Canister Filters

Hi guys,

I hope every one is well and good

I'm looking to upgrade my filter for my tank as i think the one i have isn't doing a very good job and it takes up quite a bit of space in the tank. I've been through all the equipment threads on TASA and read what there is to read about the canister filter options in the related threads.

So far I've looked at the Dolphin C-1600 which fits in my price range for the time being. But I can't seem to find reviews about them online. There are a few members that use them by the looks of what i read in previous threads and everyone seems to be more or less happy. Is there anyone willing to share some of their experience with them? Are they quiet? do they do a good job? I've never had a dolphine product are they any good?

As far as I understand eheim make the best, well you gotta love the germans. What sort of price am i looking at for an eheim?

Its for a 270L tank, and i'm looking for a filter that can do more or less the same type of capacity as the C-1600. Any advice or input will be much appreciated.

Thanks,
H

 

Hi AidanEel

I have a 240L tank and I use a Dolphin C-1300 I have to say it does a great job.
Not really sure about the Eheim pricing.

Just wanted to let you know about my dolphin

Regards
Peter

 

Thanks for the info, much appreciated. How are the noise levels?

 

Hi AdianEel...

I am running a chinese import no name brand type... and what I can tell you... you get what you pay for. Whilst I have personally had absolutely NO problems with mine at all, when I compare it to the noise of other makes, mine is definately a "fong kong". I have had to put it into my cabinet, resting on a towel to try an eliminate as much noise as possible. HOWEVER, it is not that bad... it has a slight hum to it... which, you become deaf to eventually. Kinda like living on a main road and not hearing the road noise after a few weeks.

Anyway, I would recommend for you to do is (1) determine your budget. (2) contact Dolphin. I'm sure you've seen him around. He can get a lot of great stuff at very good prices. But be warned, I did tell you to get your budget first.. else he will obviously try get you the best of the best... AND NO... NOT because he's making any money out of it, but because he wants to get you the best.

 

Thanks, Yeah i've seen Dolphin around and i've seen in some older threads that he is able to get eheim stuff as well, i'll pm him as soon as i know what i can spend later this month early next month. but in the mean time i'm just getting my research straight.

I'm worried about fong kong stuff, I've actually thought about making a diy cannister filter but i've struggled to find a good container that will seal well, if i follow that route i'll post some stuff about it. its been a project in the back of my mind for months now just haven't had time and i might have to settle to buy something and sooner rather than later cause my via aqua is letting me down

Congrats on the moderatorship btw

 

I think for that size tank, the Eheim most people would recommend is the 2217 'classic', but I actually use two Cannisters on my 315L...

I have an Eheim 2222 'Pro' and an Eheim 2234 'Ecco'.

The 'pro' is recommended for tank sizes upto 150L, where as the 'Ecco' is upto 200L. I cannot off hand remember the LPH ratings though?

Each of these filters cost me around R1000 (R1200 and R900 if I remember rightly?)

They have both been great, and the thing I like about running two filters at the same time is that I can take one off at a time to clean, and still keep some filtration going!

So maybe consider runnning two smaller cannisters rather than one larger one as another option? This can also give you more options for setting up your return water flow through the tank?

Just something to consider?

Regards
G!

 

I use Ehiem and Tetra – both have been giving me good service. Never use the Dolphin canister filters before, but a small internal filter, and did not like it at all.

 

Hi AidanEel

I got my canister filter a few weeks ago, from a massive internal filter( the ugliest thing in the world ) When I first plugged it in, i thought it was broken because it was so quite. One more thing is that the inlet and outlet pipe are a bit tricky to "install" or put in your tank.

Hope this helps

Regards
Peter

 

You are quite right there Peter. I found that the pipe supplied with my canister was cr@p. In my opinion the pipe as made with too much plastic in it, and not enough silicon. So the pipe was very rigid and difficult. After 2 months of staring at the dog ugle think in the tank, (because I couldn't bend the pipe the way I wanted it) I just decided to go to Builder's, foot the R150.00 for the clear silicon tubing and replaced. it. MUCH BETTER.

 

Thanks for your input gents, I'll do some more reading, so far i'm quite happy with the dolphin feed back but i'll be reading up about the 2217 might just be worth the extra saving

 

Thanks Zoom

I think i will give that a try

Regards
Peter

 

Got Fluvals on all my tanks, dead quiet.
Over filtering is a good idea with two smallish filters, as you have some kind of redundancy.

 

Hi Hi,

I got a bargain today, an lfs was selling a second hand eheim 2229. I'm busy cleaning it and putting it together, gonna set it up tonight or tomorrow morning. I'll order some eheim media asap for it.

Thanks for all your input guys.

Lets hope it works though, haha.

Laters,
h