Need canister filter advice.

Well, my Eheim Pro 2226 canister filter died (bad leak/crack?) and I'm
in the market for a new canister filter. I haven't been keeping up on
the latest since the Eheim has been basically trouble free. What's new
and happening in the canister filter world now? Are the Fluvals just as
good for less money? Should I stick with an Eheim? I'd like to stay in
the $150 and under range if I can (mailorder).

My tank is a planted 58 gallon with a medium fishload/plantload. I have
a 250GPH HOB on there now till I can get a new canister. Hopefully the
HOB can keep everything under control until I get the new filter.

Thanks for any input,

Scott

Eheims are great filter. A little no a lot over priced though. Fluvals have
had their ups & downs over the years. I always seemed to get the downs......
I personally love the Rena Filstar XP series. They are great BANG for your
BUCK filters. Real workhorses that do a great job & are VERY easy to clean.

wrote in message
...
Well, my Eheim Pro 2226 canister filter died (bad leak/crack?) and I'm
in the market for a new canister filter. I haven't been keeping up on
the latest since the Eheim has been basically trouble free. What's new
and happening in the canister filter world now? Are the Fluvals just as
good for less money? Should I stick with an Eheim? I'd like to stay in
the $150 and under range if I can (mailorder).

My tank is a planted 58 gallon with a medium fishload/plantload. I have
a 250GPH HOB on there now till I can get a new canister. Hopefully the
HOB can keep everything under control until I get the new filter.

Thanks for any input,

Scott

wrote in news:G7KdnThYf62
:

in the market for a new canister filter. I haven't been keeping up on

Fluval has come out with some new stuff like the FX5, but they are still
using a lot of their old unreliable parts from their pond filters. Plus
they've made the filter itself even more gimmicky--now it has a circut
board in it that switches the pump on and off-- which means yet more
expensive parts to break. After taking a good look at the FXP we decided
not to stock them. We haven't stocked Fluval canisters for years at our
store for a good reason; too many came back.

Eheim's quality hasn't changed, but neither has their price tag. The only
ones I would suggest you avoid are the thermo-filters; they are the only
ones I have ever seen come back.

Rena makes a good canister called the XP. It is still a step down from the
Eheim, but it is well built. If you want to save some cash they are a
great choice, but I would run it as a biofilter using the Eheim line of
filter media in place of the XP media. It's flow rate is a little higher
than the ideal for that, but it will still work.

dc wrote:
wrote in news:G7KdnThYf62
:


in the market for a new canister filter. I haven't been keeping up on


Fluval has come out with some new stuff like the FX5, but they are still
using a lot of their old unreliable parts from their pond filters. Plus
they've made the filter itself even more gimmicky--now it has a circut
board in it that switches the pump on and off-- which means yet more
expensive parts to break. After taking a good look at the FXP we decided
not to stock them. We haven't stocked Fluval canisters for years at our
store for a good reason; too many came back.

Eheim's quality hasn't changed, but neither has their price tag. The only
ones I would suggest you avoid are the thermo-filters; they are the only
ones I have ever seen come back.

Rena makes a good canister called the XP. It is still a step down from the
Eheim, but it is well built. If you want to save some cash they are a
great choice, but I would run it as a biofilter using the Eheim line of
filter media in place of the XP media. It's flow rate is a little higher
than the ideal for that, but it will still work.


Right now I am running two magnum 350's on a 75 gallon and it keeps the
tank crystal clear. I have it mostly plumbed with PVC pipe to clean up
the back of the tank.

In article ,
"CanadianCray" wrote:

Eheims are great filter. A little no a lot over priced though. Fluvals have
had their ups & downs over the years. I always seemed to get the downs......
I personally love the Rena Filstar XP series. They are great BANG for your
BUCK filters. Real workhorses that do a great job & are VERY easy to clean.



Thanks for the replies everyone,

The Rena XP2 looks like it may be the ticket. Is it quiet? I like the
micro filter included for polishing. That could be helpful. I have a
bunch of Eheim bio media (Efimech?) leftover that I can use with it as
well. I've been looking at my Eheim and am wondering if I can fix it
though? It's leaking bad when I turn it on but I don't see any cracks
in the canister. It worked fine before I took it apart to clean it.
Maybe I just need some new gaskets. I re-lubed the old gaskets and
still got the leaking. It doesn't seem like the top/pump part wants to
latch down tight enough though and the leaking looks like it is coming
from that seam area or the latches. Does anyone know where I can get
cheap Eheim parts/filters online? If the parts are too expensive maybe
I should just go with a new XP2? My Eheim is about 5-6 years old so a
new filter @ about $80 may be the way to go.

Thanks again for the input to all who have responded,

Scott

"dc" wrote in message
...
Rena makes a good canister called the XP. It is still a step down from
the
Eheim, but it is well built. If you want to save some cash they are a
great choice, but I would run it as a biofilter using the Eheim line of
filter media in place of the XP media. It's flow rate is a little higher
than the ideal for that, but it will still work.
=====================
What would you suggest as a good mechanical filter then? I'm thinking of
adding more filtration to my indoor 55g goldfish tanks.
--
Koi-Lo.... frugal ponding since 1995...
Aquariums since 1952
My Pond & Aquarium Pages:
http://tinyurl.com/9do58
~~~ }((((o ~~~ }{{{{o ~~~ }(((((o

Moments before spontaneously combusting at
was heard opining:

Does anyone know where I can get
cheap Eheim parts/filters online? If the parts are too expensive
maybe
I should just go with a new XP2? My Eheim is about 5-6 years old so a
new filter @ about $80 may be the way to go.
====================
Why not call the company or look online for replacement parts? I had to
call Tetra about a shaft for a water pump. They directed me to where I
could purchase one retail. Or call the place you bought your Eheim and ask.
Such an expensive filter is probably worth repairing.
--
Koi-Lo.... frugal ponding since 1995...
Aquariums since 1952
My Pond & Aquarium Pages:
http://tinyurl.com/9do58
~~~ }((((o ~~~ }{{{{o ~~~ }(((((o

"Koi-Lo" wrote in
:

What would you suggest as a good mechanical filter then? I'm thinking
of adding more filtration to my indoor 55g goldfish tanks.

There are a lot of options for mechanical. If you want to go with a
canister like the XP, which has a good amount of flow, just fill the bottom
couple of layers with Ehfimech or some similar smooth ceramic ring media,
and the upper layers with coarse and fine polyfiber/filter pads.

"dc" wrote in message
...
"Koi-Lo" wrote in
:

What would you suggest as a good mechanical filter then? I'm thinking
of adding more filtration to my indoor 55g goldfish tanks.

There are a lot of options for mechanical. If you want to go with a
canister like the XP, which has a good amount of flow, just fill the
bottom
couple of layers with Ehfimech or some similar smooth ceramic ring media,
and the upper layers with coarse and fine polyfiber/filter pads.
==============
Thanks. I wish I could examine these newer canister filters before I send
away for them. My old leaky crummy Fluval canister from 10 years ago was a
real PIA to open, clean and reassemble. I don't want that kind of
aggravation again.
--
Koi-Lo.... frugal ponding since 1995...
Aquariums since 1952
My Pond & Aquarium Pages:
http://tinyurl.com/9do58
~~~ }((((o ~~~ }{{{{o ~~~ }(((((o

In article , Koi-Lo
says...


"dc" wrote in message
...
"Koi-Lo" wrote in
:

What would you suggest as a good mechanical filter then? I'm thinking
of adding more filtration to my indoor 55g goldfish tanks.

There are a lot of options for mechanical. If you want to go with a
canister like the XP, which has a good amount of flow, just fill the
bottom
couple of layers with Ehfimech or some similar smooth ceramic ring media,
and the upper layers with coarse and fine polyfiber/filter pads.
==============
Thanks. I wish I could examine these newer canister filters before I send
away for them. My old leaky crummy Fluval canister from 10 years ago was a
real PIA to open, clean and reassemble. I don't want that kind of
aggravation again.


Just bought one at PetSmart, they have them on display so you can tear
them down and reassemble them.

They come with all the media but the bio-stars/noodles/rings. I just put
the rings from my just broken Fluval in.

The output into the tank has a shallow (~2 inches) or deep (~4 inches)
adapter and single jet or spraybar options.

I thought the Fluval was very quiet, the new Rena Filstar XP is silent.

--
Jim Anderson
( 8(|) To eMail me, just pull "my_finger"