Hydor Professional External Canister Filter – Aquarium External Filter – Telescopic Intake Tubes, Easy Priming – EcoSystem in a Box – Biological, Mechanical, Chemical Filtration – 190 to 345 gph

Have you been fumbling and futsing with an old filter that hangs off the back of your tank making noise, forcing you to move the tank away from the wall to make space, laughing at you and mocking you every time you have to change the nasty smelly carbon filters? Then it's time to do yourself a favour and give your tank an upgrade. I've had many tanks over the years and i've always done what a lot of people do, aggravate myself with the old faithful Top Fin and the like filters. Never being satisfied with the water clarity and just about controlling myself from throwing it out the window as i'm changing a filter. Not to mention the bottles and bottles of Advil i've downed over the years dealing with the noise those filters make. I've seen canister filters in the local pet shops and I was always intrigued by the concept, and then blown away by the amount of money the stores were charging. But I upgraded my tank with a larger one and decided to upgrade my filtering system too.I found this filter on Amazon for half the price that the commercial pet stores are charging for comparable filters, so I did some investigation and decided to take the plunge and purchase this beauty.Firstly, it's amazingly simple to set this filter up. Open the package, take all of the filters and bio pieces out and place them in the trays (wash them off). Place the trays in the filter and secure the top. Place the filter under the tank, measure and cut the water tubes and attach to the filter and to the intake and output assemblies. Push on the priming button on the top a few times until water fills the chamber then turn it on. That's it!Secondly, it's quiet. It's super quiet. For the first couple of days I had it running I had to look to make sure there was water coming out of the discharge nozzle because it was so quiet.Thirdly, it's very powerful and processes a lot of water. I had to turn down the output because it was so powerful. That's a good thing.Lastly, and most importantly, it is amazing at how well it filters and cleans the water. Canisters are biological filters unlike the old fashioned that are carbon filters. Now you can put carbon in this filter, but that should only be for a short period of time. Once you get the biologics going and go through a good nitro cycle you'll be amazed at how crystal clear the water is. I kick started my tank with some bacteria chemicals and ran it for a good 3-4 weeks with no fish. Then after testing the water and getting the ph and other levels to where I needed them I introduced a school to get the nitro cycle going. I got a good bacteria bloom that lasted for about 2 days and then the water turned crystal clear and has been crystal clear ever since. It's unbelievable how clear the water actually is. I've never seen water so clear in any of my other setups over the years using the hang off carbon filters.This filter is fantastic. I'd recommend to anyone wanting to upgrade their setup.(UPDATE - 7/20/2016) - I've had this filter for almost 5 months and i'm happy to say that I am still amazed at how well this filter works. It works so well that i'm on Amazon to purchase another for my daughters tank to replace her hang off carbon filter. Even though the tanks are almost the same size, same PH, nitros, etc. and almost the same stock level and feeding schedule and same water change schedule, her tank is and always has been slightly cloudy and not quite clear. My tank is still crystal clear, and I mean crystal clear. This Hydor filter has worked and worked and worked and is unbelievably quiet. This has to be the best purchase I have ever made for any of my tanks.(UPDATE - 1/23/2017) - It's been a year since I purchased and I am still extremely satisfied with this filter. It is excellent. It just runs and runs. And I do have a tip for those that have had issues with filter cleaning and the water spillage when you remove the hoses. Here is the process I use and I don't spill a drop of water:1) With the pump still running close the inlet valve.2) After a few seconds close the outlet valve.3) Unplug the pump.4) Remove the hoses.That's it! Closing the inlet valve will cause the pump to pump out water remaining in the pump chamber. When you close the outlet valve and unplug the pump, the water level will be lower than the nozzles so you will not spill any water. Works every time for me. Also, remember to only rinse out the ceramics with tank water. Do not rinse with clean water, you will lose the biologics in the filter. I have found that the white filter media needs to be replaced every couple of months. I rinse out the filter every 3 months and replace the white filter pad when I do.

Oh my gosh.Okay. This canister filter is beyond awesome. I have a 27 gallon cube aquarium. I bought the 250 as this is almost TRIPLE the size filter I need. I'm very lightly stocked.I didn't even look at the instructions. Although, I knew the general features. Toggles to adjust water flow, and the tighteners to keep the water line from popping off. This isn't my first canister filter though.1. This thing is quiet. Its on an aquarium at work and I'm in the same room as 3 other people. I don't want to annoy their work flow with my aquarium, so noise was very important. I also have issues with humming noises as I tend to focus on them and they annoy me. This has a very quiet operating noise. Especially closed up in a cabinet.2. I love the spray bar. My aquarium is only 24 inches wide, so I used 2 tubes. There are 4 tubes total, so it would fit perfect width wise for a true 55 gallon aquarium.3. You can adjust the speed on the spray bar. My current HOB filter malfunctioned, so I upped the water flow to disrupt everything to clear up the water. THE FISH ARE LOVING IT. They are purposefully swimming up against the spray bar and playing in the moving water lol.4. There's enough room that I was able to mix in my bacteria covered media into the filter's media in order to avoid a forced cycle (again, I would rather leave my current filter on for 4 weeks while this one was building up bacteria, BUT, the motor went out on it, so I have to hope for the best).5. Everything feels sturdy. Nothing feels like cheap, breakable plastic. Also all the hoses fit on very snug, especially with the fasteners.6. Priming was a breeze. In about 30 seconds it was filling itself up. Had some air bubbles, so all in all, a minute to get the water moving.7. DID I MENTION HOW QUIET THIS THING IS!?

I am so surprised by the positive reviews. I have now owned Fluval, Aquatop, Marineland, and unfortunately now Hydor. Beyond the leak in one of the valves (I really thought it was human error at first until I figured out where it was leaking) which caused me to simply return it, there are several other things that made this the worst canister filter I have ever experienced:* When you take off a hose for filter maintenance, about a half cup of water is spilled. For each hose! Beyond that, the motor housing contains a significant amount of water so when you lift it off, more water goes all over.* The suction cups used to hold the return and outflow spouts have about a 1.5 inch pole attached to them which makes for very awkward and unstable positioning.* The priming button is a joke. It took me over 25 pushes before I could get it to start filling!Stay away! I obviously can't speak to longevity, but based on a valve leaking there are clearly quality control issues, and the engineering leaves something to be desired. I replaced it with a Marineland which so far is my favorite.