Canister Filters Survey

[fishheads1999]

What kind of canister filters do all of you use? Advantages? Things to remember when selecting? Eheim - what's the difference between the classic 2213 and the ones for sale now?

Should I buy new or used? new comes with new media. Eheim - what's the difference between the classic 2213 and the ones for sale now? eBay or pet supply stores on line? What should I watch for? Your favorite source?

Other accessories that you would recommend?

I'm fintering a 55 gallon planted tank. Right now I'm going to refit my Hot magnum with different media and longer tubes (no surface aggitation) until I decide what to do.

Thanks for your input!!

Thanks!!!

[fishheads1999]

Just went back to www.thekrib.com and there's most of what I wanted to know.

[Ghazanfar Ghori]

A 2213 on a 55 may be pushing it a bit.
I think a 2215 would work better on a 55G. A 2026 would
be even better.

[Jamie G]

what should i use for my 72 ?

[Ghazanfar Ghori]

On a 72, I'd go with an Ehiem 2026.

Another thing to consider - try increasing the
circulation in the tank by adding a powerhead in
the back somewhere. That will prevent dead spots,
kick up the detrius into the water column allowing
the filter to filter it out. Its a cheaper solution
than adding a bigger badder filter.

[Jamie G]

i already have the powerhead, but i am going to go for the bigger badder filter <img border="0" src="smileys/smiley4.gif" border="0">

[RTRJR]

I have and use a number of canisters, all Eheim for externals, and mainly Classics rather than Pros, but I do not do any all-in one units anymore. My external canisters are all prefiltered bio-only, with mechanical handled elsewhere. That technical change was done because I found that my canister filtered tanks were running higher nitrates than those filtered by other and more accessible techniques. By separating the two I can first continue to make use of my old existing Classics, and second keep my nitrate levels lower by frequently rinsed mechanical filters. My mechanical filtration is largely by internal canisters (most folks prefer HOBs, but I am prejudiced against them), mostly rinsed weekly. This gets debris out of the water column rather than allowing it to be digested in an infrequently opened external canister. A fringe benfit is that I have lots of current (which both most of my fish and I prefer) but not a lot of surface disruption unless I do so intentionally.

The old Classics are not user friendly, period. There is some learning curve, but they are never really convenient. The Pros are quite user-friendly, but I still would not open one weekly for rinsing mechanical media.