I bought this filter because My boss had the complete set with Bio Wheel, and Gravel cleaner and it was so great for gravel cleaning.
The basic version of this filter comes with,
1. A Media canister that can be filled with Active Carbon. A sample of carbon comes with this filter kit. I bought Ceramic Noodles at the pet store for the biological filtering properties to put in mine instead of the carbon.
2. The slip cover filter for the media insert.
3. A water polishing filter that reminds me of a Reusable pool ,or Jacuzzi filter.
4. Intake Tube, and strainer.
5. Pose-able Output Pipe with flow divert.
6. Understandable Directions.
Pluses.
1. It has an ON / OFF button on the back. I turn it off to feed the fish. Than back on to clean up.
2. The Output Pipe is underwater. Result, No noise from the filtered water hitting water surface.
3. The flow of the output can be aimed in any direction you want.
straight down, across, to the left,or right.
4. This filter is so quiet, I occasionally will check that the filter is on.
5. The diverter can be adjusted to focus, or fan out the water flow.
6. 250 Gallons an hour. Seems like a lot, but I have a 20 Hexagon high. I have the diverter fanning water out. It's not like a water hose. Just moving water well.
Minuses.
1. Disassembly and Assembly takes practice. You will want to keep instruction book for reference of the difference between regular filter Assembly, and water polishing filter assembly. once I leaned, I have been able to do on the tank. But most of the time the filter will have to be removed to a sink were It (filter) can be disassembled, Cleaned, or filter types changed, and reassembled.
Keep in mind that this, The cleaning of the filter canister seems to be the reason that people dislike this filter. But keep in mind that You will only clean it (filter) about every three months. Unless You over feed, and do not keep plants tidy.
If You get the Gravel Cleaning attachment, You can clean the gravel with the water polishing filter removing all the nastiness without siphoning off all your water out of the tank. You can then do your 20% water change.
I like this filter a lot, and think you will also.
I owned the HOT Magnum Canister Filter prior to upgrading to an Eheim Ecco Canister Filter. I had to upgrade because this filter couldn't keep up with my medium size saltwater tank. However this filter works great for freshwater tanks from small to medium size. It's fairly cheap and reliable. It cleans like a champ and supplies are fairly cheap to operate it. This is a good buy.
Buy Marineland PC0250HSB H.O.T. Magnum 250, up to 55-Gallon, 250GPH Now
OK, let me start with the CONS (all of which added up to me to reducing it only by one star, so they are obviously not THAT bad!) :
OK--the seals are very tricky. The first filter I got, I messed and messed with it for over 2 hours, using silicon sealer, etc, re-filling the canister, and re-starting it, and just COULD NOT get it to prime, it'd run awesome for 30 seconds, empty the canister, and blow air. Called the store, and they said that it sounded like I had it set up right, just sounded like it wasn't sealing, so bring it back. They advised that about 1 in 20 canister pumps they get do this, and not to worry about it. Took it back to the store, thoroughly disgusted but trusting that the reviews would turn out true since it has a good track record on every website (4-5 stars depending where you look). Got a second one, brought it home, filled the carbon, rinsed everything, plunked the carbon in and crossed my fingers. It primed up the very first time and has been running now for 24 hours with zero issues. This will be great for our turtle tank. We got tired of rinsing the little tiny pads for our ReptoMin waterfall and having to bypass some of the water to keep the pump from running dry.
I wish like CRAZY that the outlet/outflow side tube was longer/further down. The instructions advise you should have the water level above the level of the elbow in the outflow and that is REALLY short--I will have to keep an eye on my tank level carefully. Even an inch longer/lower on the outflow would help a ton. But, I just shoved a large-ish piece of tubing up the outlet so it curved down and most of the water from the outlet now goes straight into the tank. and the rest drips down the elbow. This meant I had to take off the square diffuser attachment, which was OK with me since this is a turtle tank, but I do say it's more suited to a fish tank than a turtle tank.
It does seem kind-of a mess to clean, but this is NO DIFFERENT than other canister filters. Of the four canister filters I have, this is actually the easiest/cleanest. Yes, the mechanical foam sleeve is a little delicate. But at least it's rinsable and replaceable unlike the Cascade I had which was just plain bio-floss and not rinseable so you lose some of your flora and fauna. And the foam sleeves are pretty cheap to replace, about $2-3 each which is a great deal!
I do wish it had more mechanical filtration but gosh, whatcha gonna ask when it's that tiny for a canister. You can use the scrubber attachment that comes with it for that, or get a bio-wheel, or add a second of these filters.
PROS:
It also takes up WAY less room and is far less bulky and unsightly than other canister filters since you don't have the tubing to contend with. We are very impressed with this aspect and still getting a "canister" filter.
It is a GREAT COMPROMISE between a canister filter and a tank-filter. Yeah, it takes up more room than most hang-on-tank filters, because of the button being in the way and you have to reach for it if you are going to use it, BUT, I love that the button is there, and that I can CHOOSE to either turn it off and/or unplug it instead of having to unplug at every junction.
I do love what other people have recommended about having two of these, one for scrubbing/mechanical filtration and one for carbon. It seems logical.
It's got a pretty good design and the motor is quiet once you have the water flowing in properly.
It seems to be fairly well constructed for a filter. I mean for the money.
Read Best Reviews of Marineland PC0250HSB H.O.T. Magnum 250, up to 55-Gallon, 250GPH Here
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.
Update Oct 13, 2011
I got tired of cleaning canister filters. Got sick of taking the canisters apart, cleaning all the pieces, putting it back together, and then reinstalling the filter to the tank.
I've installed the Emperor 400 on 4 of my larger tanks. This outside hang-on-the-back power filter has the bio-wheels with spray bar and cartridges that are disposable. No more cleaning dirty sponges and taking apart canisters!!!
Want Marineland PC0250HSB H.O.T. Magnum 250, up to 55-Gallon, 250GPH Discount?
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.
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As others may be, I'm a skeptic and lightly read into what others post (unless there seems to be a central theme). However, for this product, I have to say that, 1) the bottle warns folks about the brown color that others are complaining about in their reviews, and 2) I'm not sure what happened to the poor guy with brown coffee-colored water (review below), but mine cleared up FAST.
