your opinions on magnum 350

rekn · 06/29/2006, 11:14 AM

i was thinking of gettign a magnum 350 deluxe canister filter from fostersmith. anyone have exp with these?

reefnetworth · 06/29/2006, 11:20 AM

i had a mag 350 for 11 years. it works well, but it has one downside. changing filters is a pain in the butt. i always lost water even with the shut-off valves. and primeing is the same, because it will get air in the lines if you dont prime it. remember, this was when i started 16 years ago. they may have improved since then. REEF-ON!!!

JC2005 · 06/29/2006, 01:52 PM

I have had mine running for two years now with no problems. Yes the filter change is a pain. I change the filters every two weeks to control nitrates.

mlb75 · 06/29/2006, 02:22 PM

I think they are great filters depending on what you want them to do. I have one that I run occasionally for carbon or for water polishing if I stir up the gravel during a water change etc. For those type things I think they're great, for running constantly on a system I wouldn't recommend them. The filters should be changed to frequently to make them cost and time effective.

RocketSeason · 06/29/2006, 02:46 PM

I am very happy with mine. It moves alot of water and is very robust.

changing filters is painful which makes doing it on a regular basis, not a pleasent experence.

Be sure to get the shut off valves if you do get the filtration unit.

Ti · 06/29/2006, 03:02 PM

It's a good filter, I had one for 1yr, but I finally got sick of the maintenance on it.
Too much hassle, but once set up it works great.

grochmal · 06/30/2006, 12:38 PM

I use mine exclusively for filtering out particulate matter with the cartridge filter.
Mine came with the quick-connects which makes it pretty easy to disconnect it.
Then I just drain a little water out of the unit, pop open the top and swap out filters.
Whole process takes a couple of minutes at the most.

BLockamon · 06/30/2006, 01:12 PM

I had the Magnum for a while. I never really liked it because I always got an air bubble in the filter chamber that would put bubbles in the tank. Nothing seemed to work to get rid of it, but maybe one of the gaskets was bad.

I ended up giving it to my church for their tank and they ran it on the sump for a while. They run great and work, but I just had problems with bubbles if I tried returning water directly to the tank.

06/29/2006, 11:14 AM	#1
rekn Registered Member Join Date: May 2006 Location: colorado springs,co Posts: 909	your opinions on magnum 350 i was thinking of gettign a magnum 350 deluxe canister filter from fostersmith. anyone have exp with these?

06/29/2006, 11:20 AM	#2
reefnetworth Premium Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: U.S.A. Posts: 3,810	i had a mag 350 for 11 years. it works well, but it has one downside. changing filters is a pain in the butt. i always lost water even with the shut-off valves. and primeing is the same, because it will get air in the lines if you dont prime it. remember, this was when i started 16 years ago. they may have improved since then. REEF-ON!!! __________________ GIVE A MAN A FISH, YOU FEED HIM FOR A DAY. TEACH A MAN TO FISH, HE FEEDS HIMSELF FOR LIFE. (NEVER, underestimate another man's greed) Current Tank Info: SPS dominated barebottom display with BB sump since 2005, most consistant parameters in 19+ years of reefkeeping.

06/29/2006, 02:22 PM	#4
mlb75 Premium Member Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Chesapeake VA Posts: 399	I think they are great filters depending on what you want them to do. I have one that I run occasionally for carbon or for water polishing if I stir up the gravel during a water change etc. For those type things I think they're great, for running constantly on a system I wouldn't recommend them. The filters should be changed to frequently to make them cost and time effective. __________________ Mike Current Tank Info: Currently tankless planning ~90G nano

06/29/2006, 02:46 PM	#5
RocketSeason Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Peoria, IL Posts: 601	I am very happy with mine. It moves alot of water and is very robust. changing filters is painful which makes doing it on a regular basis, not a pleasent experence. Be sure to get the shut off valves if you do get the filtration unit. __________________ There is no such thing as a "Nemo fish". PBITAWA Current Tank Info: 37 Gallon Oceanic Cube, Various softies, 95 lbs of LR, 6 gallon cryptic fuge. Planning my 75 gallon upgrade.

06/29/2006, 03:02 PM	#6
Ti Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Bay Area Posts: 7,927	It's a good filter, I had one for 1yr, but I finally got sick of the maintenance on it. Too much hassle, but once set up it works great. __________________ Hair algae is my Macro algae.

06/29/2006, 01:52 PM	#3
JC2005 Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Miami, Fl Posts: 107	I have had mine running for two years now with no problems. Yes the filter change is a pain. I change the filters every two weeks to control nitrates.

06/30/2006, 12:38 PM	#7
grochmal Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Jacksonville, FL Posts: 647	I use mine exclusively for filtering out particulate matter with the cartridge filter. Mine came with the quick-connects which makes it pretty easy to disconnect it. Then I just drain a little water out of the unit, pop open the top and swap out filters. Whole process takes a couple of minutes at the most. __________________ Jeff Current Tank Info: 125 gallon bare-bottom reef, 6' Maristar light, Tunze streams, 55 gallon sump, ASM G3 skimmer, RDSB

06/30/2006, 01:12 PM	#8
BLockamon Registered Member Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 1,104	I had the Magnum for a while. I never really liked it because I always got an air bubble in the filter chamber that would put bubbles in the tank. Nothing seemed to work to get rid of it, but maybe one of the gaskets was bad. I ended up giving it to my church for their tank and they ran it on the sump for a while. They run great and work, but I just had problems with bubbles if I tried returning water directly to the tank.