# Best canister filter for 72g bowfront



## jamie1985 (Oct 11, 2012)

Hey everyone just wanted to get your opinions on which canister filter would be best for my 72g bowfront? I’ve heard eheim 600 (2217) or Rena xp4 are good but I would like a few more opinions please!

Thanks!


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## jeremyan7 (Nov 30, 2017)

*Bow front filter*

I had the 72g Bow for 20 years and never used (continuously) a canister. I did everything HOB. I started with an emperor minus the bio wheel. then had a backpack Skimmer and a 2 little fishes reactor

The emperor did a good job in terms of filter pad / carbon. 
sorry i can't opine about the canister.


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## Jackson (Jan 30, 2009)

2217 all the way

I’ve used Rena’s from the 1-4 and they are good until the cheap quality starts to come into play. Parts are expensive and hard to get. Most bigbox stores have stopped selling them as well 

2217 every piece can be found to replace them. Not too expensive and usually available in Canada


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## Boreas (Dec 8, 2015)

No experience with salt water filtration. Eheim 2217 are awesome. I use them on my freshwater tanks.


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## cb1021 (Sep 21, 2009)

I use Eheim 2217 too. Awesome filters. Can't go wrong. 

HOBs are much easier to clean though.  Ugly..


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## jamie1985 (Oct 11, 2012)

Great info thanks so much everyone!! Eheim it is!!! I have heard nothing but good things and this confirmed things for me! Thank you everyone!


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## mmatt (Feb 12, 2012)

Sorry I didn't step in earlier but in the end, no cansiter filter for salt water. In my opinion of course. Do it right the first time and set up a sump. If you have decided to go with a canister filter then fine but that doesn't mean you can avoid using everything else. Skimmer is a must. And live rock is a natural filter. The more you have the better. Having a sump allows you to hide all you stuff like pumps, heaters, skimmer, other filtarion, etc. Plus you can add a bunch of Rock to it if you want minimum rock in your display. Also increases water volume of your system which is also a plus. 

When I stated saltwater about 5 years ago I had the same debate (trying to save some time and money) and decided against the canister filter. Haven't looked back since. 

Just my two cents. 

Good luck and welcome to the dark side


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## jamie1985 (Oct 11, 2012)

mmatt said:


> Sorry I didn't step in earlier but in the end, no cansiter filter for salt water. In my opinion of course. Do it right the first time and set up a sump. If you have decided to go with a canister filter then fine but that doesn't mean you can avoid using everything else. Skimmer is a must. And live rock is a natural filter. The more you have the better. Having a sump allows you to hide all you stuff like pumps, heaters, skimmer, other filtarion, etc. Plus you can add a bunch of Rock to it if you want minimum rock in your display. Also increases water volume of your system which is also a plus.
> 
> When I stated saltwater about 5 years ago I had the same debate (trying to save some time and money) and decided against the canister filter. Haven't looked back since.
> 
> ...


Hey thanks for the thoughts! I know, I wanted to set up a sump but I had a 46g bow that shattered on me last year that was plumbed to a basement sump and lost everything in it and flooded my house so I was a bit apprehensive this time around...I'm pretty good with keeping up with maintenance so I don't think it will be a huge problem...plus I moved up to a 72g so there is more volume as well...I currently have a 29g biocube that's been running for years now and has been great but now it's time to move on to bigger and better things hahaha just put the LR, sand and water in it over the weekend! Just letting it cycle now! Hopefully it's quick!

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## coldmantis (Apr 5, 2010)

You can use a canister if you want but do you have time to take apart a canister and fully clean the mechnical media (sponges, filter floss) in tap water once a week every week? If not nitrates can build up fast in a salt tank. I echo what Matt said sump is the way to go, you want to spend time enjoying the hobby not cleaning a canister filter once a week.


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