Dophin C2400 Canister Filter

I paid R2500 for mine, but the box was opened, and it was probably old stock, I have seen them priced around R3300.
Rated at 3000l/hr, this is one of the bigger canister filters on the market, there is also a model with a UV light, the C-2400UV. I bought the model without the UV light.

I am running this along two canisters on a 800l tank, with the intention of removing the two smaller canisters once the DoPhin is matured, or moving the DoPhin to a new tank I'm planning.

What do you get: Canister filter with 4 media trays, flexible inlet and outlet tubes, rigid inlet and outlet pipes with a spray bar. Nothing out of the ordinary, pretty standard connections and assembly.
Power consumption: 40w

Overall impressions:
Its big! (H60cmx38cmx38cm) and is clearly meant for big tanks, the inlet and outlet pipes are a whopping 25mm internal diameter, the inlet pipe will reach almost 60cm down in your tank, and the spray bar is a hefty 80cm long.
Inside the canister are 4 filter media basket packing, I estimate, some 20l filter material. Mine came with some sponge, but the rest of the baskets were empty, I added 6l of noodles and 2 litres of Matrix, and trebled up on the filter floss in the top basket.
Priming is done by filling the canister with water, though a special filling hole in the top, closing it, plugging it in, and watch the water flow.
I found it surprisingly quiet for a filter this size, but moving 3000l of water per hour takes a big pump, and there is an audible hum.

Pro's
Easy to assemble.
Valve base is easy to clip in and remove, making maintenance simple.
I liked the priming method of filling it up and switching it on, I have found the self priming pump on most canisters I have used not very effective.
Large filter capacity and excellent flow rate, it does move a lot of water!
Flow rate can be adjusted by moving a lever on top of the canister, useful when feeding.
Creates plenty of flow in the aquarium.
Saw a definite improvement in my water clarity.

Con's
When filled with water and media, its heavy!, so if you want to move it for maintenance, remove some of the water first.
Due to its size, and the amount of water it pumps it has an audible (to be expected) hum, mine is still outside the cabinet. I'm sure once in the cabinet it will reduce the hum greatly, however it may be intrusive in a quiet/bedroom environment.

I have had it running for 5 days without problems, look forward to the first "service" in about a month from now.

 

I have two smaller Dophin cannisters running on my 500l tank and they work like a charm. Spares are easily available. I have recently replaced all the seals and the impellors and it did not cost me an arm and a leg. I have a c1000 and a c1600 running together. I am very happy with them.

 

@Jwh, Thank you for putting in the time with your review! +1

I am interested in buying a Dophin filter myself for my 250L tank, I am just not 100% sure for which one I should go. The C500 or the C1000. I have heard about these filters from my boss at work and my one uncle and both gave an excellent review and assured me the product is worth it and also worth the money.
@Leen, It is good to know that spares are also available !

 

I have the C1000 on my 4ft and it seems to work great. (Only been running it for about 45 days)

 

Hi Orteaga,

I believe rule of thumb says that you must filter all your water at least twice in an hour. I would go for the C 1000. According to the suppliers the C-500 does 500l per hour and the C-1000 does 900l per hour.

You can never have too much filtration.

 

@Caz, Thanx. So you only run the C1000 on your 4ft tank and no other filtration?
@Leen, Thanx will then definately invest in the C1000. The only problem is I want to buy majority once off after I saved some money and do not want to at a later stage upgrade the canister to a C1600 if the C1000 is too little. I would definitely then have made a mistake to purchase the C500.

 

@Ortaega I was only running the C1000 for about a month, but recently added a small internal filter above my CO diffuser to help with the water flow and to disperse any CO2 not absorbed... The C1000 alone produced a nice flow until I added more rocks and so on...
If it is in your budget go for the C1600...

 

@Caz, Thanks man. Will rather safe up for a bit bigger and be sorted for the long run!

 

Nice thing about the c1600 is that it was four media trays instead of the three in the c1000. It is a fairly heavy boy when filled with media and water.

More media = better filtration. Better bacterial growth.

The C 1600 filters 1100l per hour.

 

From experience, i would not suggest the C1000 for a 4ft but rather the C1600.

Your canister filter should filter at least 5x your total water volume per hour. The reason for this is because the volume of filter media is highly limited in a canister and thus you will need a higher flow through the media.

If you are running a sump however, the rule of thumb is at least 3x the water volume per hour. The reason for this is because one is able to add more filter media to a sump than you would to a canister. This equals more bacteria which in turn equals more filtration.
@Jwh, thanks for the review bud...

 

@koganm & @Leen.

Thanks then it is final. Will definately invest in the C1600 and rather be safe than sorry. This is all quite new to me thats why I will rather ask than making a mistake I will regret later. Any suggestions on what media i need to use in the trays?

 

I use the following in my C 1600.

ceramic noodles right in the bottom
then coarse foam
then more ceramic noodles - rough ones...never use smooth ones
then activated charcoal
and finally on top i use fine batting / foam.

when cleaning the filter i just replace the top tray of fine foam.

This works for me...

 

+1 @Leen, only change I have is matrix in place of charcoal. Charcoal is a chemical filtration medium, and is added to remove specific chemicals, chlorine, medication etc. Since charcoal looses its efficacy within a week, I only add it to remove something specific such as medication. If charcoal stays in longer it will become part of the biological component of your filter, and is thus not completely wasted.

 

@Leen & @Jwh, thank you very much I already learned allot!

How regular should this be cleaned/replaced?

 

I have two cannisters on my tank. I clean one a month. So each cannister gets cleaned once every two months. This works for my setup. i also test my water once a month and it tests fine.

I think it depends on your tank setup and your fish. You will have to see what works for you.

 

I have a 770l tank and run a c2400 and c1600 in tandem with a store fitted internal filter. Very affordable when compared to some of the German makes and in my opinion value for money. The c1600 has been running for 30 months and the c2400 just under a year. (Touching wood) I have had no issues with either filter up to now. I also clean on alternate months.

 

Awesome, Can't wait to start. Only setback at this moment is cash!

I want to make a Mbuna tank in the end when I have all of my equipment sorted out.
@halfway, definitely affordable and so far only heard great reviews with regards to this make and the availability of spares.

 

+1

You can use all of the media mentioned except the above, being charcoal. I would rather use more ceramic rings/matrix, IMO. The bacteria can cling onto these better they can to charcoal. This is the reason one uses rough surfaces as opposed to smooth ones.

I use the following but forgot the order its placed in: foam, ceramic rings and coarse gravel. I have a piece of filter matting at the top of each basket. This acts as an extra media for your beneficial bacteria.

Please remember thou, DO NOT overstock your baskets. It will slow down the flow of water considerably.

K

 

Just a suggestion here, but have you though of rather building up a sump? Its much cheaper and considering the fact that you are going to house malawi's, which are messy, a return pump rated +- 3000lph will do an excellent job with filtration. Maybe do some research first before buying the canister.

K

 

@koganm, will look into the sump idea as well, I have about 2 - 4 months time maybe before I will have all to get the tank up and running will maybe consider the sump build as heard some great benefits about having this.

I do not know much about DIY fish tank sumps and so on was just scared to mess something up or that it will look bad or cause leakage problems etc.