172GPH Canister Filter, External Aquarium Filter Ultra-Quiet Water Circulation Cleaning Machine with Media for Fish Tanks and Aquariums Up to 30 Gallons (172GPH)

The setup was simple when following directions. Up and running in maybe ten minutes. This unit is replacing an over the back filter that is on its last leg. I’ve noticed an increased water flow, clarity and works well in my 55gl tank. I’m looking forward to the long term benefits of this feature packed, economical filter. No leaks, less noise than previous, smaller filter. Thank you.

This was my first venture into canister filters after having looked at Fluval's many times and nearly passing out from sticker shock, I was a bit hesitant to try this low cost option. I was pleasantly surprised at how easy assembly and setup was. Priming was simple with a screw on cap on the water intake, you just fill it up with aquarium water. Cleaning is a breeze! There are 2 levers between the hoses, you simply pull them both all the way back and the top cap and hoses disconnect from the canister, I spilled maybe a tablespoon of water. The only thing that would make this unit perfect would be a carry handle, it doesn't have one, and the canister is a bit heavy when full of water and soaked filter pads. Other than that small detail, the unit is silent and filters great. I doubt you can find a better canister for this price anywhere. Highly recommended!

This is my first canister filter and I chose this because of the price point just to get my feet wet on canister filter. I have kept fish for more than 40 years.Overall, everything which is advertised worked as they should. It is very quiet. If yours is not quite enough, stop it and open it up. May sure that all of your trays are correctly installed. If you still feel that the impeller is making too much noise, get a small can of Trident Silicone food-grade grease and apply some on the surface of the impeller be unscrewing the plastic holder. It should cut down the sound by more than 70%. If everything is running correctly (trays seated right), you should wondering if it's ON because it's that quiet. If yours is noisy, something is not seated right or your connection are not securely installed. Applying some silicone on all of the connection point is also a good thing to create a good seal.How effective is the filter?I added SeaChem Purigen and Matrix to the tray. By the second day, the clarity is 90% there. By 4th day, the water is crystal clear like a new swimming pool.If there is one thing which they can improve on, it will be the blue pilot light to indicate the ON status of the UV light. That light could be brighter. The current one used in their product (as of March 2025) is very dim. You cannot see it during day time.Overall, I think this is a good product considering the price. As for durability, I will report back after a few months to see how it stood up in time.

I have had my tanks for a long time going on 10 years for this particular one I have used super expensive ones the last one I had blew a seal and folded my house I I needed a new one fast but didn’t have a ton of money I said I would try this till I got better and hope it held up I am going on over a year with zero issues at all it works better then my old one that was three times the price I would recommend this 100 percent for sure 👍

I'm using this in a 39 gallon hex tank with great success. It's easy to setup and prime without making any noise whatsoever. The flow controls are intuitive and easy to access. I'd highly recommend this to anyone with a mid to slightly large sized tank!

This is perfect for my Turtle 🐢 tank great price I love ❤️ this product made feel happy 😃

The canister filter is well thought out except the impeller is loud. My intent was to replace my decently quiet Fluval AC30 HOB filter for this canister filter. I ran the canister for a couple days hoping it would break in. 2nd day I took the impeller out and put vaseline on the shaft to see if it would quiet down the vibrating sound. It helped a tiny bit but I can still hear vibration from the impeller. The filter was placed inside of the enclosed cabinet. I can hear the humming vibration sound from my room about 20 feet away through the hallway.I ended up ordering another one and swapping the top to see if I had a bad unit. The 2nd one was even worse.The upside is, it filters well. I had it on the lowest setting to keep the neo shrimps from going crazy. After I had rescaped my tank, the aqua soil dust turned the tank cloudy black. This filter made the tank clear within a day or so.If it was not for the annoying humming sound, I would have kept both filters for both of my planted tanks. Unfortunately I had to do a return on both as I cannot enjoy looking at my tanks with the constant humming vibration sound coming from the impeller.For those of you who use air pumps, the sound of the airpump is just a little quieter than this canister filter. So it may work for you. But if you need a completely quiet filter, I'd do more research. I ended up ordering a Oase canister filter.Good luck to all!

I like this product it keeps my tank really clean needs more directions on how to work it but otherwise great.