Canister Filters?

Anyone give me their opinion on using a canister filter for my 55G, and if so what they would recommend? I'm hoping for very effective, but also quiet.
Also is it possible to place the heater inside these, and, sorry showing my total newbee status to canisters, but do they have a pump there in to achieve a 5ft head?

im using a rena XP4 on my 55. its an excellent filter. and total overkill for a 55, its a spotless tank!


as for your heater, you can easily get an inline heater to go on a canister.


as far as brands go, i would reccomend Rena, or Fluval, or ehiem. all are good products. as for your head height, it doesnt matter as the in/out are going to be on the same level so it shouldnt ad any load to the pump. i assume your tank is not drilled correct?

Thanks Win.
It's not drilled, and as my Father was a Slurry Pump engineer I knew a little about head of water issues, so was concerned about the 5 ft lift required.
I woud have sent him some spec's but my parents are cruising the Nile at the moment.....Dam I should have sent him a "Catch List".

Haha... more importantly how about a don't catch list. :-)

I have a Rena XP2 on my 55. The thing is silent. Have been very please thus far. Only complaint, is that I think I undersized it for use on an overstocked African Tank. Shoulda got an XP3 or 4...because now I am a bit concerned about having a tank crammed full of 4-6" africans in a few months. Time to go shopping???

And +1 on the in-line heater. Best investment I ever made. The only thing I have in my tank is the suction and return tubes for the filter and a small digital thermometer. All are discreetly tucked behind some rock work.

Others have addressed it, but I'll chime in anyway. Canisters are designed to work with a head height. Basically it is a siphon that is pushed back up. I have noticed my magnum 350 was less effective when I had it at the same level as the tank. You will notice different flow rates at different heights, it's just physics and the manufacturer doesn't account for that. x2 on inline heaters. I have not had the pleasure to use them, but I hear they are great. Don't try to put a conventional heater inside a canister though . . . it won't work.

Onegoodie, my rule of thumb for an overstocked african tank is to shoot for a flow rate that will cycle the aquarium volume 7-10 times an hour. for a 55g look for a total flow of 385-500gph. Not sure what an xp2 does, but two of them would probably do the trick or just add a good HOB. The media capacity is also important, but it really comes down to how often you want to clean and replace the media rather than a "will it work" scenario.

I prefer to use sumps for many reasons, but one thing they are not is silent.

I ended up getting a Magnum 350 which I have just set up, so now to keep an eye on the levels again. I put one of the old filters in the tank to keep the bacteria level up, thinking if I take it out in a day or two shoud have the new filter membrane inhabited?
I'm wondering about putting an airstone in too, just to keep Oxygen levels nice and high.

ahhhh goodole xp4 flows 450gph i had 2 of them on a 240 with a very large biomass and had no issues.

Sat here by the tank at my computer, the 55G is so quiet, the small beta tank and its "whisper" filter is now so noisy!

If you are planning on stocking a typical african tank I would recommend you add more filtration. I don't know what you had on there before the 350, but it may be a good idea to keep it and run both. See my note to Onegoodie above.

An air stone would be more of an aesthetic item in my opinion. I have found them to be unnecessary given you have adequate water flow. This article has some good points and is worth a read. Water Movement In The Tank

At the end of the article he talks about under gravel jets. I have used them off and on over the years, but they really aren't necessary. What I liked about them is they created a current for my fish to play in. It is interesting to watch them swim in and out of the pressurized stream. Another reason, and the only reason I have them currently, is they keep the water stirred up. Theoretically they keep the waste in the water column where it is more easily removed by the filter. Some waste collects at the bottom around decor and in areas where there isn't much movement, but it seems to be lifting a lot of waste to where it can be caught up in my overflow. A couple well placed power heads would do just as good of a job but there are pros and cons to that too. The main issue I have with them is that they are a bit of an eyesore and are nowhere near natural looking. I'd be happy to answer any questions you have about them if you are interested.

Tetra 30-60 put back.

The idea of the air stone as much as anything was to create water movement as I had transferred one from an adjacent tank and seen the effects in what I suspected was a "still corner" plus the oxygen levels (wrong). Interesting to see it does little to improve oxygen levels.

In my far corner I have a silk plant, there to hide heater, and allow alternative hiding places for fish that wish for some peace and quiet. Trouble is I can see it being an area for suspension of waste. Now I had read articles about putting power heads in a tank, and was really keen on the idea, until I looked in Walnasty... about $50+ for one! So that's why I was thinking about an airstone.

The idea you showed is wonderful though. I love to watch the fish swim in a current, to watch them working their way along the tank, and not just idling along.

for what its worth, a simple bubble wand and an air pump can create ALOT of water movement, very cheaply.

ive got a penn Plax 1000 Cascade canister on my dwarf cichlids tank.. i hooked up the spray bar too it and its got a great flow, very even distribution and water turn over. its rated for a 100 g with 265 GPH flow.. its extremely quiet, i can sit and have dinner right next to it and cant hear a thing..it was a little difficult getting started the first time out of the box but even sense then its been a plug and play system. overall ive been really happy with this filter

I'm now running 2 canisters on my Mbuna's in the 55G. I have a Magnum 350 and a HOB on my Peacock 55G, on my30G SA tank (2 Angels and 6 Clowns) I'm running an Aquaclear 110, which of the HOB I have to say I like the most as it allows you to decide what filter media mix you run.
Of the canisters I would select the Eheims as my canister of preference, I've found them very efficient and quiet too. The Magnum, being in effect a carbon only filter does keep the water nice and clean, but has to be serviced more frequently, and can be a bugger to get rid of any air trapped.