Recommended Canister Filter

Hi all.
I need some help in deciding which Canister Filter will be best on a budget. I've got a standard 4ft tank with a few discus in. I was considering a sump, but its not possible for me to drill the tank, so looking for a canister filter.
There are two I was looking at, the Dophin C-1600 and the Tetratec EX1200 Plus. I would also consider other canister filters. And also any good online shops selling canister filters and also spares if needed.

Thanks

 

Go for he dophin one

 

I have two Dophin canisters. A c1000 and a c1600. They work great and spares are easily available from your LFS.

 

Dophin c1600

 

How big is your tank ?

 

It's a standard 4ft 250l

 

I use one also. Nothing wrong with them get the c1600 and extend the spraybar

 

Is there a specific reason why everybody says the Dophin filter? I know alot of people here on the forum use the Dophin filter, but I was just wondering. I read that the TetraTec had a leaking problem, but that has been sorted out with the EX1200 plus. The TetraTec also comes with all the required filter media, and I'm not sure what the Dophin comes with.
Has anybody tried the EX1200 plus?

 

I have the ex1200 plus and can't fault it. I looked at a dophin filter too but the tetra was better quality, came with all media needed and a 2 year warranty and spare parts available locally. There are a few changes in the design of the tetra plus, resolved all the issues with leaking etc. I have a mail from tetra outlining the improvements made to the new tetra plus, if anyone is interested I can send it to them .

 

The ex1200 plus is the new range of tetra tec they say they fixed the leaking problems. Dophin is good for the price.

 

Dophin C1600, getting myself one too.

 

What filter media does the Dophin come with?
And does anybody maybe know of where I can get the filters for good prices? I can get the TetraTec EX1200 plus for R1800 and the Dophin C-1600 for R1700.

 

@SpiderPig_za -you mention the TetraTec comes with all filter media.
I have 3x1200 and 1x700 (previous generation). I reckon that the filter media is useless. Charcoal you will have to replace after less than a month and the mini bio balls supplied look cute, but imo are a waste of space in a canister.
Having said that, I would change (upgrade) the media in most of the canisters on the market.
Rather get yourself some Matrix or Siporax and give the mini bio balls to the kids to play with.

Regarding leaking, yes the TetraTec seem to have a habit to do so.
Personally I don't buy the PR talk that this problem has been sorted out on the new generation.
I am not saying that it isn't true but what do you expect the PR department to say?
They also make the claim of 35% less power usage, ...not sure who taught them their math, @1200l/hr the old unit uses 21 watts and the new unit 19.5 watts, ...not quite the claimed 35% improvement (both values printed on the respective boxes).
Regarding spares available in RSA, my experience was that in the Western Cape there was no O-rings available from the supplier at all towards the end of last year, ...when I had a leak problem on one of my units they gave me a complete motor head unit including O-ring to solve the problem. Credit to them but let's hope they have resolved this issue.

I also have 1 Dophin C1600 and 2xC1000, can't tell you what media they came with originally as I got the units as part of complete tank setups I bought second hand.
So far I had no issues with the Dolphins.

 

@JCL. I agree. The Dophins are very good value for money. My c1000 has been running for about three years and not a days problem...

 

Must be SA maths you know how high our standards are

 

I have 3 Tetra's, 1 DoPhin, 1 Cascade - my 2c worth:
Tetra, better quality, very quiet, however, looses a lot of the claimed flow in use, I've never had issues with leaks
Dophin, effective, high flow rate, works well, good value for money
Cascade, effective, noisy

I'm probably buying another 2 DoPhin's in May

 

Thanks for all the info so far guys. Does anybody maybe know what filter media the Dophin filter comes with? How does the Dophin compare to the Tetratec regarding noise levels etc?

 

My DoPhin only had some sponge in it. Tetratec is incredibly quiet,byou sometimes have to touch it to feelif it's running. It is quieter than my Dophin, but my comparison is not quite valid as I compare the Dophin 2400 to a Tetratec 1200, same flow rated Cascade is quite a bit noisier than the Tetratec.

 

At the moment I am running 2 Dophin and 3 TetraTec and they are equally quiet.
Regarding what media the Dophin comes with, speak to your LFS or check online.
Regardless, this should not be a deciding factor as I would upgrade the media (or at least some of it)

 

Dophin listen to Ryno he sometimes knows what he is talking about, but only sometimes.