H.O.T. Magnum Canister Filter – up to 55 Gallon

Review by Perry Munger IV for H.O.T. Magnum Canister Filter – up to 55 Gallon
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I bought the H.O.T. Magnum because it was the cheapest canister filter at the local petstore. Good move. Using the micron filter, it got rid of the cloudiness in my tank in about three days (55 gal tank). I switched it to carbon and it as been working like a champ. My tank also has two high-capacity over-tank filters of the normal type, and they constantly overflow and pour gunk into the tank. The H.O.T. Magnum doesn’t do this. It is set to suck from my undergravel filter, which, combined with a powerhead, has really reduced floating stuff in the tank. I’m going to get a Magnum 350 pro next and get rid of both my normal over-tank filters.

Review by D. Cullen for H.O.T. Magnum Canister Filter – up to 55 Gallon
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I just set up my 2nd 50 gallon fish tank and decided to try this filter set up instead of the FilStar Canister Filter that I have used for years in my original tank. I don’t know if you need to but I am using 2 of these filters in my tank. They do a marvelous job, the extra filter works great, you just put it in for a few hours and your tank is crystal clear! The main advantage I see to these filters is, since they sit at the back top of your tank you never have to worry about the filter leaking. There have been a couple of times I haven’t gotten the lid quite sealed enough on my canister filter and woke up to 3 inches of water in my tank cabinet. Fortunately my husband built the cabinet quite sturdy and water proof!

Review by M. Lee for H.O.T. Magnum Canister Filter – up to 55 Gallon
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I’ve installed the HOT Magnum with the BioWheel attachment (HOT Magnum Pro) on my 55 gallon tank for about 6 months now, and I’m very impressed with the performance of this filter system. This canister filter is powerful and power thrifty at 250gph while using only 18 watts. I especially like having the filter out of sight hanging behind the tank.

This combination of canister filter and biowheel is pretty amazing. The water is very clear thanks to the no by pass design of the canister and the tank is well oxygenated due to the spray bar/biowheel component. The biowheel is also great at removing amonia and nitrite which becomes undetectable (amonia less than 0.25mg/liter and nitrite less than 0.1mg/liter) after a few days of running this filter. That’s with a bio load of 12 adult Angelfish, 10 large swordtails, and 5 bushynose plecos! If you don’t understand what all this mean, then trust me when I tell you the performance of this system is hard to beat.

Now for the down side: This filter is a pain to clean.

First of all, don’t bother using the fine carbon that comes with the filter. This will cause your filter to clog up in no time if you have a heavily stocked tank like me. I threw out the carbon after the first week and replaced it with ceramic noodles, which does not clog at all. The nylon mesh sleeve works well to trap fish waste, but is messy to clean or replace, and you have to take the whole filter apart to do it. After I spent a few minutes taking this apart, clean it, reassemble it, and fill it with water, mine filter sometimes lose syphon and I have to take it apart and assemble it again. I have to pay special attention to the stupid red gasket that likes to fall out when I not careful. This is why I gave this filter 3 stars.

The power switch is located near the bottom of the backside of the filter. While it’s nice to have a power switch, the placement is bad because it’s right up against the wall and you have to reach all the way down the back of your tank to reach it.

So, to sum up. If you want one of the best performing and efficient filter and don’t mind having to take a filter apart and get messy once awhile (for me that’s about every 2 weeks), then this is the filter for you.

Additional note: The BioWheel Pro30 (the one with spray bar) is really fantastic in it’s performance, and is key to the awesome performance of this system. This component can be used with other easier to clean internal canister or powerheads, so don’t ever discard this attachment.

Review by Ravendra Nohar for H.O.T. Magnum Canister Filter – up to 55 Gallon
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I’ve been using this for a few weeks now and it is working better than I thought. I was using a small, cheap filter before purchasing this one, and so I have both of them working in the same tank. The canister filter alone left the water a little cloudy, but the combination of the two makes the water look pristine.

Review by Vaughn for H.O.T. Magnum Canister Filter – up to 55 Gallon
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I own three of these and especially love the micron filter capability. The filters are very easy to clean and exceptionally well built. I use two of these on a 55 gallon live bearing baby tank and usually get a good month of high flow rates, alternating between cleaning one or the other every two weeks when using the carbon system. The flow rate goes down somewhat with the micron filter, but the water is left sparkling… A great trade off…