Help! Which Canister?

[ameliaaahx]

Morning, AC. Please bear with me on the following post as I will have to be converting litres to gallons several times and will likely make a mistake somewhere.

So I have recently purchased a 118g (450L) tank for my SA Cichlids. It currently runs a Juwel internal filter rated for 264gph (1000Lph). This turns the water over in the tank 2.5x in an hour. Ideally I would love to have a 10x turnover seeing as this is a cichlid tank, but I've come to realize this may be unrealistic. My 65g (250L) tank runs an internal filter rated for 158gph (600lph), with an additional Eheim 2215 canister rated at approx. 165gph (625lph), turning the volume of the tank over approximately 5x which I find pretty ideal.

HERE are all the canisters I have available to be... As you can see, they are horrendously expensive. I have looked at Eheim as I like the Eheim I have but to get one rated for 118g -- let alone double, which I was initially aiming for -- are well into the $500+. The only Fluval rated for my tank size or larger (the FX5) is $600. Then there's the larger rated Aqua Ones for $400 -- still ridiculously expensive.

Then there is the cheaper range of canisters with built in UV filters. I've always avoided them but it looks like they may be my only option. I take the flow rate they've stated with a pinch of salt, I know it's easy for them to put whatever they like on the side of the box. Is the any benefit to having a UV filter?
Sunsun rated for 528gph (2000lph) -- http://www.trademe.co.nz/pets-animal...-562902932.htm
Boyu rated for 330gph (1250lph) -- http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/List...x?id=563495349
No-name rated for 475gph (1800lph) -- http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/List...x?id=564667645
"Best Fish Tank" rated for 370gph (1400lph) -- http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/List...x?id=563259871

So, are there any filters in there that stand out to anyone as being suitable? Or an I doomed to put this tank into storage as I can't afford to buy a canister to run on it.

[dizzydezzy]

Ah, cheapie filters... Most people will tell you to get the expensive one, you get what you pay for, and I suppose that is often true...
However, I'm somewhat limited on funds myself, and have been running a SunSun on my 45 gallon (HW-302 1000l/hr) for a year now, and I have had absolutely no trouble with it.
The filter case is HUGE, you can fit a lot of biomedia in there (by the way it doesn't come with media but I got some from the same trademe seller for about $20 extra).
I have never measured the flow rate myself. Most of the time the flow rate stated on the box (even for the pricey up-market filters) is the rate at which it would pump without media and level with the tank (i.e. highest flow the pump is capable of), and judging on how lively my sunsun is with the media and almost 1.5 metres lower than the water line, I would say they probably didn't fib about the flow rate on it... or at least, not by much.
The UV filter in those canisters is pretty innefective, as the water (at those flow rates) is not exposed to the uv for long enough to do much, if anything - you might be better off looking at the non-UV option.

[jaysee]

I've got several sunsuns, in all the sizes, and I like them very much. I agree that the UV is useless for anything more than fixing green water...if it can even do that.

[mizzoutank]

Have you also researched available parts for the filters?

That is another bonus for a more popular brand-they generally have parts available for easy repair vs an entire new canister.

Just a thought.

[Goes to 11!]

While I admit to loving me some EHEIMS But... The first thought that occurs to me is this:

If you have the room ---> Build a sump, It's the most bang for the buck wrt filtration.

Just an idea

[jaysee]

As far as I know, sunsuns are clones of the marineland C series. I have wondered if parts are interchangeable, though I've not had to do any repairs to mine. It's not like there are a ton of moving parts that would need repair. I've broken some of the plumbing pieces and emailed the seller and gotten replacements. If I ever have something more serious break, I plan to do the same.

[toddnbecka]

Why must it be a canister filter? I use Aquaclear hob filters on most of my tanks, much less expensive and easier to clean/maintain as well. I run 2 110's (500 gph each) on my 125, 3 on the 220.
Other alternative, you could do a matternfilter with either an air pump or a powerhead (or both) to circulate the water.

[talldutchie]

Amelia has Juwel tanks. Juwel is a German brand which primarily sells on the European market. Over here in Europe Hob filters are pretty rare. The juwel aquariums require you to take a saw to the hood to place a hob filter. So a hob filter is not a very attractive option.

A mattenfilter is an option of course. From the above mentioned canisters the sunsun sometimes shows up here. Quality control isn't the greatest but if you get a good one it will work without problems.

A canister, like a sump, is pretty simple technology and there's possibilities to build it yourself.

[Cermet]

An algae scrubber based slump - if you have the room - is vastly superior to any other filter -period -since it will process not just ammonia but both nitrates and phosphates (and even other organics no other filter will touch.) Also, with such a unit your tank will never suffer from algae or BGA! The issue is building it, having the room, and weekly maintance (clean out the algae mass.) These units work best with an existing filter and since you build it, parts are not an issue to replace since you already know where you ordered the stuff (lol.)

[talldutchie]

What I do wonder is how one of those would work on a planted tank. My instinct tells me the algae will steal most of the nutrients from the plants