Marineland Hang on Tank (HOT) Magnum Filter

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 had five or so of these over a dozen years, and they've never let me down. I just bought a new one, and out of the box it leaked air into it and emptied the water out when it was turned on, also clattering and loud impeller noises. I looked it over and it appears that on the intake quick connect fitting where it glues to the cap looked like it wasn't completely glued so I took some clear nail polish and sealed both intake and outlet cap fitting joints and put it back together. That took it from pumping all the water out in ten seconds to a matter of minutes so I examined the cap very closely under a bright light, and the o-ring seal surface inside the cap had a couple of warp flaws in the casting of the cap. They weren't very deep so O globbed some petroleum jelly in there nice and thick and put it back together and it's silent and it works perfectly. My unit had two air leaks due to poor quality control, but easy fixes. You shouldn't have to do this for a new filter, but if you get one and it fills with air and pumps out the water, I could turn the filter on and then off and I could hear the air leak, try what I did, that should fix it. Up until this one I would have rated these a five out of five, but it is still an excellent filter, especially drawing in water from the undergravel filter for breeding fry that would get sucked in otherwise. I still love these filters

I was a bit skeptical with a few of the recent reviews being one star.. But for the price and being amazon is fantastic on returns, i figured i would give it a shot. Im Glad i took the risk! Its FANTASTIC! And yes, i had the problem with the pump not priming... Heres how to fix it... PUT AQUARIUM WATER IN IT!.. Hang it on the tank, release the latch, pour in about 16 oz of water (i used a dasani bottle that i have for pump priming). Put the cap back on, flip the power switch and it should start pumping.. It was chugging a little at first but after 20 minutes it was perfectly quiet once all the air worked its way out. My ONLY complaint is the return tube.. I wish it was another 3 or 4 inches longer as i would have like to direct the waterflow deeper below the surface.

There's not too much to add here on this filter, other than to say that you MUST read the directions several times in order to fully grasp how this system goes together. Read it 2-3 times, watch a video, just be sure you follow what needs to be done. My wife took charge of the assembly and I had told her of the reviews and how tricky it might be, so she went in with a heads up and it still took her forever, plus a week. First was the cracked spray bar tube, which I glued to fix- that took 24 hours. Next was letting it run for a day and then switching to the canister filter to scrub the tank (we had green water)- still nada. Then she moved it around and found a tube that was not fully sealed- that wasn't it. After about 6 days, she found a small piece of debris somewhere in the filter along with the fact the tank was not as full as it could be, allowing the system to pull in some air. After minor mishaps and misunderstandings, the filter got going and literally overnight the tank was crystal clear!!! Now we know what to look for and how this works, but boy it sure took awhile!

This purchase was for a friend. He was very happy with his order.

Great transaction.. arrived as promised.

The Magnum works good. Hangs on the back of the tank and performs great. The fish are happy again.