# Which is the best Canister Filter in your opinion and why?



## Aquaticz (Dec 26, 2009)

Eheim pro 3
they come in different gph- get the big one- last forever - ez to clean - ez to switch out


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## SDK (Jan 26, 2014)

Out of the above choices, I would go with the Filstar. I have XP3's and an XP4. They are all in the range of 8 to 10'years old and all still work great. I have had the 4. (Which appears to be what they are calling XL now) on a 75g and the flow was almost too much for a Rift Lake Cichlid tank. It will have "plenty" of power in a 55 to the point where you may need to tone it down a bit... Great filters for the money.


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## jimbo662 (Aug 4, 2013)

+1 on the Filstars.


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## Midnighttide102 (Oct 2, 2014)

API FILSTAR I have the older version of these filters Rena I can tell you this I've had them running over 10 years now and not one issue easy to maintain plenty of media options and came with both spraybar return or straight return and plenty of fittings to custom fit to any application there top notch in my book


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## mach_six (Sep 12, 2005)

I don't recall these have the ability to reduce flow? I didn't like that it didn't have self priming capability. 

I had a XP1 and XP4, it appears the motors are the same and the impeller design is what really made the difference. I bought a used XP4 which had a frayed cable and just switched out the impeller to the XP1 motor.


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## York1 (Dec 18, 2014)

Eheim pro 3 or Eheim classic


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## Seattle_Aquarist (Jun 15, 2008)

Hi Lostfaith,

All filters are mechanical with moving parts (most made of plastic) that will wear out or break - period. As such, whatever model you chose make sure that you can easily reach technical support for warranty issues and not only is replacement filter media easy to purchase at a reasonable price but parts subject to wear like impellers, impeller shafts, valves, etc. are readily available as well.

Personally I use Marineland canisters (I have 5 of them) but any of the others that meet the criteria would work as well.


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## rebelbuck1993 (Sep 3, 2014)

eheim 2217 has no bypass and will work great on that tank, replacement parts can be bought from multiple places, great history of products and you can fill it with whatever you want


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## psych (Jan 7, 2013)

Will 2nd eheim 2217.


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## rick dale (Feb 26, 2014)

*canister filters*

Sicce whale.


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## mba (Jul 18, 2011)

Do not get eheim pro 3e 2078 mine leaked on the head pump less than a year. Stay away from eheim their support sucks!! I have Marineland c360, 5 yrs going strong! I have eheim 2217 as well no leak so far, 1 year..


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## AlanLe (Jan 10, 2013)

Go with ADA superjet. It has an iwaki external pump and will never reduce the flow. 


-Alan


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## sleepswithdafishez (May 23, 2013)

Haven't tried all of them ,but my Eheim 2211 is quiet and does a good job on my 10g.


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## nikonD70s (Apr 6, 2008)

eheim 22117 classic

have 2 for 6 years now and still strong and quiet as the day i got it new.


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## RainSong (Jun 30, 2011)

+1 Eheim 2217


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## Lostfaith (Jun 17, 2014)

tnx for the responses!! 

I am leaning towards the fluval 406 though can anyone tell me if bypass and reliability is an issue? I know leaking generally isn't but it appears to allow some bypass due to the design.

as it looks like some of you missed it, my budget only goes -up to- $200max and I can only order from amazon due to my location, the decent eheims start at 250ish and have in addition to that some poor reviews with issues with the new models...


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## Jaxfisher (Jun 2, 2013)

AquaTop. They are built like a Marineland, but are cheaper, have a UV light (in 400s & above), are easy to restart, easy to clean & there is an extensive catalog of replacement parts. They are very QUIET. I use them exclusively on all my tanks 55+ gal. I put 2 on my 125 & clean them on an alternating schedule.


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## dcutl002 (Apr 8, 2014)

Eheim 2215 or 2217. Why? Because they just work. They are also dependable.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## klibs (May 1, 2014)

+1 for EHEIM 2217

Granted I have never owned a rena, fluval, etc but my EHEIM 2217s are extremely reliable. The design is foolproof and there is no chance of bypass.

Honestly any of those canisters will work great for you. IMO it really comes down to reliability and EHEIM classic models are known to last forever...


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## Perryboat (Jul 11, 2012)

I have no experience with other canisters. I have used fluval ever since and have had no issues at all. Even for two 405s that i got from craigslist.


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## loach guy (Jun 2, 2014)

Eheim classic hands down. Zero bypass, low maintenance, ease of use, dead silent


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## psych (Jan 7, 2013)

Lostfaith said:


> tnx for the responses!!
> 
> I am leaning towards the fluval 406 though can anyone tell me if bypass and reliability is an issue? I know leaking generally isn't but it appears to allow some bypass due to the design.
> 
> as it looks like some of you missed it, my budget only goes -up to- $200max and I can only order from amazon due to my location, the decent eheims start at 250ish and have in addition to that some poor reviews with issues with the new models...


I don't want to steer you sway from what you want, but the 2217's I've seen usually go for about $150.


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## Freemananana (Jan 2, 2015)

I haven't seen it mentioned, but generic SunSun canisters do work. Any canister that doesn't leak will do you just fine in the end. Eheims last forever, which is true.


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## caique (Mar 16, 2012)

I had a fluval for 2 years things started to break had leaks on a few occasions that were fixed by just lubing the seal, but this canister is the loudest filter I have owned except for my fx5 all my other filters are Eheim.

Replaced the 405 with a Eheim G160 love it.

Other filters I own

Eheim 2078
Eheim G65
Eheim G90
Eheim G160s 2 of them
Eheim Classic 2217 2215
Eheim pro 2 2026 and 2028

Go with the Eheim they are the best hands down.


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## ichy (Apr 6, 2015)

another vote for sunsun...you can get 3 for the price of an eheim!


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## aaronbear (Mar 17, 2013)

Out of the options you presented I would recommend the Fluval, I've had three Fluval canisters and all were quiet and reliable and I've never had a leak. 

If bypass of the filter media is what you're worried about then I would recommend my all-time favorite filter, the Fluval G3. I have had one running on my display tank for two years and aside from being totally silent with great flow, it has a zero bypass design that forces 100% of the water through the mechanical and chemical filter media. The G3 is also ridiculously easy to perform maintenance on, it makes no mess and takes about 5 minutes to clean and/or replace the mechanical and chemical filter media compared to a drippy and somewhat longer process to do to same maintenance on any traditional canister. There's also a great reusable cartridge system for chemical media, I have several plastic color coded cartridges that I keep loaded up in a cabinet with my preferred chemical filtration media and I can quickly swap one in if I have a specific need. I cannot recommend this filter highly enough.


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## exv152 (Jun 8, 2009)

+14 ~ I think I'm the fourteenth person to suggest Eheim. Hands down the best. You have to consider the source of any review you read online, often they're done by people with zero experience. I've tried both fluval and eheim, and I ended up tossing the fluval in the garbage. The ribbed hosing made it not user friendly, detritus built up in the hoses, inline equipment ie diffuser/heater etc was a pain, there's huge water bypass that occurs in the fluval media trays, and in the end it started leaking from the pump head.


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## Freemananana (Jan 2, 2015)

Agreed on the Fluval hoses being lame.


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## bernynhel (Sep 8, 2011)

*Eheim ecco pro*

i have a 29 gal sump on my 55 gal so i regulate flow via overflow/return pump - but Eheim is a breeze to work with - i have it filled with SeaChem Matrix in the bottom basket and half of the middle basket, SeaChem Purigen in a Seachem micro mesh bag halfway in the middle basket between the Matrix and the bulk poly fiber i use above it in the top half of the middle basket and filling the top basket. The poly fiber bought in bulk is way cheaper than pre-fab Eheim round filter pads - a 10lb pkg lasts years and is equal to the price of about a dozen pads and the density can easily be adjusted up or down by the volume packed into the baskets to increase or decrease flow. Also the loose poly fiber lets less water skirt around the sides of the baskets, unfiltered. The Matrix and Purigen are both reusable so i just change the poly fiber monthly and rinse the Matrix and recharge the purigen every two months. i think the Eheim ecco Pro is under $200 for the biggest one i dont remember - i checked out the new pro 3e series and i dont get the need for all the electronics for just a filter so id say save the $300 added cost for a good pH controlled c02 system - i have three Eheim ecco pros and i gave away my Fluvals after running an Eheim for a few months and deciding to switch all my filters to Eheims - all the above after about 5 years of screwing around with every config immaginable


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