Good Canister Filter?

[Lessy78]

So the girlfriend picked up a Eheim pro 3 while she was in Edmonton , got it at big Al's I think and the guy said it was good for a 120 gallon . Would this be a good filter for a planted tank? After seeing the leaky Rheim post I'm unsure .

[ckmullin]

In some regard a canister filter for a planted tank is almost redundant. However not many seem just to have plant but also keep fish. Think of the quantity of fish you have along with tank size than quantity of your plants. I have a heavily planted 75 with just a few endlers and cherry shrimp. I could do away with my fluval canister filter altogether. For a planted tank...flow is important. Regarding flow if you want a heavily planted tank you might need to add a powerhead for water movement in the dead corner. Water flow for plant is important.

(i prefer fluval canisters)

[Jayba]

Good filter, most filters are good filters for different reasons. There were some earlier Eheims Pros that would leak. I would call their customer service and get the latest fix, they will tell you based on serial number if it is one of the generations that had problems. Maybe you can have the parts long before there is a problem. Kudos to your girlfriend for shelling out for a good and expensive filter. I have owned Sunsun, classic Eheim, Fluval, and Rena. They all are decent filters. Don't look a gift horse in the mouth.

[flash_oesc]

Love my eheim classics. Also have a couple fluvals that do the trick. Then again, those are the only 2 brands I've used. I have a classic 2215, 2217 and two fluval 205s.

[blink]

I have a couple fluval 206s that have never given me any trouble, a used ehiem 2215 that was nothing but trouble and a Rena xp3 that seems ok but is brand new to me.

Most any filter from those 3 brands is going to give you years of trouble free service unless you get one of the rare lemons, then you get to test out the warranty

[Oilerfan]

I like the Rena, no problems at all.

[desol]

Whatever filter gives me the most filtration per hour. On my 90, my FX6 (rated for up to 400 gallons) is awesome.

90 gallons X 5 turnovers gives me 450 gallons per hour. Fluval FX6 is rated at 563GPH unloaded. Loaded with BioMedia gives roughly 540 gallons per hour, I'd say. Six turnovers...

I'll also second CK's post above about the importance of general flow and powerhead as well as surface disturbance....to keep things fresh and moving.

Edited March 26, 2014 by desol

[Ron]

So the girlfriend picked up a Eheim pro 3 while she was in Edmonton , got it at big Al's I think and the guy said it was good for a 120 gallon . Would this be a good filter for a planted tank? After seeing the leaky Rheim post I'm unsure .

You should be good. Your model was probably built years after they were having the leak problems.

Probably more bio filter than you need in a planted tank but you'll have the capacity for a higher bioload if you decide on more fish than your plants can handle.

I've got plenty of Eheims running (2213, 2075 Pro 3, 2076 Pro 3e, 2078 Pro 3e and a 2262) and a few on the shelf (2213, 2217, 2 x 2075 Pro 3 and 2078 Pro 3e), I've never had a problem with any of them. Gets a little pricey to fill some of them with media but your Pro 3 should have the media included.

[davis101]

I've got fluval fx6's, a rena xp4 and a small eheim. I really like both the fx6 and the rena, but the eheim I have is a bit dated so my opinion on it is irrelevant. lol The only thing I dislike about the fx6 is the hoses. Can't run anything inline with swapping them out with normal tubing, which is doable...just a bit of a pain.

Whatever filter gives me the most filtration per hour. On my 90, my FX6 (rated for up to 400 gallons) is awesome.

90 gallons X 5 turnovers gives me 450 gallons per hour. Fluval FX6 is rated at 563GPH unloaded. Loaded with BioMedia gives roughly 540 gallons per hour, I'd say. Six turnovers...

I'll also second CK's post above about the importance of general flow and powerhead as well as surface disturbance....to keep things fresh and moving.

Not sure where your information on flow comes from. The fx6 puts out 925 gallons per hour. You've got about 10 times turnover in your 90 gallon. lol

[Fisher]

Are you more concerned about application or reliability?

Making an informed purchase is always a noble cause. The challenge sees to be finding objective information that lets you make the choice yourself. Here are a few AA threads that have reliability as the primary concern. You will certainly find a pile more on the web.

Advice before buying a used Eheim
Help me chose a canister filter
Eheim Canister Leaking
Eheim Pro 3 Leakeing

I discovered that most filters are good for planted tanks (application). I also discovered that any one brand comes with its set of reliability concerns (which may or may not actually occur). Some problems are the manufacturer's responsibility (which owners will readily share); some problems are the owner's responsibility (which owners will rarely admit).

In the end, all filter owners decide to either, manage those risks, or trade one risk for another. *shrug

Eheim is long on history and market Lessy78. If Eheim was a lemon, you wouldn't find a favorable report - and LFS wouldn't be too interested in carrying them.

But there's lots of info out there on your model that you can read, evaluate and compare to your own experience.

Take good care,

Fisher

[robwhughes]

Figured I'd just add my question to this thread since it's relevant.

I've been reading about gallons/hour (requirements for specific tank sizes) and how the filter rating is sometimes listed with and without media. I've been offered an Eheim Ultra G90 - 2073 Pro 3 Canister Filter with the following ratings. Do you think this is reasonable for a heavily planted 65 gallon tank?

Eheim Ultra G90 - 2073 Pro 3 Canister Filter - Technical Specifications:
For Tank Size: 350 l (92 gallons)
Pump Output: 1050 ltr/hr (276 gal/hr)
Canister Volume: 7.4 ltr (1.95 g)
Delivery Head: 1.8m
Filter Volume: 4.5 ltr + 0.5 (pre-filter) (1.31 g)
Power Consumption: 16 w
Dimensions: 400mm x 290mm x 240mm

[ckmullin]

For a very heavily planted tank I use a fluval 305 on a 75 gal. For a planted tank filter size isn't as important so don't waste too much $ on some super filter. That 305 is spec'd out at if I remember correctly 70 gal!

[Jayba]

Aah. The eternal canister filter debate. Seems to be an ongoing topic that is always debated. Here is my 2 cents. Take it at its cost.

I have FX5's. Moves a ton of water, polishing pads or filter floss cause it to cavatate and blow micro bubbles. Contact time with media would be somewhat short.

Fluval 305 is an ok little filter. Tried and true I guess. Mine is packed with nothing except poret foam and filter Floss. Needs to be ripped apart every 4 months to squeeze out the floss. The joys of polishng....

Rena xp3. Not fancy or glamorous just pushes water through foam and floss like the 305. Longer contact time, and a larger exposed surface area to clog than the 305, very similar. Just keeps chugging along.

I have a couple Sunsun filters that I like, both have UV. I feel that the numbers used to describe what sized tank they should go on may be off but hey, they hold a ton of media so maybe a lower velocity pump with large contact time to media is the key.

I have had classic eheims and they also are solid units like the Fluval, Rena or Sunsun.

Either way, I can't tell you what is a good filter. They all are in their own special way...you kind of have to figure it out and come up with your own opinion.

I have cursed all filter brands at one time or another, more than likely caused by my own stupidity. So if you are happy with what you got for the money used or new, good on ya.

Really, it's like a debate on blondes, brunettes or redheads. Most are good, some of each kind are trouble and some of them are just bad news. You'll figure it out.....albeit, some of us are slow learners.

[JohnRobert]

Wanted to ask if anybody has used Poret foam in canister filters and if it worked well?