Godly3vil Posted July 30, 2012 Report Share Posted July 30, 2012 In my opinion you would be better off not getting the sunsun and just saving your money up abit more and look at getting either a fluvel or eheim branded canister, I have heard bad things about the sunsun brand. Also with the fish you currently keep in the 300ltr planting it out will not really work in my experience, not sure about the silver dollars but both oscars and plecos don't mix well with a planted aquarium unless you have more patience and time then Mother Theresa. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clubbing80s Posted July 30, 2012 Author Report Share Posted July 30, 2012 In my opinion you would be better off not getting the sunsun and just saving your money up abit more and look at getting either a fluvel or eheim branded canister, I have heard bad things about the sunsun brand. Also with the fish you currently keep in the 300ltr planting it out will not really work in my experience, not sure about the silver dollars but both oscars and plecos don't mix well with a planted aquarium unless you have more patience and time then Mother Theresa. So far the 2 small Amazon swards have been ignored , but another plant I put in had all the leaves stripped of the stem lmao .. And the pleco ate some floating plants I put in the tank, as an experiment to see if they would eat them ;-) .. Once is a while fresh plants should be good for them ;-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clubbing80s Posted July 30, 2012 Author Report Share Posted July 30, 2012 In my opinion you would be better off not getting the sunsun and just saving your money up abit more and look at getting either a fluvel or eheim branded canister, I have heard bad things about the sunsun brand. Also with the fish you currently keep in the 300ltr planting it out will not really work in my experience, not sure about the silver dollars but both oscars and plecos don't mix well with a planted aquarium unless you have more patience and time then Mother Theresa. Thanks for the advise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrahamC Posted July 30, 2012 Report Share Posted July 30, 2012 http://www.janrigter.nl/mattenfilter/ This is a bit more expensive than the $9 filter I pointed to before. Likoma on here sells the foam to create the filter. At $50 it's a lot cheaper than buying another canister filter, and will last for years without maintenance. Keep your existing classic filter for mechanical filtration. And if you want, you can put some plants behind it to create a refugium where the fishes can't get at it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F15hguy Posted July 30, 2012 Report Share Posted July 30, 2012 Cleaning the media can be messy job with the Classic 350 as all the media is loose in the canister only separated by a sponge, the fine grain filter pad is at the top luckily. ummm, DON'T clean the media, only clean the sponges!!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrahamC Posted July 30, 2012 Report Share Posted July 30, 2012 To make it easier to manage you can purchase little mesh bags to hold the media. I would think your local LFS sells them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamH Posted July 30, 2012 Report Share Posted July 30, 2012 I have heard bad things about the sunsun brand. Really? I've heard only good things about Sunsun filters. I have the HW-302 running on my 200L tank and it does well, really easy to use and it primes well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dachende Posted July 30, 2012 Report Share Posted July 30, 2012 I use a sunsun on my 3 ft - But I wouldn't rate it for much bigger. It's easy to clean (3 media trays) easy to prime and never once given me any problems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Godly3vil Posted July 30, 2012 Report Share Posted July 30, 2012 I know 2 people who purchased different sunsun branded canisters and both worked for less than 3 months each. They are cheap though so maybe it's worth a shot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted July 30, 2012 Report Share Posted July 30, 2012 Aquaone CFXXXX filters are good. Never had one fail after about some 15-20 filter years, unlike fluvals that I'd went through about half a dozen in the same time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrahamC Posted July 30, 2012 Report Share Posted July 30, 2012 Presumably the pump died .. that's the only part that could really fail. And did they get the pump replaced under warranty? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Godly3vil Posted July 30, 2012 Report Share Posted July 30, 2012 One of them is still trying to get his fixed and the other one can't be bothered for the price that it cost him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted July 30, 2012 Report Share Posted July 30, 2012 It seems to me that some people become clean fanatics and are forever cleaning the filters. They are designed to work best when loaded up with the detritus they collect. You only need to clean the filter enough to restore the flow and this could be limited to cleaning the input hose or the sponge on top of the media, but it only needs doing when the flow is quite reduced. Have you ever seen your council workers doing a water change in the sewage works? They clean the prefilter when it gets obstructed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrahamC Posted July 30, 2012 Report Share Posted July 30, 2012 boxturtle on TM is one guy selling sunsun products, and he claims to carry spares. Otherwise one could attach a power head to the inlet in the tank to use it. I would guess it doesn't make that much difference where the pump is along the path. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clubbing80s Posted July 30, 2012 Author Report Share Posted July 30, 2012 It seems to me that some people become clean fanatics and are forever cleaning the filters. They are designed to work best when loaded up with the detritus they collect. You only need to clean the filter enough to restore the flow and this could be limited to cleaning the input hose or the sponge on top of the media, but it only needs doing when the flow is quite reduced. Have you ever seen your council workers doing a water change in the sewage works? They clean the prefilter when it gets obstructed. Would help if the ppl selling you these items gave the correct advise in the first place. I was advised to do maintenance with the water changes and replace the filter pads every 1 -2 months .. I know better now . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrahamC Posted July 31, 2012 Report Share Posted July 31, 2012 Would help if the ppl selling you these items gave the correct advise in the first place. I was advised to do maintenance with the water changes and replace the filter pads every 1 -2 months .. I know better now . They do that to sell more product! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F15hguy Posted July 31, 2012 Report Share Posted July 31, 2012 lol im sure I can guess what store you went to my only experience iswith sun sun is with the pumps and every second one came back within 3 months for replacement impellers, they seem to have very soft metal shafts in the models I dealt with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clubbing80s Posted July 31, 2012 Author Report Share Posted July 31, 2012 lol im sure I can guess what store you went to my only experience iswith sun sun is with the pumps and every second one came back within 3 months for replacement impellers, they seem to have very soft metal shafts in the models I dealt with. Think I'm going with the Hamburg Mattenfilter, I have managed to get foam here from work for free :-) . I don't have time for stuff that breaks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted July 31, 2012 Report Share Posted July 31, 2012 They are a glorified sponge filter and also operate best if not cleaned all the time. In a previous life I used undergravel filters and never cleaned them once. I replaced with bare tanks and sponge filters when I realised they were as good and less hassle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrahamC Posted July 31, 2012 Report Share Posted July 31, 2012 Actually there is a significant difference besides the size. A sponge filter if left to bubble to the top can be quite noisy, but with the Hamburg filter, and an uplift tube, you don't hear much at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clubbing80s Posted July 31, 2012 Author Report Share Posted July 31, 2012 Actually there is a significant difference besides the size. A sponge filter if left to bubble to the top can be quite noisy, but with the Hamburg filter, and an uplift tube, you don't hear much at all. Wouldn't I need a power head to get the required flow ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrahamC Posted July 31, 2012 Report Share Posted July 31, 2012 No, you don't use a powerhead, you use an air driven uplift tube. The flow across the sponge ( and not just any old sponge ) has to be slow enough to allow the microbes to do their work. Too fast and then you get bypass channels and insufficient nitrification. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cricketman Posted July 31, 2012 Report Share Posted July 31, 2012 Why these flights of fantasy? Foam: be careful that some foams are not aquarium safe, they are all petroleum based compunds, and you'd have no idea if they leech into the water... Powerhead: Graham, that link you posted shows how to use with a power-head. Also, I'm interested as to how much experience you have with these things to be suggesting them to newbies... Seriously... Water changes, + other filter, save for a bigger unit... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrahamC Posted July 31, 2012 Report Share Posted July 31, 2012 I have a Hamburg filter that I purchased from Likoma here in my tank. Made from Poret foam. I also bought the airlift with it. Keeps my tank cycled and is very low noise. You do have a large blue sponge in your display tank, but I'm told it gradually turns brown as it is colonized by microbes. I've also used standard sponge filters before that and found them to be quite effective but just a bit noisy. If you already use an air stone in your tank, this still disrupts the surface for oxygen exchange, and possibly loses less CO2. Mine doubles as a tank divider to keep incompatible fish separated. Other advantages ... low power, little maintenance, and in the event of a power failure, you can keep the water filtered using a battery powered air pump. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted July 31, 2012 Report Share Posted July 31, 2012 Sponge filters, undergravel filters etc all use airlift tubes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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