Budget canister filter for 2 ft planted setup?

[antitrust]

hi guys,

been toying with the idea of upgrading my OHF to a canister for my 2 ft planted setup.

reason is because i hate seeing the huge dolphin powerhead inside my tank and hate how much space it takes up at the top cos its blocking some of the light for my background plants...

its my first time buying a canister filter, so maybe you guys can tell me what i should look out for? i heard jebo and jebao have pretty decent and cheap ones...

does c328 and polyart stock such items? looking for something within a budget of $60... possible?

[EvolutionZ]

yes, jebo or jebao do have cheap canister below $60.. but would recommand you getting better brands like ehiem, hydro, fluval etc etc..
or if you want cheap and good.. get dolphine canister filter.. one of my friend is using the C-700 canister filter for his 2ft for almost 2 years.. and its running even now..
i personally also uses a C-700 too.. very happy with the canister filter.

[antitrust]

is the c-700 very noisy? read about some bros that it can be on the noisy side. how much did you pay for it?

as for the better brands... definitely when i can afford it i will get them... but not now. got other priorities. heh.

btw, what about priming? do all canisters come with priming feature? if not, how would i go about it priming it manually? quite clueless about it. fill the intake pipe with water?

[EvolutionZ]

noisy? nope.. not a sound. bought it 2nd hand from another bro who use it for a few months at $40.. i think brand new cost around $70.

[Shadow]

if you are not in hurry, you can hunt for 2nd hand eheim filter

[Salphur]

I second what Evolutionz mentioned about the Dolphin Cannister. I am using a C-500 for my 2 feet for a year plus, still going strong and silent.

Value for money indeed.


Cheers!

[antitrust]

cooool!

thanks for all the input guys. will seriously consider the options..

Shadow: thanks, yea i might try marketplace first... but i'm afraid that sometimes 2nd hand stuff will require replacement of parts soon after i get them, things like O-ring or something. abit ley chey and will cause some unnecessary distress... :P

Salphur: ok! shall put dolphin under my 'safe-to-get' list! :P

[Shadow]

Part replacement can't be help depending on how old the equipment is. Not sure for other brand, but eheim spare parts are easy to get.

[cairocks]

Had been using a Atman CF-800 for my 2ft. tank since April 06. So far working well and total silence. Using it to drive water through my chiller too. Got it from N.A. Forgotten about the price already but is 99% sure it is less than a hundred.

[argonmt]

can try 328 .. just saw their Atman CF-600 listed price is $1 below your budget .. buy

[antitrust]

can try 328 .. just saw their Atman CF-600 listed price is $1 below your budget .. buy

sounds good! how would Jebo and Jebao compare to an Atman?

1. Atman
2. Jebao
3. Jebo

??

[z_z]

I prefer the Atman over the Js

But then again, get the Dolphin please. Seems to be more reliable. If you want budget yet super good, wait for someone to sell their Eheim on the forums.

[argonmt]

I am using eheim only .. not sure about the rest. But IIRC.. the eheim 2213 unit selling in 328 not very far off from your budget .. about 25% extra.

You may invest a good filter to ease your worries in the future.. or get a cheap one and try it till you find the filter is too bad to your liking then sell it cheap to fund for a good one.

[antitrust]

i can get an eheim for ard 80? hmmm...... that's interesting.. do all eheim canisters come with media? it seems that all of the china made ones don't.. wondering if its a common practice? the flowrate for 2213 is 440l/h... is that enough to drive a internal 3 bioball co2 reactor and produce enough water current?

i'm now thinking of Atman CF-600 or Jebao 912... they are just within my budget, no medias included tho.. i'm going for a higher flowrate because i'll be running to thru a co2 reactor, so compensate abit.

as some bros suggest, i'll also check if c328 carries the dolphin c-700 tomorrow or not.

[argonmt]

is 88. I am not sure 440L/h enough to drive the internal reactor may be someone can help with that.

BTW few days ago I've posted a thread to get opinion on 2213+ISTA max mix CO2 reactor. One bro said is possible provided you maintain the canister quite often to make sure the flow rate is sufficient.

Some eheim included the media (pro 2222) some not (classic 2211). If not just get the biohome which i am using it.

[lolo]

i'm a Atman user with four Atman canisters so i would suppport a Atman CF600 for your 2 ft tank.you may get it from NA or C328 at a good price.

[beetlejuice403]

Am using an Atman CF-600 for my 2-feet tank also & is pleased with its performance so far... I considered it good enough for me as Eheim is abit out of budget for me then...

If you are not in a hurry, you may diligently refresh AQ's marketplace for secondhand deals on Cannister filters from those bros who are upgrading their tanks @ good deals... furthermore, you can take the time to save more money...

Cheers!

[antitrust]

i've decided on a Dolphin C-700 for now. its $1 below my budget and has a flowrate of 700l/h which i think will come in useful for my internal co2 reactor.

hope there's still enough strength to for water circulation! wouldn't want any dead spots.

reason why picked a dolphin is because it comes with auto-priming also.

[z_z]

700l/h for a 2 litre tank should be no problem. Have fun and handle your equipment with care

[antitrust]

thanks! the internal reactor part might be tricky though. will see how i can ensure there are no dead spots....