Question About Canister Filters And Tank Hoods

[Aussie_Dog]

Okay, I've got my eye on a nice 60 gal tank with a hood, one that doesn't leave much (if any) room for a HOTB filter, so I've been looking at other filters. A canister filter is a bit much (money, that is), but I guess if it's really worth it (which apparantly it is), I can dish out the extra moolah (or beg someone to pay for it for me, lol). I'm still confused on how these work, though.

The tank I'm looking at has four small holes at the back of the lid, so I'm wondering if canister filters use small tubes to get into the tank and into the water (if not, what are these holes for? Are they breathing holes or something? lol). I was looking at a canister a few days ago at Petsmart (the box was already open, so I snuck a peek, lol), and the tubes at the top of the box appeared pretty darn big, like a vacuum-cleaner tube size. I looked at google, but for once, google doesn't seem to help much when it comes to more in-depth info on the fish world.

If someone has pictures to show a detailed look at a canister filter (or any filter, really; I'm totally open for suggestions, lol), that'd be great. If you can show all the tubes leading from the canister to the water itself, I'll love you forever! lol

 

[shang hi]

external canister filters are best for your fish as they hold more media, alowing you to have a heavy stocking.
i've only recently switched to a external canister about a month ago when i got my new tank, and its a Aquis 1250UV-C with built in UV light. it has relitivly think tubes one an inlet tube (with a inlet tube in the water) and that goes into the top of the filter and "falls" onto a 15ppi pad then onto some active carbon and through some bio-node, then through another 15ppi pad and now onto some media, after the media it goes through a 35ppi pad and a wool like pad to remove any small particles that got through the filter, after all that it gets sucked past the Uv light giving it a good expesier time and up the outlet tube and out the spray bar.

there more complex than an internal filter and each filter works in its own way.

there is a bigger model available which is about £20-30 more in price but it just has in this order:

Blue 15ppi pad,
Carbon,
Bio-node,
Blue 15ppi pad,
Media,
Blue 15ppi pad,
Media,
Black 35ppi pad,
white cottonwool like pad.

is better for you fish as it has more media to house bacteria.
its a tad expencive being the "small" one i have at £180 ($220ish though), and the "large" one at £210 ($250ish). its soo much better value in americia

 

[shang hi]

heres my filter, and i realise i got the name wrong

 

[Underwurlde]

Externals are simple things really. You are simply trying to get water to move through some 'media'.

The filter itself is a sealed tub with hoses going to it and from it. Inside the lid of the filter is a pump. Water is sucked out of the tank, into the filter, past the media and back into the tank via a 2nd pipe. Obviosuly everything must be sealed, otherwise you'd get water everywhere!


God knows what you were looking at in that shop, but the pipes certainly are not vacuum hoover sized, unless it was a pond filter or some massive filter. The hoses are usually 13-16mm

Look at spare parts shows 'everything' that the mechanics comprise of:
http/www.fishandfins.co.uk/eheim-manual-spares.htm

Usually people just cut a notch out of the lids to accomodate for the two inlet & outlet hoses.

Andy

 

[Aussie_Dog]

Thanks for the replies! I think the one I was looking at was for a pond or something, because the canister itself was pretty big, too. Canisters are looking really appealing now, lol