MarineLand Magnum Polishing Internal Canister Filter, For aquariums Up To 97 Gallons, 10.5 IN (ML90770)

After 35 years using a Vortex D-1 filter, its pump head started leaking. Imagine that!!! After some searching, I found the Marineland Polishing Canister Filter at a reasonable price here on Amazon that can polish your aquarium's water with diatomaceous earth much easier. First try IT WORKED COMPLETELY. I say easier because, the Vortex had hoses and a large filter canister that were all external. The Marineland filter sits in your tank and does the same job. My tank is 35 gallons connected to Fluval 306 Canister Filter and the Marineland filter is not too big and visible if I put it on a sidewall. First day - it's very quiet - so we'll see what happens in the future as other buyers have reported increased noise as filter ages. Charging it is a breeze. After running for about 3 hours, my cloudy water completely cleared - just as the Vortex did. I'll shut the Marineland down and run it as needed just like I did with my Vortex. The only question now is, do I have to recharge the Marineland Filter after each use to get particle coverage on the internal filter element. We'll see on that. Make sure when you charge your filter with diatom powder, you use the Marineland recipe - 6 tablespoons/charge, not what other YouTube Bloggers say - 6 teaspoons/charge. (By the way, 6 tablespoons is 1/3 of a cup.) Enjoy this product - my Vortex has been relegated to recycle! PS The Middle photo is a before and the far right photo is an after 1 hour of filtering.

So far I have been happy with this purchase. I purchased it for my 75 gallon reef tank with a few fish and some soft corals. The tank has live rock and a protein skimmer, and I have tried and abandoned a number of different hang-ons (didn't work), and cartridge filters (too risky). Living in an apartment where any water spill will run down below me, I just could risk using anything outside of the tank, which is one of the reason that I got rid of my sump when downsized my tank size. However I clearly needed some type of mechanical filter. So without much hope, I decide to try this one, without having to make another big investment. I have been pleasantly surprised that using the cartridge filter I have have had considerable success in cleaning up my tank and my corals look much healthier. Pros: The whole thing fits in my tank through it is fairly big, which may be a factor in anything smaller. I have been able to clean and reuse my original filter several times, through I have also purchased a 2nd filter which I rotate. Filter life varies but is now approaching 3 to 4 weeks before the filter become very noisy. The flow rate is very good and I use it to help move water around my live rock. It is fairly easy to clean, through kind of a pain to move in and out of the tank. Replacement filters are not expensive and they can be re-cleaned often. I am still using the first two after 6 months of use. Cons: The filter gets very noisy as it clogs which depending on how often you have to clean it may be annoying. The filter is fairly large making it suitable for a 75 gallon or larger tank. It might be OK in a 50 or smaller tank depending on how much room you have. It has a pretty good flow rate, which may or may not be a problem, or a plus for you.

TL;DR: Major design flaw. Impeller is not designed to properly sit in the motor unit and just grinds unbearably. Taking apart and cleaning (a nuisance at best) will temporarily resolve. Seems impossible to order replacement impellers so if you need to fix it you're SOL unless you want to drop money on a new one, which will inevitably have this issue again. I've been a fish hobbyist for over a decade, and in that time I've concurrently kept dozens of tanks with different species, sizes, water types (fresh, salt, brackish). I've even worked in the trade before. When I moved into my house a year ago I decided to get a large show tank for the living room, and decided to go with an internal filter because on average they're easier to maintain than external canisters and less ugly than overhanging ones. I've used many different brands for my other tanks, mainly Fluval and Aqueon, but I went with a Marineland for this one because they used to be really good. This thing will be whisper-quiet right until you're passed the return window (convenient!), and will do a good job keeping your tank clear. Within a month or two, the filter started making a grinding noise, and per manufacturer's instructions cleaning out the impeller blade helped for a short while. It wasn't long until no amount of cleaning, weekly or daily, could fix the horrible grinding noise that this thing would make. Seriously, I'm great at tuning out sound but this was god-awful. I felt embarassed to have guests over it was so bad. I concluded after taking apart every inch of the motor that the impeller blade that I received was just faulty, but as of writing this review YOU CANNOT GET REPLACEMENTS, as looking at their website it appears they've been out of stock since pre-pandemic. They're still selling the model, but you cannot buy the impeller separately, which means the only option is to buy a new unit, which is ridiculous company practice. But don't worry! Customer service responses on their Q&A indicate that the part will be coming back "soon." This is, of course, the same response that you'll see if you keep scrolling to customer questions from 2+ years ago. They're not intermittently out of stock, because you can see multiple people have been patiently awaiting replacements for all that time. I bit the bullet because I assumed I just got a bad one, and I didn't want to completely change my set-up. But less than two months in to this new one, it's already making the grinding noise. I'm writing this review with the unit completely stripped and disassembled in the other room, and after doing extensive research it seems like this is a common problem for this model. Their company page for the impeller is littered with people complaining about this issue and canned service responses indicating "it just needs a good clean." I've taken apart MANY motors, and the issue is not that it needs a good clean. It's not even that it needs some oil (tried), some o-rings to soften the impeller rod ends (tried), or a good flush (tried). You'd have to re-cast the piece entirely and tweak the housing to get it to work as intended. My partner, handy with bigger motors and mechanical parts, took one look at it spinning and concluded the same before I even managed to get it off the motor housing. I know this is long-winded, but honestly I'm just frustrated that it seems like they're willfully ignoring a severe design flaw, and seem to be fine selling more units of this without offering the replacement parts they must know will be needed at some point. Shame, but I don't think I'm going to buy Marineland ever again. Marineland used to be my number one recommendation to new hobbyists but even though set up is simple, maintenance of this model is NOT beginner- or consumer-friendly. Blegh. If you get this model, just use it for infrequent water-polishing (note, it doesn't come with DE or a polishing medium, so you still would have to get that separately, and ensure that it's the right size for the housing unless you want dirt soup in your tank). Don't purchase it as a filter.

This has been working very well, though I've put it in a larger ~175-gallon container; it has been able to clear the water up enough (using the polishing canister) so I can see the fish again. I rinsed the canister many times (I put it over the handle of a broom, then I 'spin' it with the high-pressure nozzle). If you try that, keep the insert in the middle so it doesn't warp/bow out in the center during the 'spin cycle'. I finally did replace it, as eventually it does seem to get clogged up, but I'm satisfied with the mileage the first one gave me. My only complaint is the diverter on the outlet that I try to bend up to ripple the surface, which falls off periodically. Currently, I have stopped trying to fit it back on. As for the strong water jet, I think it's a positive, as I have large fish in a large basin. However, I've used it sparingly in smaller tanks, as I feel it can create water currents that I don't like. With the large tank, the fish have plenty of hidey holes they can retreat to if they don't feel like swimming in the current.

I wish 4.5 stars were available. Like many others, my filter made a frequent and annoying "buzzing" sound that was really annoying to me - and must have been terrible for the fish. It ALSO clogged and stopped working frequently. I was at a loss. I cleaned it out every few weeks and just accepted the noise (which wasn't always there, but often and sporadic). Then one day the filter stopped working again, and I cleaned it out and reassembled. Even clean, it didn't work. I took it apart and looked at all of the components. My best guess was the motor, so I called Marineland, and the customer service was outstanding. An American representative spoke with me, and after some discussion sent a replacement. When the new one arrived, I inaderently spun the impellor - and it had A LOT of resistance. I pulled the motor from my unit and the impellor spun freely. Then I put the new magnet/impellor into the old motor, and it had a lot of resistance. So I examined the two impellors: there's a plastic "weld" or indentation on both units that corresponds with a cam stop on the impellor shaft. The new impellor was also glued to the magnet, and could only rotate half a turn before it hit that stop. The old unit was not glued (anymore) and seemed to have broken free from the cam, so it spun freely - and therefore got no purchase as the motor spun the magnet. I replaced the impellor and got immediate and silent operation. I suspect the early batches of this product didn't have a secure enough impellor, and that's where the noise came from as it "skipped" and ate away at the plastic cam stop, until it eventually failed. The company took excellent care of me, and I'm very happy with this resolution. EDIT: Within two weeks the buzzing came back. I'm still certain that it's an issue with the impellor and impellor housing - only moving part. Another reviewer said he cleans every time it starts to buzz. I may try that. EDIT 2: I can confirm that cleaning the filter stopped the buzzing noise - and it was filthy after two weeks. I feed sinking pellets near the filter. Guess I'll move to the other side of the tank.

Love this thing! super quiet and no nonsense. I hesitated after reading some negative reviews but I've found that those negatives are unfounded. The suction cups on the mounting bracket are strong enough as to require a small knife slipped under the edge to break it's hold. Slipping down the tank wall isn't an issue if you press the center of the suction cups thereby creating suction. Just practical knowledge and common sense,there. I've used this as both a polishing filter and a regular carbon/floss filter with great cleaning results in a 40 gal. cichlid tank. I'd recommend regular cleaning of the carbon/floss elements before declaring it not suitable as a stand alone filter. This baby pushes water like crazy. Nothing lying on the bottom, nothing hanging out in the plants. I think this unit might be too strong for a smallish community tank, however. It creates a strong current for smaller fish. It's output spout can be adjusted in nearly 180 degrees direction. Great surface movement and deep tank circulation. Years ago I used the Magnum H. O.T. and this unit seems to be like a smaller in-tank version of the H.O.T. If you like super clean, clear and sparkling aquarium water this will do it. The only thing I don't like is the red band at the rim of the canister.(the red conflicts with aesthetic aquarium decor) It appears to be something of a Teflon tape-like seal on the threads-so removing it doesn't seem to be a wise idea.. Read and follow directions, apply common sense and practical experience in aquarium keeping and I doubt you'll be disappointed. Definitely a little powerhouse. I would highly recommend this unit for tanks 20-30 gal. or better. Perhaps as super fast cleaning/polishing support for occasional use in smaller tanks. 55 gal, or more I'm thinking two would be required. I can't see more delicate species, like say, Discus, being comfortable in the water circulation this unit creates. Big tough hombres like cichlids do great in it. Routine cleaning of filter cartridge /floss is important.

UPDATE 12/2022: Died after 8 months!! Ran great and then slowly started getting louder and then poof...stopped turning on! ------- I am new to aquariums. I wanted to start keeping them power shrimp and was told I needed a high-flow filter so after hours of reading reviews and research, I decided on this one. Wow! It's powerful like a motorboat so be sure to put it in a big tank. I have it in a 40 gallon breeder. The flow is amazing and it's cleaning properties are second to none. I've never used the polishing sleeve. I have a bit of floss and bio balls within the canister cage. I have pantyhose over the inlets to avoid shrimp from getting sucked in. Inevitably there's at least a few babies when I dump the canister each week, but I just net them out and put them back in the tank and they are good to go. The nozzle is adjustable which is nice. It would be nice if there was flow control, but for the size of my tank, I don't need it. My tank is always super clear. The only time it gets loud is when the floss needs to get changed, but I don't mind it because it reminds me to do it! Some people may consider it an eyesore, but I have a fake plant in front of it. I don't mind it at all. Highly recommend!

I typically use sponge filters in my tanks. However, during gravel cleaning and water changes lot of contaminants get stirred up into the water column that I don't want floating around... I want them removed. I do not rely on this canister filter for anything else other than assisting the sponge filters with supplemental debris collection during those times. The filter arrived packaged well and the overall quality of the unit is great. I love that the unit is 100% serviceable and parts are readily available in the event I need to repair it... which I haven't had to do. The debris removal rate is seriously impressive, and I really appreciate how quiet it is. In reality the only noise it makes is the water disruption on the surface, not the filter motor itself. If you refrain from pointing the filter outlet towards the surface of the water this unit is essentially silent. Lastly, you can put whatever media in the canister that you want. This is super helpful when you need to switch filtration types for different things happening with your aquarium. I cannot think of any real down sides to this filter other than the size of tank you would want to use it in. My application is polishing a 30gal tank about once a week. I think the filter would do really well as a main filter for a 40-50gal+ sized aquarium, but I cannot speak to the longevity of the unit because I just don't use it that way. The output is also very powerful... it cycles a lot of water very quickly and could generate too much current for certain tanks or fish. Implementing an adjustable flow rate would be the only upgrade I could think of to improve this system. Overall, I am extremely happy with my purchase and would highly recommend this to anyone needing this type of capability.