Zoo Med Nano 10 External Canister Filter, up to 10 Gallons,Black

I bought this Zoo Med canister filter to replace a horrible submersible filter that came as a kit with my 6.5 gallon aquarium. It works flawlessly, is silent and does an excellent job on my tank. I have a pretty heavy load in my tank as I have a betta and 3 African dwarf frogs, in a planted tank. Setting up the filter was easy but I previously had an Eheim canister filter on my last tank, so I have experience with canister filters.I did run into 1 issue during set up as I could not get the top off, so I called Zoo Med and their customer service is excellent, which says a lot. They answer the phone, so there’s no waiting for an email response, etc. What I ended up doing re: the top, was to put my thumb in the fill hole and pull up from there, which worked perfectly!The canister has a divider in the middle, so it gives you plenty of options for any type of filtration, you want to add. It comes with a round blue sponge for mechanical filtration, that fits in one side, and has a bag of carbon and ceramic media that fits in the other side. I included a pic. of the ceramic media and carbon bag. I opted not to use either on the other side as my tank is live planted, I fertilize my plants and the carbon would filter it out. The carbon is great for filtering out medication in case a fish gets sick and you need to medicate it. Using the carbon bag when done, will filter the remaining medication out of your tank. Just a note, the carbon is very dusty, so be sure to rinse it well until water runs clear, before using it. Using the carbon in a tank that you don’t fertilize/has fake plants, would work fine imo, but I’ve only had live planted tanks.I also did not use the ceramic media included as I’m a huge fan of Seachem Matrix for biological filtration, so I’m using that in place of their ceramic media, which just boils down to personal choice. I see nothing wrong with the media included with this canister filter. I was extremely happy to find a canister filter for a small tank.This filter also gives you the option of using a spray bar or a diffuser, which is a nice touch. I opted to use the spray bar and I positioned the holes of the bar toward the back of my tank, to disperse the flow, so there wouldn’t be a lot of current for my betta and frogs.I included a couple pics of how I have the inside media set up in the canister. I love the versatility you have with the canister.One flaw with this is, there is no screw to secure the tubing to the spray bar, so it could end up disconnecting. I resolved that by placing a suction cup on the plastic elbow in my tank that connects to the spray bar. That way, if it does happen to disconnect, the elbow is held in place with the suction cup and the water will still stay in the tank.I highly recommend this canister filter to anyone, looking for a good filter, media versatility and to free up some space in a smaller tank. I had the original submersible filter in my tank for a couple weeks before getting this canister. I’ve already changed the floss, cleaned the sponge and rinsed the media in some tank water, as it filtered out plenty, in just over two weeks. Also, this canister filter needs to be at the same height as the bottom of your tank. My tank sits on my breakfast bar and when I first took it out of the box, it seemed pretty light and I was worried my cat might knock it over. But when filled with media & water, the canister is extremely sturdy and have had no issues with it being knocked over. Plus, Zoo Med includes rubber feet for the canister, which silence any vibration and stops it from being slippery/falling over, etc.All in all, this filter and Zoo Med’s customer service get an A+++++ rating, from me!!

This little canister is perfect for my 10 gallon shrimp and guppy nursery. The bag of carbon it comes with is a bit big if you want to use any filter floss for polishing the water but I just replaced it with a smaller one . it has plenty of water flow and keeps my water clear. I do have to say it’s kinda noisy after cleaning it because of some air in the lid area after priming but the noise goes away shortly and it is nearly silent. Picture shows the air being removed after startup

I've been using this canister filter on a planted 10-gallon aquarium for several months now and I enjoy the practical use it provides. However, I do have some cons and pros to this canister filter that I hope can be educational to others,Pros -1. Perfect size for any tank 10-gallons or under. It seems deceptively small at first but it works great for the size.2. Very quiet. I use the spray bar to create a waterfall effect and that creates some natural noise. However, the canister filter itself does not make any noise at all and it's extremely satisfying.3. Depending on your set up, your water can be super clear. Changing some things can make this a very effective filter.Cons -1. I had to put the sponge that is internal to the canister filter on my intake because I've found that the sponge isn't effective internally at all. The ones sold by Marineland would probably be better but I replaced the area where the sponge was with Bio-Balls that are sold by Marineland.2. The pump gear isn't really strong and that's concerning because much of the gunk is getting stuck in the intake lines. This canister filter does need a slightly stronger pump to be more effective.3. The ceramic rings and carbon bags are fine but they do leave room for improvement. While I do under stand their use, I find it difficult to understand how the filter is filtering at its maximum capacity when much of the outtake end of the filter is empty from any sort of media. Including smaller carbon bags might help but I do suggest finding a better alternative carbon bag that is smaller to be able to put more media in the canister filter.Realistically, this is the best canister filter for smaller tanks. I would suggest modifying this canister filter to get the maximum amount of filtration and to get the most bang for your buck. I would use the sponge that is included on your intake in order for your fry to not be sucked into the canister itself. Would I buy this canister filter again? Absolutely. Zoo Med just needs to make some modifications for this small but impactful canister filter.

This is the second Zoo Med Nano 10 External Canister Filter I purchased. The first one was VERY quiet and last a few years before it quit. Just set this filter up yesterday and the filter itself seems to work great for our 10 gallon betta tank. The problem is the noise is driving me crazy...I have tried several things to get the noise to go away but I think it must be the motor/fan so I might be returning this filter. After reading several newer reviews about the noise, I'm not sure I will try this filter again. Update - ended up getting most of the noise to go away. Someone said to tap the canister and get as many bubbles out as possible. After about 3 days it seemed better.**update** 1/8/2020 Changed my review to 1 starWhile I was able to get the noise to mostly go away, the pump slowed way down after about a month. Today it started making all kinds of noise and just quit. Way too much money for something that didn't even last 6 months. Will be going back to a cheaper HOB style filter until I find something better.