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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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#651 ·
I guess I'm the only one that's had the worst experience with the SunSun 302. I set it up when I first got it, lubed all seals and tubing. Ran fine for a day, then the outflow became a trickle. Messed with it for several several hours on a weekend to only take it completely off my tank(29G). Did hours and hours of research and decided to put it back up, well worked good for 3 or so days and then again, the outflow was a trickle. Priming did not help the flow. I never had the skimmer on, I cannot think why I had this issue. Everything was sealed great(head to body, tubing to head and intake, output)
 
#652 · (Edited)
Pastert33, mine did the same after 6 months. replaced just about every part clean it top to bottom same thing. This started happening on others I have so, I have phased them all out with Eheim, 1 more left and done. Will have 7 2215 and 5 2213 and 1 2217 and one 2229 once done. I firmly think eheim is the only real way to go and be happy!
 
#653 ·
Sorted out the leakage (one of the baskets was not in place :redface:), no air at all, flow is great, the only thing that bothers me little is that its not "dead" silent as some already reported, when everything is turned off at night I still can hear it running (not like some that had to be really close to the filter to hear it running).

As a filter media I use (from bottom to top) 1st - basket blue sponge, 2nd - bioballs plus filter floss that came with the filter, 3rd - ceramic rings plus 2 filter floss pads on top that came with the filter. Attached the skimmer too and for the first time in last couple of months since I keep Discus there is no protein film on top.
 
#661 ·
I used some Vaseline and lubed the impeller, impeller shaft and impeller housing (and all other "attachment" parts), it's a little bit quieter but not "dead" silent, me and my luck I guess. Anyone experiencing the same "issue" (if we may call it like that)? As I mentioned earlier the flow is good (considering the fact that I stocked the baskets with media and I'm using the spraybars as I don't want to disturb my discus and that this is my 2nd filter attached on my 44 gallon tank), no trapped air etc?
 
#663 ·
I have had one of these since 2008ish. It has been working great! Haven't had to do anything to it except for normal maintenance. Runs quiet as ever. The only gripe I have with them is that the baskets on mine fit really snug and I have broken all the handles that you use to lift them out. Finally broke the last one about a month ago. But for the price and five years of use I haven't gotten out of it so far I would definantly buy one again. I run this filter along with a Fluval 306 on my 55g tank.
 
#666 ·
Attaching the skimmer to the lower intake tubes

Maybe i was missing an attachment or the trick to attaching it. I ended up cracking the bottom of the skimmer piece trying to get the lower tube to attach. Anyone else with the same experience? Also, what are all your thoughts on the skimmer? Should i even use it?
 
#667 ·
Maybe i was missing an attachment or the trick to attaching it. I ended up cracking the bottom of the skimmer piece trying to get the lower tube to attach. Anyone else with the same experience? Also, what are all your thoughts on the skimmer? Should i even use it?
I did the same thing.... I just connected the other ends without the strainer. Works just fine.
 
#668 ·
I have one of the Sunsun can filters and it's been working great on my 44gal planted hex for the last year. Keeps the water nice and clean, very quiet. Gets cleaned every other water change and I have to put my hand on the top to make sure that the pump is working. It's just that quiet! Honestly, I Don't have any real experience with any other can filters so can't contrast but, it's been a great filter so far! I use activated carbon in a filter sock, ceramic bio media, and filter floss... Can't knock it on price either!:fish:
 
#673 ·
#674 ·
I am thinking of buying the 3-STAGE CANISTER FILTER + 9W UV STERILIZER FRESH/SALT AQUARIUM 75 GAL FREE MEDIA on E-bay for my 40 breeder that I just converted to a saltwater.

I have a sump for it that worked great for my freshwater but I'm in over my head with the saltwater so I think canister filter is the way to go. as the army says K.I.S.S. keep it simple stupid!!

this was a great review I know it's not directed towards saltwater but I think I will give it a shot. I have purchased a lot of stuff from CLL and have to say they never disappoint. they sell cheap knock off brands but they do as promised and as was stated earlier Directions? what F*&@king directions :help:
 
#677 ·
Just got one of these guys to replace my fluval 304 that I busted the case manhandling. Fit and finish is pretty damn good, everything fits together great. However the flow seems pretty weak compared to my 304, which is of very similar gph. I flipped flopped it and pretty sure all the air is out of it.

What do y'all think does this look right to you? http://youtu.be/lfTTGbr7E14
 
#679 ·
May want to shorten the hoses, the farther the water needs to get pushed, the lower the GPH is going to be as the pump needs to work more. I did this with my 304b and it is like night and day.
 
#678 ·
I have one as well and the flow is probably a bit less than advertised. It does improve if you don't pack the thing tightly with extra pads or floss.

I run mine in tandem with a large HOB filter and I use the spray bar from the SunSun to get a bit of water movement lower in the tank.
 
#680 ·
I wouldn't of though it would make that great of a difference, thanks for the info. I'll cut them down when I install it, was just testing it out in my basement.
 
#681 ·
Yeah, mine made a big difference. I also found that pot scrubbies REALLY slow down the flow so I ended up ordering a couple more of the sponges for cheap from sunsun and used a metric crap ton of ceramic media (2 baskets full for a 40b) ceramic media is cheap through ebay (when you have so much, quality is not a huge deal) - I like the seller cll_petsupplies
 
#682 ·
Thank you for this post! I was literally checking these out on amazon for my de-rimmed 10 gal project! I was really on the fence because I didn't see many helpful reviews, so I put it in my wishlist to look into later. Guess I'm making a purchase tonight!

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