# Canister Filter Suggestions



## skyedale (Mar 14, 2011)

I need help selecting a canister filter for a 75 gal. goldfish tank. I am getting feed up with replacing impellers, filter pads and all the other things that go with back of tank filters. 

I will still run two sponge filters and air stones to keep up the aeration.

Price point is a concern, but function is most important. It needs to be easy to clean, quiet, have idiot proof operation, easy to get replacement parts and a good warranty.

Suggestions would be greatly appreciated as well as where to purchase it. If you could include why you like a certain make and model that would be helpful.

Thank you in advance.

Judi


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## Jackson (Jan 30, 2009)

IMO no point in dishing out cash unless you are going to buy an Eheim. The classics are my personal favorites. Fluval and renas are ok but I own models from all three company's and the eheims are built the best and I've had no problems with any of mine. On both my fluvals and renas I've had to replace numerous things and IMHO I wish I never bought them. 

How many goldfish are in there? That will help to determin what size canister you need.


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## Marowana (Jul 28, 2009)

i'm running a eheim 2217 in a 75g growout. the filter does a good job, and i run it for months without cleaning it. this filter is built to last, even the filter pads can be washed and reused a few times.


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## okoolo (Nov 1, 2009)

I'm running 2 eheim 2215 on a 55g and a eheim 2222 on a 45g ... they're just the best filters you can buy

it would be a fun poll question on gtaaquaria .. 

hmm... why don't we have polls?


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## peterpd99 (Oct 18, 2010)

+1
Eheim all the way...I think the classic 2217 is sufficient...I have no issues with them thus far.


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## qwerty (Dec 15, 2009)

I've sorta gotta wonder why you're having to replace all these pads and impellors?

The pads you should be able to just rinse out in tank water.

The impellors shouldn't be getting damaged that badly unless you're letting solid particles get sucked into the filters.

Try turning the filter off during water changes if you have a sand substrate, or during feedings if you're feeding hard food.

I'm running and Eheim 2213 and an Eheim 2215.

I've never run any other brand, but if I was going to buy another filter, I would happily buy another Eheim.


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## skyedale (Mar 14, 2011)

*How many goldfish*



Jackson said:


> IMO no point in dishing out cash unless you are going to buy an Eheim. The classics are my personal favorites. Fluval and renas are ok but I own models from all three company's and the eheims are built the best and I've had no problems with any of mine. On both my fluvals and renas I've had to replace numerous things and IMHO I wish I never bought them.
> 
> How many goldfish are in there? That will help to determin what size canister you need.


Most honest anwser too may inches of fish. When I add up the total of fish inches not including oto cats and cory cats it comes to about 55 - 60". Amazing how the little devils grow - lol. The tank is heavily planted, has a carbi sea instant ocean rio grand (60 pounds) and regular gravel (25 pounds that was moved from a smaller tank) substrate.

In the spring I am planning on getting a 200 gl (move some of the goldfish) for the family room. That room is slab on grade so there is no worry about load bearing or weight.

Seems the most recommended canister is Eheim.

If you could size it for me that would be great. I would rather go oversize than right on. The goldfish are so dirty.

Thanks 
Judi


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## skyedale (Mar 14, 2011)

*pads and impellers*



qwerty said:


> I've sorta gotta wonder why you're having to replace all these pads and impellors?
> 
> The pads you should be able to just rinse out in tank water.
> 
> ...


I do rinse the pads out but with the goldfish they only have about a 3 week life span. There is only so many times you can rinse off the brown crud. I run additional media in the other cartridges. I can get 5 times the life out of the filter pads on the tropicals compared to the goldies.

When I do water changes I turn off all the two Emperor (280 & 400) filters and just leave the sponges running. I weekly remove the 400 & 280 and clean the impellers, scrub out the whole canisters, clean the spray bars, rinse filter cartridge, etc..

The nib on the top of the impeller for the 400 has shifted. Of course you can't just buy the rubber nib, you have to buy the whole impeller. It was purchased in December 2010. The five year warranty doesn't include the impeller, just the motor.

Judi


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## igor.kanshyn (Jan 14, 2010)

*You need EHEIM*

I vote for EHEIM.


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## Lee_D (Jun 11, 2010)

My Rena's work fine.

Lee


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## vrb th hrb (Feb 20, 2010)

hey Judi, I was in the same situation as you a few years back and had a 75 gal goldfish tank running two emperor 400's on it. While I did weekly maintenance I always found with the emperors it was best to dismantle them as little as possible, once I did I always found when I put them back together they'd make noise for a while. That gunk(detritus) almost acts as a lubricant for the parts I thought...... maybe I'm way off. I'd say just rinsing the media cartridges and using a wire brush on the spray bars is more than enough work with your weekly changes. 

Anyway, for a heavily stocked goldfish tank I'd say two filters almost. Maybe a 2217 fully stocked with all media, and a 2213 maybe stocked with just sponges. If you like being hands on, then really canisters arent for you, they're built for low maintenance and arent really as easy to disassemble/remove media as filters like emperor or aquaclears. 

I'm currently running a used 2213, that I had to buy a few parts for, and a new 2217 that I got a while back on my 75 gallon pleco/SA tank and I really like them. my .02 cents


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## skyedale (Mar 14, 2011)

*Eheim Pro 2126 Thermofilter*



skyedale said:


> I need help selecting a canister filter for a 75 gal. goldfish tank. I am getting feed up with replacing impellers, filter pads and all the other things that go with back of tank filters.
> 
> I will still run two sponge filters and air stones to keep up the aeration.
> 
> ...


I have decided to get an Eheim canister filter. Thank you to all who helped me come to that conclusion. By the way Eheim was by far the most suggested.

Any thoughts on the Eheim Pro 2126 Thermofilter canister filter?

Does $235.00USD seem like a decent price?

TTFN
Judi


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## Jackson (Jan 30, 2009)

Personally I would stick with the classic series. I'm not a fan of the pro series.


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## okoolo (Nov 1, 2009)

hmm never had an eheim pro but I assumed they were better then classics (hence the "pro")


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## ChuckRum (Sep 11, 2010)

EHEIM 2217. so easy to maintain, and they work amazing. defintely go with the classic series. i live by eheims, and oldschool fluvals.


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## peterpd99 (Oct 18, 2010)

yeah...no need to really spend so much$$$ for the pro series.


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## newforestrob (Jan 21, 2011)

do yourself a favour and get some filter socks to hold the bio-media,makes cleaning easier,


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## Roberacer1 (Aug 21, 2010)

Eheim all the way. My 2217 works very well. The Rena my friend had worked well too. Moved a lot more water and was pretty easy to work on. I liked the separate baskets in it. Eheim does make a lubricant which is specific for this stuff. Does BA's carry that? 

Gold fish are dirty. The overflows (AKA hang on back) just aren't capable of handling that much #$##. A second filter was mentioned. I agree. The 2217 might actually move enough water on it's own though. What if you were to put a media reactor in after the filter on the return line. Kinda like a phosban reactor but it could be any of them. Your just going to fill it with more media. It's all about providing surface area to breed nitrifying bacteria at that point. That's whats missing with what you have now. The Eheim pros look good too. I like how the hearer is built in. The 2126 is not listed on their site. I would assume it is an older model then. With that it may be that they changed it as they had a better design. I noticed some of the folks here are not fans. I found on one site that it is suggested for a normally stocked tank that is not much bigger than yours. I would go bigger if I were you. I tend to filter double the suggested. I find manufacturers are often not 100% honest with what their equipment is capable of. That said Eheim have always seemed honest about it. Your problem is bioload. Get the bigger one.


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