Best canister filter for my 55 gal mbuna cichlid tank?

W

Water

Small Fish
#1
Apr 25, 2006
44
0
0
USA
#1
Best canister filter for my 55 gal mbuna cichlid tank?

I've been looking at the Fluval x5 but in all honesty I don't want to spend that much for a canister filter that I'm not the sure I even need???but I know that to even entertain keeping cichlids you much keep the water was clean as possible do to overstocking,...ect,I have an extra hob with a bio-wheel I also plan on adding using for that tank(which isn't up yet).

I just wanted to see If I could get some feed back of other good brands to looking out for and most important ones that are reasonably priced?


thank you
 

R

Rotaripsnoc

Large Fish
#2
Feb 18, 2013
194
0
0
#2
I have a Fluval 306 that I've been using for a few months, it's a great filter. I have it on my 60 gal and I couldn't ask for a better filter. I know FishDad has a Fx5 for his 125 gal.

http://www.myfishtank.net/forum/freshwater-general-discussion/65927-canister-filters.html

http://www.myfishtank.net/forum/freshwater-general-discussion/65940-fluval-fx5-my-new-toy.html

I personally think a FX5 would be overkill for a 55 gal, just don't overstock the tank and a 306 should do well for you.

If you need to increase your bio filter add a sponge filter to your tank, they work wonders.
 

FishDad

FishDad

Superstar Fish
#3
Mar 4, 2012
1,218
1
38
Cleveland
#3
Ditto to Rot. Have nothing but rave reviews for the fx5. Just figure out how much power you want and choose either fluval or ehiem. You really can't go wrong with either brand.

What kind of substrate do you have if you don't mind me asking?
 

Last edited:
exhumed07

exhumed07

Superstar Fish
#5
Apr 30, 2006
1,774
0
36
Illinois
#5
I've never ran a store bought canister filter myself. I am however experimenting with a diy PVC canister filter on my 20 gallon paludarium. so far it seems to be working great. my mechanical filtration seems to clog up pretty quick but i think thats more of the fact of the sand substrade with the mold and slime stuff growing in the tank right now due to i think the sugar in the wood. i built one big enough for a 75 gallon tank and running it on a tank that has less then 5 gallons in it lol. but overall it's running everything great and is maybe something to look into. think i got about 40 bucks into it. it's 2 feet long 4 inch pvc pipe, brass fittings and i used old shotgun wads for my bio media which fills it about 3/4 or so and then the last 1/4 is filter floss. then i'm using a marineland maxi-jet 600 to drive the whole thing. it's an option and if u are like me, I try to save money any chance i can.
 

FreshyFresh

FreshyFresh

Superstar Fish
#6
Jan 11, 2013
1,337
23
38
East Aurora, NY
#6
I'm very pleased with the Sunsun 302 I have on my 55g community tank. It's a basic 3-stage canister. I just took it apart and cleaned it for the first time the other day (was in service for ~6 weeks). Super easy, barely spilled a drop and you can load and configure it with the media of your choice. It was $57 shipped with media.

I also run a small internal filter as a power-head for more water circulation. It's got a cleanable sponge inside it.
 

exhumed07

exhumed07

Superstar Fish
#8
Apr 30, 2006
1,774
0
36
Illinois
#8
my substrate came from a local stream. it's got all kinds of rocks and shapes and sizes. and it's natural giving the tank a natural look. but with only having about 8-10 inches of water in the tank and the pump sitting right on the bottom it sucks up some of the sand. but this may be an issue with all medias with all canister filters for all i know. sand looks good to me but with every filter style except sponge filters it seems to cause issues.
 

W

Water

Small Fish
#9
Apr 25, 2006
44
0
0
USA
#9
Hey thanks for the feed back guys and gals.

My 55gal isn't up or running yet,I have the tank and the stand with nothing in it as of yet.To be honest I probably won't even actually have fish in it until august/sept because I don't want to rush into putting fish into my tank just to have them die or just everything goes wrong. When I do add substrate it probably will be sand because I also have a 10gal tank that's a pretty typical betta setup along with three louches as his hidden roommates.

I thought that Fx5 was overkill after watching a youtube video of the water flow,possibly to much for my 55gal but I just wanted to see rather than running out and purchasing something else that will collect dust like so many things I've purchased from the local petsmart(never listen to the sales people).
 

FishDad

FishDad

Superstar Fish
#10
Mar 4, 2012
1,218
1
38
Cleveland
#10
I don't think it would be overkill with cichlids. They love currents. Plus your tank will be healthier with less maintenance in the end. I would advise against sand however. Even with intakes all the way up it devoured the impellers on my hob's and gummed up the fx5 pretty bad. The mbunas just kick it up all day long. If you really want to do sand definitely stay away from play sand. Its too fine. Spend the money and go with a washed aquarium sand. Caribsea makes some good ones that you can order online. Really good varieties. To illustrate my point, I recently broke down my 125g African cichlid tank to remove all the sand substrate. Just too messy with too many problems.

Sorry I'm thinking out loud here but anaerobic bacteria becomes an issue too. Your sand will start turning black beneath the surface. That's toxic bacteria that doesn't require oxygen to survive. But when you or the mbunas disturb it, it releases literal gas bubbles that are harmful to your fish and smell really bad... like something died. I had multiple window fans running when I cleaned the sand out of my 125g. Wouldn't be surprised if it was a health hazard.

Here's a link to the caribsea products... they're really nice imo.
CaribSea Brands Home Page
 

FreshyFresh

FreshyFresh

Superstar Fish
#11
Jan 11, 2013
1,337
23
38
East Aurora, NY
#11
Another good substrate option is the natural polished pebbles from Petsmart or Petco. They are very tiny rounded stones and it's basically the color of sand. It will stir-up during water changes if you're not careful, but the pebbles won't float up to your filter intakes. Price isn't bad as far as pet store substrates go.

I also liked the Lowes pea gravel I had in my 29g. It's larger/chunkier pieces of stone.

I would not use the white marble chips again that I have in my 55g (bought from Lowes). Looks AWESOME when new. Looks like a horribly dirty white carpet now and I 'vacuum' it weekly.

FWIW, Lowes and Home Depot pea gravel and marble chips are less than 10% of the cost of pet store substates.
 

FreshyFresh

FreshyFresh

Superstar Fish
#13
Jan 11, 2013
1,337
23
38
East Aurora, NY
#13
FishDad said:
Yeah, I ditched the marble chips too. They end up looking terrible.
Click to expand...
LOL! I actually got the idea from you when you posted about it months ago. It was super cheap and looked REALLY great for the first few weeks. My wisteria and water sprite are rooted so well in it, I hate to break down the tank for a re-do. It's a horrible substrate. Too chunky and holds debris so well, you'd need a pool filter blowing across it to not have stuff settle in.
 

W

Water

Small Fish
#16
Apr 25, 2006
44
0
0
USA
#16
FreshyFresh said:
Another good substrate option is the natural polished pebbles from Petsmart or Petco. They are very tiny rounded stones and it's basically the color of sand. It will stir-up during water changes if you're not careful, but the pebbles won't float up to your filter intakes. Price isn't bad as far as pet store substrates go.

I also liked the Lowes pea gravel I had in my 29g. It's larger/chunkier pieces of stone.

I would not use the white marble chips again that I have in my 55g (bought from Lowes). Looks AWESOME when new. Looks like a horribly dirty white carpet now and I 'vacuum' it weekly.

FWIW, Lowes and Home Depot pea gravel and marble chips are less than 10% of the cost of pet store substates.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the suggestion because actually that was going to be my next question.

Are any particular stones to stay away from at lowes? I was thinking about getting a large bag of natural pebbles(small),slate and possibly a couple of large rocks(like pound rocks).

Thanks again everyone for your help and responces.
 

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