Hi all,

I had a AquaClear 300 and a Mini BioWheel on my 46 gallon tank. The biowheel went bye-bye during the last thunder storm here. I am thinking about upgrading to one filter, rather than using 2 to do the same job. What do you folks think?

What reasonably priced canisters are out there that you could recommend? Or would a larger AquaClear do the job?

Janice

I never used a canister filter but always hear good things about them. You probably already know that Eheims are the best canisters but if you feel they are a bit too pricey then a Fluval 404 could do the job. If you dont want to use the AC300 with the canister(i recomend that you do)) then you might want to consider also getting a powerhead for more water movement. I dont know from personal experience if the canister alone would be enough to do the job....... Hopefully someone else with a canister will chime in about that. All that being said, a single AC500 could also do the job. Whichever way you decide to go you will save alot of money if you purchase any filter online.

Most canisters can do the job by them selfs but I prefer to use a hang on and then a canister so that I get all levels of filtration

Koko, what do you mean all levels of filtration? I thought that most of the filters did all three: biological, mechanical and chemical? Or does only some do that? what ones?

Janice

I agree with Koko. I have an Eheim cannister on my 56 and it does a fine job. But I have no secondary biological filter. Everytime I wish to clean that filter I am faced with a slight bump in the cycle. I am going to put a hang-on Whisper on the side, simply for the "back-up" factor of an additional filter as soon as I am done with it on my Rubbermaid tub emergency tank.

What Im talking about is the level that the intake tubs are. See the Canister intakes are alomost to the bottom of the tank, I have another hang on filter that the intake is in the middle of the tank so that I get every level of the tank filtered out

Ohhhhhh, now I get it!

I was looking at the Fluval 404, it looks pretty nice. Is is easy to maintain? I also was looking at the Eheim ECCO filters, they appear to be a new design and not too pricey. The largest is the model 2235, but it is rated for 80 gallon tank, I don't think this will be enough for a 46 gallon goldfish tank....?

Janice

I have an eheim 2028 along with 3 penguin 330"s, and a 25 watt UV on my 125 gallon and like the combination of the two filters. I will admit I hate cleaning the canister because it is in my task stand and is hard to get out and take appart. But it does get the tank very clean. They are worth having on really big tanks. If you want to do them on the 46 you will be happy with how clean your tank will be.

Well, I went to Petco today. I decided to maybe ask for a canister filter for Christmas.....they are pricey, better $$ online for sure. I decided to just replace the biowheel mini that went with a biowheel 125 for now.

Thanks all,
Janice