# Does anyone get nervous leaving the house alone with a cannister filter?



## The Baron (Aug 25, 2009)

Still investigatin my options for a filter and am nervous about leaving the apartment alone for weekends and during the day at work with a cannister filter running for fear of accidental floodings.

I;ve posted recently about getting a new 55 tank, lights and stand kit but have never had a cannister. Realistically, is there anymore chances of flooding with a cannister than a hob?

I just am very paranoid about this and was thinking about getting a Fluval U4 as the main filter. Dont want hob;s. If not enough filtration with 1, then I can get 2. 

If my fears are unwarranted, then I will get a cannister.

This will be populated with rummynose, emperor, corys, and a pair of gbr so the bioload shouldnt be bad.


Thanks for listening to a paranoid fishkeeper.


Dan


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## Tbird (Oct 5, 2009)

Hey Dan,

I've never had a major problem with HOB's or Cannisters once they are set up. I have used Aqua clears, Marineland, Fluval canisters and Eheim Pro II's. 

The only time I had a bit of a problem with a cannister was with one that was sitting for a bit so the seal between the motor and the cannister was dry. I had a small leak but was able to catch it right away and fix it. 

That should be the only time you might run into an issue is when you are setting up and cleaning the cannister. But when you set it up or are cleaning the filter, you should make sure that all is well before walking away anyways. 

Wil


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## TBemba (Jan 11, 2010)

The only issue with a canister filter I have found is the hoses some times slip out of the tank after you fiddled with the tank. If this happens at night or when your away it will drain all the water out of your tank down to were the intake won't suck up any more water and fry your heater and stress your fish out. and sometimes burn out your filter motor.

That being said, this rarely happens 

I can't say it never happened to me  

Just make sure your hoses are not going anywhere and all the connections are tight that is another place you can drain your tank.

Fish keeping is a dangerous hobby. don't get in it if you are afraid to get wet.


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## The Baron (Aug 25, 2009)

Thanks for the reasurrances.

Forgot to mention beofre though the cannister we are looking
at getting is the Rena XP3. Having read tons of posts about
it and was thinking Fluval 305 or 405 (cant remember already).

Was also thinking of the Cascade 1000 by PennPlax. Seems fairly popular as 
well.

95% sure though it will be the XP3. I like the spray bar attachment and the FLuval doesnt include one for some reason.???

Still putting my shopping list together and ordering online.

THANKS!


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## Windowlicka (Mar 5, 2008)

The Baron said:


> Thanks for the reasurrances.
> 
> Forgot to mention beofre though the cannister we are looking
> at getting is the Rena XP3. Having read tons of posts about
> ...


"Mod"ing any canister output is not difficult at all, and can be done in any number of ways, depending on your preferred flow return method/rate, so try not to let that pose a challenge and/or reason for buying one canister over another...

I currently use Rena XP1, XP2 (x2), XP3 & Marineland 360 canister filters, and can honestly say that I've never once thought/worried about leaks.

Personally, I *hate* my 360 'cos it's a PITA to disassemble, clean & reassemble (vs. the Rena's), but still it's never failed me, nor leaked yet.

I used the older style Eheim classic canisters years ago, and sometimes had an issue re-seating the rubber gasket that mates the head unit to the "bucket", but at worst, it was a tiny (very slow) drip that I'd catch pretty quickly after cleaning. I've never (YET!) ever had a canister filter leak, or TBemba's issue with input/output pipes falling from the back of a tank.


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## TBemba (Jan 11, 2010)

Canisters are pretty safe. I have went years without any issues but the issues I mentioned can and do happen but mostly operator error.

The thing i would like them to improve is a better method of attaching to tank.

Some time the suction cups come unstuck and after time they will also lose some "suck ability" 

Some canisters take a bit of fiddling to get them primed right.

But the best way to go on FW


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## PPulcher (Nov 17, 2006)

TBemba said:


> The only issue with a canister filter I have found is the hoses some times slip out of the tank after you fiddled with the tank. If this happens at night or when your away it will drain all the water out of your tank down to were the intake won't suck up any more water and fry your heater and stress your fish out. and sometimes burn out your filter motor.


Hose clamps should eliminate this.


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## KhuliLoachFan (Mar 8, 2008)

My filter intake hose is attached by a very secure clamp which isn't coming off.

I have had more problems with HOBS. some HOBS will over-flow the back (onto your floor) when the sponge or media is saturated enough with dirt that regular flow is restricted to 5% of its regular flow. Of course it's time for filter service before that ever happens. But if you went away for a week, its your HOBs that you should worry about.

No filtration = dead fish, so the canister is much safer to leave "home alone" for a week.

I love my Eheims, I do not love my Fluvals. I have heard lots of Fluval-304/204-is-leaky-and-dumped-10-gallons-of-water-on-my-floor stories, so I wouldn't buy one of those.

W


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## AquaNeko (Jul 26, 2009)

Just a thought here. I own HOB's myself and never owned a canister before but have seen a few in person.

While a HOB if the media clogs you've got that spill over lip to drain all the water back into the tank if the motor is still running but with a canister I'm not sure on that.

Why not pick up some really cheap small and thin wire racks this weekend at Can. T @ $14.99 each (get two as they interconnect) and put the canister above the tank level should you need to take an extended leave from home. Get a cheap bin that you can put the canister in, drill/burn 1-2 holes into the side of the bin and shove some short pvc or plastic hose tubing in there so if the canister overflows it'll fill your bin and the water being elevated will gravity return back to your tank.

Those racks BTW take-down very compact and light weight. Rated 83lbs PER SHELF MAX. No tools needed as well. It won't look the best if you're living there with that rack up there but on times when you have to go away it's not a bad setup for safety.

This is the rack I'm talking about. Check the measurements.


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## dl88dl (Mar 8, 2010)

AquaNeko said:


> Why not pick up some really cheap small and thin wire racks this weekend at Can. T @ $14.99 each (get two as they interconnect) and put the canister above the tank level should you need to take an extended leave from home. Get a cheap bin that you can put the canister in, drill/burn 1-2 holes into the side of the bin and shove some short pvc or plastic hose tubing in there so if the canister overflows it'll fill your bin and the water being elevated will gravity return back to your tank.
> 
> Sounds like a great idea but not sure if you can use canister filter above the tank


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## TBemba (Jan 11, 2010)

I would buy a classic Eheims and if you want a great deal John or suggerglidder will be at the Durham Auction On April 11 and if I was you I would pre-order what you want.

I would trust one 98% to run without issues.

Here is his website. I have no affiliation with john but a deal is a deal. He is a good guy.
http://www.johnsfishfood.com/canisterfilters.html


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## KhuliLoachFan (Mar 8, 2008)

Cannister filter directions for operation usually specify that the tank must be at least 1 foot lower than the bottom of the tank for proper operation. The gravity syphon is your friend here.

Most cannisters (eheim included) have an overflow path that is internal, and cannot go anywhere other than bypassing all your media and going into the tank. You will notice that if you leave your cannister forever and it clogs up, EHEIMs will still circulate your water. For that reason, cannister filters should have scheduled maintenance every X months or more frequently, according to your own bioload and biomass accumulation. If in doubt, and it's been two months, have a look inside and find out how your filter is doing.

There are zero-bypass cannisters, and with them, you can see a reduced flow when they are clogged. This is a good and a bad thing. 

The new ultra-high-tech Fluval G-series actually tell you when the flow is reduced, so you can service them. I think that's cool, but there's no way I'm buying a $500 "mini filter" when I could get a massive classic canister with huge biomedia surface area, for less than half that price.

W


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