Reddit reviews SunSun Tech'n'Toy HW-603B 106 GPH 3-Stage External Canister Filter

Go for a tiny canister filter and hide it under the tank! All you will see are a small intake and spray bar/outflow tube. This is a good one, SunSun HW-602B 106 GPH 3-Stage External Canister Filter. For a SUPER clean look get a set of glass "lily pipes" for the intake/outflow. Don't be intimidated by a canister filter they really work great and are easy to maintain, I only rinse out my filter material every 3 months on my Fluval 406 on my 40gal.

Years ago one of the first tanks I had was a 5.5 setup with some ghost shrimp and my Betta. For quite a while figured the filter flow problem was just something I had to live with. Then I spent some time online and took another crack at the tank. The problems you are having can be solved!

Since money is an issue, grab an empty water or soda bottle. Rinse it off very well, cut off the ends, and cut a slit down the side. You can wrap this under the "waterfall" of your filter and around the top outside of the tank. This diverts the water out the sides and will make your fish happier. Some tape might need to be added to the top to keep it from popping off randomly, but otherwise its about as cheap a fix as I can come up with for your filter right now. This photo is not mine, but it does give you something to look at which might make more sense than my description!

The only other solution I have is going with a super cheap canister filter from Amazon. This one is only $32 and would work great on your tank.

If you need to clean the tank before getting a gravel vacuum you could always grab a cheap turkey baster and use it to suck up the crud you can see on the surface.

Last suggestions I have without replacing the filter is to pull out whatever charcoal is in your filter and maybe replace that with a pot scrubber. Then grab a bottle of Tetra Safe Start and dump that into your tank. It will look like a cloudy mess, but this is fine and it will clear up soon. This will jump-start your cycle since you are starting fresh.

Oh! This is the last thing. Make sure to grab a bottle of water conditioner before you do anything else. Do this right now if you haven't already. Get your new buddy some treated water and relax! Later you can use an old milk jug or water jug to keep a gallon of pre-treated water around to top off the tank after evaporation as well as for water changes.

From gingercide and my experience...

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Heaters...


Eheim jaeger:
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=23726

tetra 50watt
hydor theo:http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=11368&t=1&ref=4032&subref=AA&cmpid=PPC-G-4032&gclid=CNWGqee2g80CFclkhgodNxQHdg

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=11368&t=1&ref=4032&subref=AA&cmpid=PPC-G-4032&gclid=CNWGqee2g80CFclkhgodNxQHdg

and cobalt neotherms...

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=25673


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Filters

(cheap-air)
whisper 3.1
http://www.amazon.com/Whisper--Tank-Filter-3i-aquariums/dp/B000HHQ712/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1464667444&sr=8-1&keywords=whisper+3i

deepblue sponge filters
http://www.amazon.com/Deep-Blue-Professional-30-Ammonia-Submersible/dp/B005DGI3TG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1464667502&sr=8-1&keywords=deep+blue+sponge+filter

(Moderate)

aquaclear
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=3610

hagen/fluval
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=23459

sunsun hw602 or 603:
http://www.amazon.com/TechnToy-HW-603B-3-Stage-External-Canister/dp/B00CC6SCJQ/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1464667614&sr=8-7&keywords=sunsun

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Tanks:

My personal preference is to fo with a fluval spec tank (spec iii or V) due to the higher quality materials
and use that filter with a spraybar mod that I can explain. Is It's cheap and easy.

http://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcostore/fluval-spec-iii-aquarium-kit-in-black

http://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcostore/fluval-spec-v-aquarium-kit-in-white

These tanks are high quality, as are the filters. You can also hide the heaters.

Marineland has similar tanks in 3 and five gallon versions.

http://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcostore/fish/fish-aquariums-kits/marineland-portrait-glass-led-aquarium-kit

http://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcostore/fish/fish-aquariums-kits/marineland-silhouette-glass-3-gallon-led-aquarium-kit

You might just want to put plastic craft canvas over the intakes to protect the fins. They seem to keep the fish much happier and healthier. Petco is running a special now on shipping and lower price than in-store.

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Food... We use omega one, but it can redden whites due to the salmon.

from what I've researched this is the order:

• 1.Atison's betta pro
  
• 2.New Life Spectrum Betta Pellets
  
• 3.Omega One Betta Buffet Pellets (can cause white fish to fade to pink/red due to the salmon content)
  
• 4.NutraFin Max Color Enhancing Betta Flake Food (need to watch this as it's flake (betta tend to not like), and has fish meal as a main ingredient
  
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  Substrate
  
  I love the black sand, or eco complete if planting, but watch that you give eco six weeks to stabilize, it can affect the water chems.
  
  Fluval has a good substrate as well, just never see it in store.
  
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  online shopping
  
  Good stores online are dr foster and Smith, petco surprisingly, aquabid, Big Als and I think aquarium arts. For decorations, make sure you carefully check for sharp edges, I file down everything. Let me know if you need or want more details

I do like it, but at least for me the lack of ball valves definitely deter me from cleaning it as much as I should and and to buy them separate is expensive enough where I should have just got an Eheim. It’s so easy to just close the valves and carry canister to the sink.
I do have this filter on a ten gallon( tiny sun sun canister ) which doesn’t have ball valves but is a more manageable size and would probably be perfect for a ten gall betta tank ... Sunsun Tech'n'Toy HW-603B 106 GPH 3-Stage External Canister Filter https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00CC6SCJQ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_MVIpDb130RAQR I believe it comes with Lots of sponges so u just need to get your own ceramic rings. It’s not as overpowered, but it works well and has a nice spray bar. I love canisters because they are very QUIET !

• GLA Atomic CO2 Bubble Counter - with Integrated Check Valve
  
• GLA Atomic CO2 Diffuser - Inline - 12/16mm
  
• TRANSPARENT GREEN CO2 RESISTANT TUBING
  
• SunSun HW-603B External Canister Filter
  
• Co2 Omnibus Regulator
  
• Hydra Aquatic CO2 Paintball Adapter
  
• Finnex Electronic Controller Aquarium Titanium Tube with Heater Guard
  
• NICREW LED Aquarium Light
  
  
  
  Here's a list of all the equipment for the tank. The paintball tank I bought from my local military surplus/paintball shop. Refills are $6. It's a pretty simple setup. I chose the inline diffuser to reduce clutter inside the tank. Plus, the co2 is absorbed into the water by the time it hits the tank. Here's a current (as of today) pic of 1 months growth http://i.imgur.com/KvyECwm.jpg

SunSun Canister filters off Amazon are your friend!!!

Check out this link- https://www.amazon.com/TechnToy-HW-603B-3-Stage-External-Canister/dp/B00CC6SCJQ

That filter will give you way more than enough circulation. Highly recommend it!

I’m running the sun sun 603B

Tech'n'Toy SunSun HW-603B 106 GPH... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00CC6SCJQ?ref=yo_pop_ma_swf

It seems to work pretty well, i don’t have any fish in yet since i did a complete rescape and it’s still cycling

That does make sense maybe they were talking as a regular pump for I don’t know how big of a tank.

It would be this one?
Tech'n'Toy SunSun HW-603B 106 GPH 3-Stage External Canister Filter https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00CC6SCJQ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_3qy8CbXXXB22H

Tech'n'Toy SunSun HW-603B 106 GPH 3-Stage External Canister Filter https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00CC6SCJQ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_V0d0Cb8JN7CTV

This one? https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00CC6SCJQ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_MLYjzbTJ3RE5Y

If not, can you link me the correct one?

What's the best solution for protecting the shrimp from getting stuck in the filter?

This is what i use for my 10 gallon, i have sponge/ceramics and purigen in the order and the tanks has been pretty spotless. http://www.amazon.com/SunSun-HW-603-Multi-Stage-Canister-Filter/dp/B00CC6SCJQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1411240045&sr=8-1&keywords=sunsun+603

I have the 60: https://www.amazon.com/AZOO-AZ13097-Mignon-Filter-60/dp/B005VEWCMO

The 150 is also good.

The only reason I went with the 60 is because it's very small, and there is little bioload in the tank it's on.

Sunsun makes smaller rated canisters but they are still bigger than a HOB. This is a small one https://www.amazon.com/TechnToy-HW-603B-3-Stage-External-Canister/dp/B00CC6SCJQ or https://www.amazon.com/SunSun-Hw302-264GPH-Canister-Filter/dp/B00MGX7JXA/ref=sr_1_1?s=pet-supplies&ie=UTF8&qid=1469731069&sr=1-1&keywords=sunsun+canister+filter

Also like snowmunkey said, aquaclear HOB are also an excellent choice.

I have this one on my 5 gallon. The pump is pretty weak and doesn't run anywhere close to the gph it's advertised as, but that's good for a 5 gallon. And it's dirt cheap and comes with decent media. I'm happy with it.