Canister filters

[Grumpy_Marine]

Ok i am starting to look for filters to use with my new 60 gallon tank. I have been looking at fluval and some other brands... but i like fluval as it is easily located in area i can find parts and media simple for it... but i can find a place online for a cheaper canister filter that does same amount. It is made by penn pax. it is a penn pax cascade 1200. My choices are :

Fluval 305
Fluval 405
Penn Pax 1200
Penn Pax 1000

Could the users of canister filters please chime in and give input on the one they would chose from this list or what should be used for my new tank i am setting up.

The tank is going to be non planted, it is going to have sandy bottom with lots of large rocks on it, or gravel with large rocks. I am going to build a river system in this tank meaning there will be a current pushed via two power heads across the tank about two inches above substrate surface. Based on that what would users suggest for the canister filter?

 

[tropicalfish]

I recommend the Rena xP3!

 

[slacker88313]

i second that, tropicalfish, the Rena xP3 is an excellent canister filter

 

[Grumpy_Marine]

looked it up on ebay and will probably go with that one as it is far cheaper and able to filter more per hour than the others i looked at from what i read so far.

Plus Petsmart is having sale right now 30 dollars off on the xp 3. Online is sold out so hopefully i can find in store and get for only 70 dollars. If not i will back order and it gets free shipping since over 50 dollars total wohoo

 

[Orion]

Petsmart will honor their online price for products in the retail stores. All you need to do is print out the page from the web with the price and take it in store. I bought an XP3 from there several months ago when the online price was around $89, and the in store price was $150 something.

I have both the Rena and Fluval. I like them both, but probably prefer the XP's a little more just because it's a little easier to do maintance. But with either one I'm sure you wouldn't be disapointed.

 

[seastaar88]

definitly go w/ the rena. the spray bar attachment can create the effect you're looking for.

just a side now, the faster flow in a river system is at the surface, so you may reconsider where to direct your powerheads or the spraybar of the rena to the top of the tank rather than the bottom. plus with a power head only 2" from a sandy substrate, you may blow the sand around a bit and get drifts and divits in your substrate.

i have this effect in my 20G with great success w/ my rena.

 

[Grumpy_Marine]

seastaar thanks for the info, i will raise the flow then, i will make diagram later and post see if the thoughts in head will work or not. Since rena can do spraybar i might not need to worry about the setup i was looking at.

 

[seastaar88]

yeah you really won't need powerheads if you use rena's spray bar.