Choosing a canister filter

[spider crab]

Hi, I'm looking at different brands of Canister filters and wanted to know what people liked and/or didnt like about the various brands. The 3 brands I have heard good things about are Ehiem, Fluval and Rena Filstar.
I am looking for versitility, ease of use and low noise. I thought I read some aren't self priming (ehiem?) and other have had problems with the latches. (fluval?)
One of my LPS persons really likes filstar. Her comments where that is was vary easy to add and remove componants. She seems to be think some brands were difficult to disassemble. i.e get to a particular media without having to pull the all out. I think she was kind of new to the hobby so I didnt want to take her advice at face value without asking others.
It would be great to hear from people who have tried several brands.

 

[susiepan]

Hi, I have a FLuval...and absolutely love this product...My Daughter-in -law has two of them also...The newer ones are WONDERFUL and VERY easy to use...no mess..no drips...they're great
~Sue

 

[pgreco]

I have used fluval's for 8 years, never had a problem. I have heard that eheim is the best quality but my fluval has been working fine for me.

 

[krusk]

Ehiem is the most recommdation from other
I do not have a canister myself
but if you willing to spend $150 for the canister
why don't you thinking about add a sump under your tank?
well, seen you have a nice 29 gallon tank
i would go with hang on stuff (why waste hard earn money on $150 canister, when you can have a
power filter for about $50). I would think twice before I go with the canister
I like hang-on power filter more then the canister filter (it just me)
Any power filters, canister will give you some nitrate problem in the future if they are not well mantain on a regular basic.
so when you deside on this kink of equidments, think in term of easy access and maintainent will give you more benefit and success in the future
good luck

 

[madd catt]

tetra tec power filters are an excellent line of hang on filters.

 

[reeferx]

I had Eheim canisters. I can't say anything bad about them. Period. Maybe the price I guess, you pay for the name a little bit. But I highly recommend them.
They are completely silent.
I didn't have the newer kinds with the self priming handles though, couldn't tell you about them.
All I can say is wet the o-ring before putting the head back on. That makes a difference.
They also have great acessories like the double ended intake that pulls from the surface and the bottom of your tank. Very cool.
I wish I still had mine.

 

[spider crab]

thanks for the replies! I was thinking in terms of future growth.
One other question. Could a canister filter be used to pump new water in when doing water changes? I have a python, but haven't used it yet. I get the feeling that it (python) would be good for removing water and cleaning the gravel and filling a tank with tap water. When doing water changes though, I dont think it would help help in terms of getting the treated water into the tank.
I'm new to the hobby, so let me know if this doesnt make sense. I don't relish trying to dump back 5 gals of water into the tank. The tank itself is already pretty high off the ground.

 

[reeferx]

I suppose you could, but I would recommend just a using a powerhead with hose on it or a sump pump instead.
Canister filters need to be below what ever is feeding it to get gravity to feed the siphon.
Why are you looking at canister filters anyway?

 

[ibrew4uandi]

I have a filstar xp3 and have had a fluval in the past. The filstar is a much better product period. For about $100 you can't beat it. It is very quiet, pushes alot of water, and is very easy to disconect from the tank to clean (it has a special valve that allows you to disconnect the in and out without leaking or losing the siphon.
i use it on my 125 planted tank.