How and what abouts of a canister filter

I was thinking if putting a canister filter in my 55 gal tank for my angelfishes..
what kind is good?
what all do i need to know about the canister filter?
Maintenece for them?

anything about canister information will help.

thanks

I would recommend Rena XP4, since angels do not enjoy high rate of flow. this unit comes with an adjustable output valve.

Agree w/protocl. Also Fluval 305, it too has an adjustable flow.

I like the cascades for how simple they are to clean and setup. They also tend to be cheaper than the other brands just because they don't have all the weird gizmos and gadgets! Just media trays inside now weird confusing things that will break. They also come with a nozzle output or a spray bar so you can 'adjust' flow that way, you would want top use the spray bar with angles.
Keep it in a shallow bin of some sort so you don't have to screw off the hoses every time you clean it, just pop off the top and set it in a bucket, you will lose some water that way and that's why you want to keep it in a bin. But that way you don't wear out the plastic threading.

Canisters are great you can stuff lots of different media into one!

Canisters are great you can stuff lots of different media into one!

I agree! And they are quiet, unlike the hang on back power filters. I used to open my cabinets to make sure they were still running.

I have five Rena XPs of various sizes and one Eheim. I really like the Renas best. Very simple to maintain and I never spill a drop. [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

With any canister filters, except the fx5 and others like it; repriming can be a pain in the arse, if air is trapped within the intake hose.

I have had magnum 350 canisters since 91' when they came out. I still have 2 of the orignals and one that I bought used from Markster. Yes it has its deficiencies when compared to the newer generations of canisters but all I have ever done to keep them running is change the o-rings. To me that says alot about the quality of marineland products and for that I must advise on anything from Marineland. The Magnum 350 is not produced anymore but the new C-series looks promising.

cascade 1000 low maintenance adjustable flow rate cheep media quite unit and ez prime unlike the most of them out there. i own three canisters a fx5, mag 350 and cascade 1000 and the cascade is my fave to work with and the magnum is a joke it dose a great job just the assembly is retarded.

Ive had every canister out there.... Each brand is good for something.... I would say cascade for the price has the best flow, but also has allot of bypass issues and water doesnt get as clean.... fluval keeps water very clean, but the flow is not half as strong.... I think rena xp is a nice in between canister... great flow, and has allot less bypass than cascade... hands down eheim is the greatest, but they are expensive, very expensive. So I am going to [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] Rena XP4 for a 55gal.

thanks guys..

I've never had a priming issue with a cascade canister. I practically gave away a fluval 404 because it took forever to get the dumb thing running again

Fern wrote:I practically gave away a fluval 404 because it took forever to get the dumb thing running again

Really? I used to have that problem but have since learned how to get it properly primed so that startup is pretty automatic. Took a few times though, esp. since I only clean it out every 2 months or so.

I've got a 404 and have found you need to shake out the air bubbles on startup, then it takes off. Also drips till the air is out.

what about Rena XP2?
would it work for my 55 gal with angels?
Also what about JEBO 829 External Canister Filter?

what does priming mean?

dondud wrote:what does priming mean?

kick start the suction needed to flow water in and out.

larry.beck wrote:

Fern wrote:I practically gave away a fluval 404 because it took forever to get the dumb thing running again

Really? I used to have that problem but have since learned how to get it properly primed so that startup is pretty automatic. Took a few times though, esp. since I only clean it out every 2 months or so.

I have 36 tanks, it pissed me off for several hours trying to get the darn thing running and then it did it again. I don't have the time to fight with finicky filters like that. I will never ever buy another fluval. Cascades have never given me issues like that and are quick and easy to clean and re prime and are pretty decent filters all in all, I have never found fault with them other than the potential wearing out of the plastic threading on the hose valves, I avoid that by not unscrewing them.
They fit my needs; cheaper, simple guts, versatility in the trays, quick to clean, easy to prime, good filtration. Oh ya and they are quiet, but that's not one of my needed features My fish room has lots of water noise

does any of the cascade canister filter have a control vavle to control the water output?

dondud wrote:what about Rena XP2?
would it work for my 55 gal with angels?
Also what about JEBO 829 External Canister Filter?

Yeah xp2 would be fine on a 55gal, but I would itleast put another HOB on it..... xp3 would kinda be my min on a 55gal alone.....

Yes cascade has a control valve

No, they do come with an output option, either a directional nozzle or a spray bar both in the box. So the spray bar would distribute the flow nicely and would be fine for your angels. The directional nozzle is more of a point and shoot for the higher flow tanks.

Sandnuka, closing off the valves like that can damage the cascade filters, I've had to repair more than one from someone using the ball valves on the hoses to regulate the flow.

my cascade has a lil thing on the canister itself that slows flow... its a 1500

The new 1500's don't.... I just bought 2 new and neither have a flow adjuster.

hey guys...a question!!
which do you prefer.....
Marineland Magnum 350 OR Jena xp2

Personally i'd say xp2, i'm not a fan of the Mag 350..

I haven't used either of them, I found my favorite

So if i use a Xp2 canister, do i have to aerate my tank?

Personally I aerate all my tanks no matter what the filter..

hm....thanks for the input guys!

Depending on the setup, this unit can be configured in several styles; can cause surface agitation, helping gas exchange b

what do you mean?

The output setup on xp's can be configured as a spray bar, jet nozzle, surface level or mid tank level.
As for surface agitation: this helps with aerating the tanks water.

Salzabar wrote:I have had magnum 350 canisters since 91' when they came out. I still have 2 of the orignals and one that I bought used from Markster. Yes it has its deficiencies when compared to the newer generations of canisters but all I have ever done to keep them running is change the o-rings. To me that says alot about the quality of marineland products and for that I must advise on anything from Marineland. The Magnum 350 is not produced anymore but the new C-series looks promising.

What do you mean they are no longer produced.. Seen them sold everywhere still

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Would sponge filters work with a power head as well? Instead of the traditional air pump route.

Of course.. it would just give you more flow threw the sponge giving you more mechanical filteration out of the sponge.. Most ppl run the air pumps cause of the savings in electricity.. one less thing your drawing electricity for and i think runing an air pump will benifit the bacteria more as well than running the powerhead...

Do you mean sponge attached to a canister.. Being the thread is about canister filters? Cause you can do that as well.. Could have it as a prefilter for your canister or have it on the outflow as well.. Having a sponge on as like a prefilter would more than likely hurt your flow rate significantly tho depending on the sponge you are using.

I never thought about using one on the actual canister filter itself. It took us a while to discover the sponge filter system so that's why I put a little suggestion on here just in case they were unaware of that option. I have heard that the angels like some flow so that's why I suggested the power head. I prefer the idea of the air pump myself. I have a 30 gallon that's getting set up tomorrow for angels and I will more than likely be putting a sponge filter on, as well as having a bubble wand across the back. Hopefully they will be ok with that. They are currently in a 10 gallon with an HOB. So I'm sure they will be MUCH happier lol. I didn't realize they needed tanks bigger in size as my mom always had angelfish and kept them in a 10 gallon. But their wish is my command lol

its an idea... Me myself just like you would just run one off a acrylic tube and a air pump.. and alot of times people house things in allot smaller of tanks than what they really should.. if you can afford it really bigger is always better no matter what the species is..i feal bad whe i see descent sized oscars and its not just one but 2 still sitting in a 55gallon.. Oscars should not be so easily obtained..

Yeah I looked into it further online and found a mating pair of angels should have at minimum of a 20 gallon tank. So we recently aquired a 30 gallon bowfront. Now my two will be going into it hopefully later this week or early next week. Just gotta let it set up.

Hopefully we didn't get too far off topic and were still able to help out dondud some.

What do you mean they are no longer produced.. Seen them sold everywhere still

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True, they are for sale from stock that has not sold yet but if you contact Marineland they will tell you that the Mag 350 is not produced anymore replaced by the C-series canister filter. Which also means parts for the Mag 350 are not produced leaving the Mag 350 owners to scramble for parts. Try and find double quick disconnect valves for sale at a LFS. APFP had some in a backroom that they sold me for a ton of money but saved me the hassel of finding them online and have them shipped.

shortykilogyrl : not to worry...it is helping...not off the topic that much..lol..thanks

as long as the water surface is agitated a fair amount you don't need to add air.
The only tanks of mine that have air are from the sponge filters in them, I run a fair amount of sponge filters on my tanks, I have a massive air blower so I can do that

I like the Cascade, priced right and easy to maintain. As for the bypass comment, there is a super easy way to fix that, tip I found on MFK's. Get a sheet of filter pad and cut 24"x1' strips off the end. Wrap each basket (or just the bottom one, or...) before installing it into the canister, done. No bypass and all incoming water gets filtered, I did this the last time I changed the filter pads and last i checked the bottom pad was green top to bottom.

As for size on a 55 gallon, don't go less than a Cascade 1200, unless you have multiple filters running. I aim my spray bar at the top of the water and I have plenty of aeration. I also have a Hydor IV sponge filter for additional bio (@5PSI air pump pressure) and a Magnum 250 for additional mechanical and water movement. All of these are on a 90 gallon with a medium to heavy bioload with great water parameters and clear water. (0 ammonia, 0Nitrites, 20-40 Nitrates when checked last and I had been feeding heavy).