125 gal. tank
thanks!, I did add my canister and WOW what a different!. I’m thinking about buying another HOT magnum to replace my one whisper 60 filter very soon!. Thanks for your great help!. Jack
Giancarlo Podio wrote: Hi Jack,
A canister has the main advantage of being able to hold a lot more media than other forms of filtration. If you are going with a large tank housing large fish, there will be quite a large amount of particulate and organic waste being generated. A single canister can hold several times the media one of those whispers can hold. GPH means little when comparing filters, I always look at media volume first. A tank such as yours, I would want at least 3 gallons of media, even better with a little more to give you that extra relax time between having to service them.
To give you an example, I use Eheim 2217 canisters (1.5 gallons of media) in my 55 and 90 gallon tanks. When using a pre-filter (rinsed at each water change) the canisters need cleaning on average 2-3 times a year. Without the pre-filter it varies more based on the amount of particulate waste and resulting reduction in flow coming out of the canister, somewhere between 5-6 times a year. With larger fish obviously that would increase, but you can see how nice it can be to have an oversized canister for any tank.
You also have a lot more choices when it comes to media to use. I bought a large roll of filter material and sponge block about 5 years ago and still have plenty left for the occasional replacement of media when needed. Most HOB filter on the other hand use cartridges and other propriatery media which can be harder to clean and expensive to replace over time. When needed, you can use micron pads or filter floss in the canister to polish the water, however these do get clogged a lot quicker and most likely require cleaning or removal with a month of use.
Another strong argument for canisters is the flexibility in placing both intake and returns to assure proper cisrculation. Most HOB filters simply drop the water back into the tank from the top, often requiring one to use extra powerheads in the tank for proper circulation.
Personally I wouldn’t consider anything but a canister, but cost can be a large factor so if one must, at least aim to upgrade in the future to a canister for such a tank. Two canisters will give you better redundancy and also better flow considering the length of your tank. They may also be cheaper than a single larger model.
Hope that helps Giancarlo Podio, LMD
Category: Philippines Internet Koi Society
