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My Review: SunSun "Outside Filter" HW-302

260K views 762 replies 253 participants last post by  Remmy 
#1 ·
Many of us have seen these filters popping up on Ebay and other aquatic sites, but few people have taken the plunge(and admitted it) on this and other forums. When searching for reviews of the SunSun filter/product line, usually all you find is other forum members asking for reviews and a little speculation about the quality of said products. The thought is simple--you get what you pay for....

Or do you? Having looked around for a good canister filter to replace my obnoxiously loud AC300, I pondered many options. I tossed around the idea about Eheims, Fluvals, and the like. I have used Eheims and the Magnum series in the past, and while happy with both, I was never impressed, especially when it came to cost.

About the subject tank:

This tank is only sorta planted/sorta riparium/most about the fish(a midas and pictus cat). It is a standard 75g, 4 foot with inert white sand, a boatload of snails, driftwood, small rock pile, a koralia 1 for circulation, and a pretty rambunctious Midas Cichlid.

This tank was initially filtered by an Marineland biowheel and an AC300. They became so noisy you could hear them inside my bedroom with noisemaker running... Being in the livingroom, next to our 10 month old sons wall, this just wasn't acceptable to us(my wife informed me that it was to be fixed... or it would find itself fixed in a pile next to the dumpster...).

I set out exploring my options. I know Eheims are great filters. The trouble is the sticker shock involved. They are great, but they are not THAT great. Fluvals are good too, but I just wasn't impressed with the price point. The Marineland C Series is nice, but again, the price is still not all that impressive. I'm sure all of you think I'm crazy at this point. You are all willing to spend this money on these filters, but I just wasnt--not after seeing that there ARE other options out there.

This brought me to the Ebay Special SunSun filters. I looked through every auction, over, and over. I read feedback, checked out the few reviews out there, and was uneasy at first. Not because of poor reviews, cause there really aren't any--but because there just aren't many reviews at all. I decided it was worth the risk and you can all thank me for it!

I went with buying from someone domestic on Ebay. The item shipped from N. Cali and arrived in 4 business days via UPS Ground. It was packed well, in a nice think shipping box, inside was a standard package with really, really piss poor English. The grammar makes zero sense. It is essentially a big box of Engrish Fail. Bad grammar aside, the box is also the closest thing to directions you get with it... SO look close! This brings me to the negative things first:

  1. Directions are non-existent
  2. The intake and spray bar are a little flimsy, but solid enough. I have no intention of using them as a hammer.
  3. One of the filter baskets is a little too snug, but with some manipulation it came out fine.
  4. Did I mention no directions!
  5. The surface extractor seems to be useless if you run water up to the top. If you used this with a rimless tank it would be fine. It is too short for my water level.

It took me a bit to figure out how to hook up hoses, but once I did it was a no brainer. The Quick disconnect for the hoses works as a shut off just like on the JBJ Reaction series and the Marineland C Series. Flip it and you can pull the hoses off, take the lid off, and head to the sink to do maintenance. The three baskets plus prefilter tray are more than spacious. I have a prefilter, carbon, ac 110 bio media bag, another filter floss, a basket of beads as bio media, then a basket with filter wool.



Now lets go over the positive sides:

  1. Primer works great and quick.
  2. Baskets have plenty of room
  3. On/Off quick release is super handy. One lever shuts off and disconnects both inlet and outlet.
  4. This filter is silent. Dead silent. I even leaned it up to my stand, put it on blocks, did everything I could to make it make noise. It doesn't make a sound. My wife thought something was broken when she came back from work because it was so silent.
  5. The Filter housing itself is strong--feels identical to that of the marineland or jbj.
  6. The latching system is idiot proof
  7. The flow is great
  8. THE PRICE!!!!


After one week of using this filter I am sold. At a mere 55 dollars shipped, this filter blows the competition out of the water. There are also several models with higher flow than the one I list here, but this does the job for me. In combination with my Koralia 1 in my 75 G tank, it more than does the job. Some might say I need more flow, but it IS doing the job. Please ask if you have questions, and I will continue to post my experiences.


For the money, I really don't think there is any competition. This filter seriously rocks my socks off. I have used the "great" filters out there and can't find a logical reason yet to spend the extra money. The quality seems solid enough that I am not concerned about product life, despite having owned it for a short while.
:proud::proud::proud::proud::proud:
 
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#340 ·
I bought a filter from discountaquatic on eebay. It was the 265gph model and it came as a AquaTop 300. There was no surface skimmer included (even though it was advertised) and so I contacted the seller. I was informed that this is the new model and the skimmer was eliminated because it was causing problems (sucking in air). I got him to send me the missing part, as it was advertised, but I couldn't get the skimmer to work, wouldn't skim anything.

The spray bar cracked when I was putting it together but I managed ot fix it with some hose. Other then that the filter works well so far, quiter than my HOB filter. The english instructions weren't bad but you don't need them anyway. I never had a canister filter and I set it up just fine. Took me about 30mins to prime it with my Rex style CO2 reactor attached (which it works just fine with).

It's probably just rebranded with the skimmer removed but I suppose it could also be a new model. As mentioned before the actual flow rate is less than the 265gph.

JakeJ: The hoses on mine were 5/8" inside dia.

Daniel.
 
#359 ·
Dongo,
What sized tank are you using it on?

Matt



I bought a filter from discountaquatic on [Ebay Link Removed] It was the 265gph model and it came as a AquaTop 300. There was no surface skimmer included (even though it was advertised) and so I contacted the seller. I was informed that this is the new model and the skimmer was eliminated because it was causing problems (sucking in air). I got him to send me the missing part, as it was advertised, but I couldn't get the skimmer to work, wouldn't skim anything.

The spray bar cracked when I was putting it together but I managed ot fix it with some hose. Other then that the filter works well so far, quiter than my HOB filter. The english instructions weren't bad but you don't need them anyway. I never had a canister filter and I set it up just fine. Took me about 30mins to prime it with my Rex style CO2 reactor attached (which it works just fine with).

It's probably just rebranded with the skimmer removed but I suppose it could also be a new model. As mentioned before the actual flow rate is less than the 265gph.

JakeJ: The hoses on mine were 5/8" inside dia.

Daniel.
 
#341 ·
Thanks much Dongo!
 
#342 ·
I took the plunge, and should get mine in a couple of days. So exited!
 
#343 ·
I received mine yesterday. Bought from discountaquatic. Shipped quick, packed well. Mine is branded Aquatop Aquatic Supplies. Did not have the the surface skimmer, everyone says it's crap, but kinda wanted to try it. The inlet has a spot for it, but it's just capped. Sad about that. The "$15 free media" was a giant bag of carbon, about 12 bio balls and 12 ceramic rings in addition to the one coarse pad (cut poorly, too small) and three fine pads (make quilt batting look fancy). I'm fully capable of replacing the stock pads with something useful, but just seems weird that was their choice to include.

My first reaction was "what a piece of crap". It's very cheaply made. This is my second "cheapo" filter, first was a Odyssea CRS 500. My first reaction to that one was, "this is freaking awsome". Compared to the "SunSun", the Odyssea is a brick house.

I intend to use it as a supplementary filter to the Odyssea. Mechanical in the Odyssea, and bio in this one. I really don't hope to open this filter but once or twice a year. Which is good cause it feels like a delicate piece of crap that will break at any moment. As said, cheaply made. And the pump primer will give you a work out...pretty useless. Recommend pre-loading the filter and inlet tube with water and not using it.

One thing in it's favor is the spray bar. It comes in two parts. But if you only use the end part, you can put the outlet on the side of the aquarium instead of the back. I'm pretty happy about that as it will fit well into my water circulation plans.

Honestly though, while it doesn't leak, and does it's job, it's not something i'd reccommend, even at this price. Get an Odyssea if you want a cheap canister...takes about 5 bucks to mod into a great filter. No spray bar, but about 15 bucks to a guy in this forum or 5 bucks at Home Depot will build you a great one. This filter will cost you more than that just to get in decent reusable media. And double the flow in the Odyssea.

I have no idea why anyone would reccommend this with anything other than "well, i guess it IS a canister filter". If you're poor, or if you're a kid saving up their allowance to buy a canister and don't want the Odyssea, save for a few months longer and buy a Rena or if you're patient and Eheim. You'll be happier.
 
#344 ·
I received mine yesterday. Bought from discountaquatic. Shipped quick, packed well. Mine is branded Aquatop Aquatic Supplies. Did not have the the surface skimmer, everyone says it's crap, but kinda wanted to try it. The inlet has a spot for it, but it's just capped. Sad about that. The "$15 free media" was a giant bag of carbon, about 12 bio balls and 12 ceramic rings in addition to the one coarse pad (cut poorly, too small) and three fine pads (make quilt batting look fancy). I'm fully capable of replacing the stock pads with something useful, but just seems weird that was their choice to include.

My first reaction was "what a piece of crap". It's very cheaply made. This is my second "cheapo" filter, first was a Odyssea CRS 500. My first reaction to that one was, "this is freaking awsome". Compared to the "SunSun", the Odyssea is a brick house.

I intend to use it as a supplementary filter to the Odyssea. Mechanical in the Odyssea, and bio in this one. I really don't hope to open this filter but once or twice a year. Which is good cause it feels like a delicate piece of crap that will break at any moment. As said, cheaply made. And the pump primer will give you a work out...pretty useless. Recommend pre-loading the filter and inlet tube with water and not using it.

One thing in it's favor is the spray bar. It comes in two parts. But if you only use the end part, you can put the outlet on the side of the aquarium instead of the back. I'm pretty happy about that as it will fit well into my water circulation plans.

Honestly though, while it doesn't leak, and does it's job, it's not something i'd reccommend, even at this price. Get an Odyssea if you want a cheap canister...takes about 5 bucks to mod into a great filter. No spray bar, but about 15 bucks to a guy in this forum or 5 bucks at Home Depot will build you a great one. This filter will cost you more than that just to get in decent reusable media. And double the flow in the Odyssea.

I have no idea why anyone would reccommend this with anything other than "well, i guess it IS a canister filter". If you're poor, or if you're a kid saving up their allowance to buy a canister and don't want the Odyssea, save for a few months longer and buy a Rena or if you're patient and Eheim. You'll be happier.
Dag nab it! Now I am second guessing myself on buying one. :icon_eek:

Anybody want a NIB SunSun?
 
#352 ·
You make a very good point. Thank you.
 
#346 ·
As a Eheim pimp club member, you must appreciate build quality...or you don't belong. The SunSun does do it's job, but compared to an Eheim, it's laughable in build quality. I never said it didn't work, just that it's a cheap piece of crap. I can't believe even people that endorse the filter would deny that.
 
#347 ·
My Eheim requires 5x as much work as both of my Sunsun's combined. The only reason I own one is b/c I caught it for a great price and wanted to see what all the hype was about. Only to discover that it was just that...Hype. Nice try though...
 
#350 ·
I've owned 2 Eheim 2213 Classics and one Eheim II 2026. I have an Eheim 2026 and 2213 sitting upstairs, unused. I am running a SunSun 303B right now on an ADA 90-P. I am also using an ADA metal stand. I have used ADA pipes, Cal Aqua Pipes, and cheap knockoff pipes.

My personal feeling is, through my various experiences, that higher quality makes more of a difference in some areas than others. It's up to each individual to decide how the price/performance relationship fits his or her needs and income.

The Eheims I have are built to be much more physically sturdy than the SunSun. Having said that, I prefer to look at and work with the SunSun. I like the design better. The Eheim is built tougher, but I prefer to use the SunSun.

You will get opinions on both sides of the fence, and neither side is wrong. It's all about personal preference. However, please don't automatically attach "crap" to "cheap". Something can be cheap without being crap.
 
#353 ·
I have never owned a sunsun and am certainly not going to bash something I have never held in my own hands so take from this what you will

After researching the sunsun filter in an effort to help a member that had a question about purchasing the correct filter for his tank I noticed that from a design/function stand point they are engeneered to filter like a Rena XP series filter and also like the Eheim pro series filters. This design has it's pros (easy maintenance, multiple media choices due to different compartments) and cons (good amount of flow by of tank water that doesn't get ran through the filter media and is not filtered one bit, lots of flow loss due to filter media being filled with detritus, priming is tougher). If with this type of design (XP/Eheim pro) your not getting a lot of flow loss when nearing filter cleaning time then unfortunately you are getting even more flow by that does not come into contact with the media than I had suspected. That is not good at all.

I first started many years ago with the XP filters. This was my first foray into canisters and because of my ignorance thought that they were simply the best filters in the world. Then I found a great deal on craigslist while looking for a python WC system that also included an Eheim pro 2222 this us a great little filter like the renas and has the same design with top of filter intake and outflow and baskets with media.

After awhile I submitted to all the hype and promising words of people who swore by Eheim classic series filters. After purchasing my first one held it in my hands and witnessed the efficiency of these filters I knew that I would probably never buy any other type of canister filtration device.

Currently I own a XP1, XP3, Eheim pro 2222, 5 Eheim 2213's, 2 2215's and 2 2217's. Again remember that the other filters were owned first and only late did I purchase the classic series filters and now love them.

Here's a funny tidbit of info. I purchased a used 2217 from someone on a forum, when I received it I was expecting to see the Made in Germany imprint on the top. But no I found a made in west Germany imprint! This is an old filter and I have no idea how long it has actually ran but what I do know is that it has provided me with over 1.5 years of silent and efficient filtration and I expect that to last for quite some time.

So that's how I feel about canisters. As I stated right off, I have never owned a sunsun so can not speak anything negative or positive except what I have found in it's design but I'm also a firm believer in the fact that more often then not you do get what you pay for. Happy new year!
 
#354 ·
How would one use Purigen with the sunsun filter effectively? I can't find any threads that talks about success when using it in a canister filter. Some even made a separate reaction for it which I something i don't have space for.
 
#355 ·
For all my canisters I usually just throw one of the purigen pillows and/or purigen in a pantyhose "bag" in the top basket. It doesn't fill the entire basket, but it still works and the purigen still turns colors so I know it is helping. I usually try to put it on top of the last layer of fine filter floss I use.

HTH
 
#357 ·
What are you guys talking about!?!?

I just got mine, and the thing is beast. The housing is just as good as my EHEIM, and the latching system is far better IMO. The baskets are a little on the flimsy side, but as long as I do not take a hammer to 'em they will be fine.

Very happy with my purchase from Kool Goods.

I will have a full review posted on my blog in a week or so.
 
#358 ·
I think the most accurate recent post was random_alias's. There is a difference between "cheap" and "piece of crap". It made me rethink my post. He's right. I am judging a book by it's cover. Time will tell whether the important part, the pump, continues to do it's job.

I find it hard to believe, Jake, that you'd call the thing a beast. As, random_alias has made me realize, that's my only complaint, that it's not a beast. The part of me that wants to sit around and stroke robust plastics is left unsatisfied rubbing the SunSun. It is an object I cannot develop a fetish for due to the thin wall plastics. Running my fingers over the Filstar, feeling something stirring inside me, I can say, this is some fine French (Mexican in birth actually) plastic. Don't get me wrong, I can appreciate a Chinese twist as well, my Odyssea, oh the times, so many times I've looked, and wanted to touch, and touched, and cooed, and the Odyssea it coos back at me. The plastics in this one, they do not move me.

I'm sure it filters water though.

But really, is that all you want? My relationships with my aquarium equipment run deeper than just a quick filtering. Don't yours? Don't you want them to?
 
#361 ·
I think the most accurate recent post was random_alias's. There is a difference between "cheap" and "piece of crap". It made me rethink my post. He's right. I am judging a book by it's cover. Time will tell whether the important part, the pump, continues to do it's job.

I find it hard to believe, Jake, that you'd call the thing a beast. As, random_alias has made me realize, that's my only complaint, that it's not a beast. The part of me that wants to sit around and stroke robust plastics is left unsatisfied rubbing the SunSun. It is an object I cannot develop a fetish for due to the thin wall plastics. Running my fingers over the Filstar, feeling something stirring inside me, I can say, this is some fine French (Mexican in birth actually) plastic. Don't get me wrong, I can appreciate a Chinese twist as well, my Odyssea, oh the times, so many times I've looked, and wanted to touch, and touched, and cooed, and the Odyssea it coos back at me. The plastics in this one, they do not move me.

I'm sure it filters water though.

But really, is that all you want? My relationships with my aquarium equipment run deeper than just a quick filtering. Don't yours? Don't you want them to?
I called it a beast, because of its size: Much larger then my Eheim. Water pumping wise, it is again better then my $90 Eheim. Quality wise, the Eheim takes all. The SunSun's plastic is fine IMO, as long as I do not take a hammer to it. It is actually much better then I expected, but still a little lacking.

All in all though, so far as I can tell you get more then what you pay for with the SunSun. And I'd say that most SunSun users agree with me.

I do not have any relationship with my equipment. Why would I? Are they a living thing?
 
#360 ·
Mine is running like a charm, still as quiet as the day I got it (~ 6 months). As was mentioned above though, the plastic is pretty poor quality. My spraybar cracked on me when I was trying to separate the two pieces.The latching system and quick release for the hoses are much easier IMO when compared to my eheim. I also have an eheim hooked up to the same tank as the sun sun, and the maintainance on the the eheim is always longer than the sun sun.

Pros: Cheap price, very effective filtration, easy maintainance, spray bar included, extremely silent, comes with free media

Cons: spray bar etc is cheap quality plastic and must be handles with care, the free media is pretty sparse and needs extra
 
#363 ·

(plumbing not in picture)
It seems that the company has changed its name and box design again maybe trying make it look more impelling to buyers. I'm satisfied with it doing its job which is to filter my 20 gallon tank. Even though it came only with three thin filter pads, I just added my own. Right now I'm looking for a spray bar to replace the stock one. It may be "cheap" compared to others but i don't care because I'm satisfied and it is my first canister filter so I have nothing to compare it to. Oh and did I mention that I can't hear it at all and that my 24" Nova Extreme 4x24watt fan is louder than it's pump!!:proud:
 
#364 ·
Im trying to figure out how much media capacity these 302's have? Looks from the pics (thank you patriot) that each basket would hold about 1l-1.5l of media. So my guess is the total capacity would be ~4l. If this is the case it would cost ~$60 to fill the filter with 4l of ehfisubstrat PRO or ~$20 with seachem matrix.

I can not find any place that is selling them so I can put together a proper price comparison after filling it with equivalent media.

Here is a nice exploded pic of the canister.

HW-302/HW-303A/HW-303B/HW-304A/HW-304B
 
#365 ·
i'd say thats pretty close to accurate, the trays are like ~6L"x~6W"x~3H" or so, I haven't measured exactly but it's pretty close, can do so when i get home if necessary :p

I know I spent like $40 or so at least between pads/floss and ceramic media, and still had room to easily fit half a box of extra floss from my old HOB filters. I think there's a layer of floss in each tray, 4-5 layers extra i put in the bottom tray, 3 extra in the middle + a polishing pad and extra ceramic media i couldn't fit in the top tray, and top is all ceramic media(about a box and a half of biomax) with a single polishing pad on top. Have a sponge prefilter and the flow outta the 302 is still going strong! And there was hardly a difference in flow at all adding the extra floss compared to not having any besides what it came with ;)
 
#367 ·
...You can use which ever you prefer as long as the ID of the product has the same ID of the hose' on the filter.
 
#368 ·
I've had my HW-302 running for a week now and it's noisy, it rattles!!! I've read other users say that theirs is silent, that they had to double check to make sure it was running because they couldn't hear it, but mine is annoying me. Granted it is out in the open, not inside a furniture piece or something. It sounds as when you have something loose, not properly closed, but I would have water leaks if it wasn't properly sealed. I have unplugged it and plugged it back again and no change. I have shaken it vigorously to make sure there are no bubbles, tilted it back and forth, opened it and closed it, removed the baskets and placed them back again. No change. I am about to toss it!

This is my second canister filter, the first one is a Marineland C-160 that I thought it was too small for my tank (30g), got the SunSun, used the C-160 for a month, removed it, and replaced it with the HW-302, but the Marineland was a lot quieter. It is in the bedroom, so I am about to order a Marineland C-220 and get rid of this SunSun after only a week. It works fine, even though the Marineland is sturdier, thicker plastic. I am actually impressed that it works as well for the price and the cheaper feel of the canister.

I don't expect a filter to be "silent", they have to make some noise, but this is a little too much for me. Now, I don't have experience with canister filters and their noises, I don't have friends that have canisters for me to go check theirs, but I am going to AFA tomorrow to listen to theirs. All the times I've been there I've never paid attention to the filters under the cabinets but I have to compare noise levels.

It's driving me crazy!

E
 
#371 ·
I've had my HW-302 running for a week now and it's noisy, it rattles!!!

It's driving me crazy!

E
If you don't or can't fix it, I might buy it from you if you are selling it at a reduced price. I have a spare impeller for the 302 that I was mistakenly sent when I ordered a spare 303 impeller. They sent me a 303 impeller later and let me keep the 302 impeller. Assuming the impeller is seated properly in your canister, maybe it is just a faulty impeller. If that is the case, I may have the part that I would need to correct it. PM me if you are selling the filter for a cheap price. :)

How old is it? If it's faulty, the seller you bought it from will probably send you a free replacement or exchange.
 
#377 ·
This was a great review, I completely agree with your points. I just setup my HC-302 this afternoon and it is running great and verry quiet. My concern was the quality of the plastic on the inlet and outlet tubes. They do seem thin and one has to be careful not to snap the plastic apart when assembling the pieces together. Aside from this minor issue, I have no complaints. :)
 
#379 ·
I'm using those pipes with a SunSun 303-B. Heat the tubing [in hot water] and slip it over the pipes. By Jove, it's far from a loose fit! You'll discover the power of the fit when you try to remove the tubing later for lily pipe maintenance.
 
#382 ·
I got the sunsun 304B and I love it!!

I have one question though, the last time I was cleaning my filter floss, and when I was putting back the cover of the filter, I forgot to put back the glass tube that surrounded the UV lamp properly. You know when you insert the glass tube, it should go down all the way and then turn so that it does not drop out right? Instead I had only pressed the glass tube in but forgot to turn. When I cleaned my filter floss this time, I noticed there was some water in the glass tube, and when I tried my UV lamp, it didn't work.

My question is that is the whole UV lamp fixture including the electrical stuff spoilt? or maybe it's just the lamp that burnt, so I can just replace the UV lamp?
 
#383 ·
Oh, that's an interesting one, you'd have to take it all apart and make sure there isn't any water/residue on the elctronics for the uv lamp. Did you turn on the uv while it was running? Bulb could've exploded in the canister. If not, I'd definitely wipe it all down thoroughly and check the electronics, bulb may be good still.
 
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