've also had issues with the smaller Rena filters....

Very much YMMV and JME....but I so no need right now to spend the extra
£100 on a Eheim...

Gill

[Tony R]

Anyone here have any suggestions or experiences with the Penn-Plax line of
canister filters, ie Cascade 1000 series?
Saw one at a local pet store but the store clerk didn't seem too
knowledgeable about them.


"Big Dummy" > wrote in message
. com...
> Eheim, Fluval, or some other brand? Which model?
> I've used power filters for two decades and primarily because my
> girlfriend
> hates the sound of running water am finally switching to a cannister
> filter.
> Problem is, while for example I know Aquaclear are the most reliable
> lowest
> maintenance power filters made, and biowheels often fail to turn after a
> while, I know nothing of Cannister filters, I'm like a veritable babe in
> the
> woods.
>
> Which are most reliable? Are there problems with leaks and the like?
> Which
> type requires the most frequent maintenance. I like a hands-off aquarium.
> Which types end up costing you the most with filter media etc.? Which
> type
> are the least likely to break down? Which retain their flow best?
>
> Jr
>
>

[Ridley Scoot]

On 2006-02-08 05:27:20 -0500, "Big Dummy" > said:

> Eheim, Fluval, or some other brand? Which model?
> I've used power filters for two decades and primarily because my girlfriend
> hates the sound of running water am finally switching to a cannister filter.
> Problem is, while for example I know Aquaclear are the most reliable lowest
> maintenance power filters made, and biowheels often fail to turn after a
> while, I know nothing of Cannister filters, I'm like a veritable babe in the
> woods.
>
> Which are most reliable? Are there problems with leaks and the like? Which
> type requires the most frequent maintenance. I like a hands-off aquarium.
> Which types end up costing you the most with filter media etc.? Which type
> are the least likely to break down? Which retain their flow best?
>
> Jr

Never too late for another $0.02, right? (Long!!)

I've been a big fan of Marineland's pumps and canisters (particularly
the 350 Deluxe kit) since 1991 or so.

Pumps
---------
I have a number (~10) of their 550 and 660 powerheads, including a few
of their reverse-flow kits for the 660's. (Makes UGF a viable filter.)
All "tops". In those I had 4 of the 550's (my oldest pumps) stop
working after a few years. One call to Marineland and 4 replacement
impeller assemblies were on their way, no charge. (YMMV) I also have
a Bio-Wheel 30 that's driven by one 660-series.

(BTW, that's my entire experience with broken Marineland products and
their support. Not bad!)

Canisters
--------------
I also have 2 Magnum 350's (both from deluxe kits) that have served
extensive duty since the mid-90's and are still humming. They offer
great flexibility that no other canister can brag. You have micron
filtering as well as a media container that you can load with just
about anything you'd want to.

Over time, I've run them both with the micron filtering cartridges (no
diatom. earth) for extended periods. These filters recycle VERY well
with a good rinse and soak in a mild bleach solution. I replaced both
micron filters once.

I've also run them both for extended periods with the media chamber
packed full of cheap filter floss. This was my setup for my 75gal
Oscar tank when both Magnum 350's were on one tank.

Flow-rate is so good from the 350's that I've also used them just as
circulation pumps, using no filter media at all. Granted, any canister
can be run empty for circulation, but most do not have as strong a pump
as this. FWIW.

Noise was never an issue. If I stuck my head inside my cabinet I could
clearly hear a hum from the motor. Outside the cabinet it was barely
audible in an otherwise silent room. A light sleeper with this next
to the bed might not be so pleased, but I doubt his experience would be
different, in that case, with any other canister.

The setup for a Magnum 350 sounds similar to what you experienced with
the Fluval. It's a little complicated if it's your first canister. My
first time I wound up with the mal-sized hoses just like you, in fact.
;-) However, the double quick-disconnects that come with the Deluxe
kit work very well once installed.

The only parts that ever wore out on me are the foam rubber rings that
seal the filter module in place (replaced once, <$5) and the pleated
micron filter cartridges (also replaced once, but used less
later....the media chamber is much handier and cheaper to keep running).

Magnum's are the only consumer level (i.e. Marineland, Eheim, et al.)
canister that are CLEAR plastic -- you can SEE INSIDE. Obviously this
is a better way to tell what's going on inside than guessing or
disassembling the filter.

Bio-wheel
-------------
At least for most freshwater tanks, I'd recommend a bio-wheel or set
of Bio-wheels. Great tech. No better/simpler/cheaper way to get the
effectiveness of wet/dry bio-filtering. Never had a problem with
mine...give it an occasional rinse in old water-change water and it
just keeps turning. (No filter is maintenance free, btw.)

For smaller tanks, or if you can't tolerate a little water drippage
from servicing the Magnum 350, I'd heartily recommend the "H.O.T."
Magnum 250. Again, go with the Pro kit if at all possible. Advantages
here are that there's no messing with hoses during setup -- it's a
canister that sets up like a power filter.

Conclusion
---------------
If money is less of an object, feel free to shop around and try the
other brands. Eheim especially seems to have a great reputation (and
the best variety of accessories). For my money though, I could never
justify the 150%-450% price difference to step "up" to one. Everything
from the canister to the accessories to the replacement filter media
are priced this way.

Lastly, as others have said, it's unlikely these days that you're going
to get a BAD canister filter...probably varying degrees of "good" ($250
bare classic Eheim) and "bang for your buck" ($99 loaded Magnum 350
kit). If you shop around, read and buy according to your needs and
your pocketbook, you should be safe.

Resources
--------------
Good info on all these links...I checked!

Old article I wrote:
http://groups.google.com/group/rec.aquaria.tech/browse_thread/thread/db1a751017d2d214/2b8f2fe5e53458b0?lnk=st&q=mbmccabe%40coil.com&rnum=5#2b8f2fe5e53458b0

Google

for Magnums:
http://www.google.com/search?q=magnum+350+canister

Google for Eheims:
http://www.google.com/search?q=eheim+canister

Canister run-down:
http://saltaquarium.about.com/cs/filtration/tp/TPcanistsers.htm - (the
reviews are not sal****er-oriented at all)

Vendors:
http://www.marineland.com/products/prod_consumer.asp
http://www.eheim.com/index2.htm

[Michael Guterman]

Tony R wrote:
> Anyone here have any suggestions or experiences with the Penn-Plax line of
> canister filters, ie Cascade 1000 series?
> Saw one at a local pet store but the store clerk didn't seem too
> knowledgeable about them.
>
>
> "Big Dummy" > wrote in message
> . com...
>> Eheim, Fluval, or some other brand? Which model?
>> I've used power filters for two decades and primarily because my
>> girlfriend
>> hates the sound of running water am finally switching to a cannister
>> filter.
>> Problem is, while for example I know Aquaclear are the most reliable
>> lowest
>> maintenance power filters made, and biowheels often fail to turn after a
>> while, I know nothing of Cannister filters, I'm like a veritable babe in
>> the
>> woods.
>>
>> Which are most reliable? Are there problems with leaks and the like?
>> Which
>> type requires the most frequent maintenance. I like a hands-off aquarium.
>> Which types end up costing you the most with filter media etc.? Which
>> type
>> are the least likely to break down? Which retain their flow best?
>>
>> Jr
>>
>>
>
>
I have used Eheims for many years with no problems. They are quiet and
reliable, and parts are available and user installable.

[scottmilsson]

My best is Aquaria, Inc., which makes Magnum canisters. They are actual quiet, able and dependable. I've acclimated the H.O.T. 250 with the accessible bio-wheel adapter and accept never had any problems since I started with them about 1995 or1996.

[yanfeng]

Thank you for sharing