ZooMed Nano 30 External Canister Filter

I bought my ZooMed Nano 30 in store over three years ago as a temporary installment. I have a 20 gallon tank for two Goldfish and was previously running a tank mounted Aqueon QuietFlow 30. However, summer temperatures were really spiking the temperatures in the water. I bought an AquaEuro 1/13HP chiller that required a pump and decided I wanted to run a canister filter upstream of it to prolong its life. After looking at the usual suspects (Fluval, Eheim, MarineLand, etc.) I stumbled upon this little unit. For the price, compared to the other brands, I figured I'd try it out while deciding on which of the others I would eventually get. Fast forward to today, and I'm still using it and it's running solid! Mind you, I have pushed every limit of this little filter and it's been serving me quite well. What I mean by that is it's sitting on the floor while the tank is on a 25" stand AND it's pushing through the chiller THEN back up to the top of the aquarium. The supplied hose would have worked, but I still needed a bridge to go from the outlet of the filter to the inlet of the chiller. I do realize the flow characteristic of the system is diminished and there's additional strain on the pump, but it works nonetheless and this system has kept my aquarium clean and cool for years. I figure a rating of 30 gallons on a 20 gallon tank with this much additional length to push through still maintains a high enough flow to clean and cool my tank. So far so good. I have, however, not gone without issue. The hose locking system isn't as stout as most others would likely be. I've replaced all of the threaded locking rings with small metal hose clamps from the local auto parts store. The hoses attaching to the filter itself kept on backing off, even with the rings tightened down as tight as possible. I clean the filter once a month, so after about a year of maintenance, the hoses would simply slip off and spill water everywhere. User instructions weren't entirely thorough, but a bit of trial and error and I got used to it. Being it is so far below the aquarium, priming was an issue. For my case, when the hoses are empty, I simply pour tank water into the tank side inlet and outlet to fill the hoses as much as I can (disconnected from the canister) and then top off the canister with tank water before capping it. Opening up the little vent cap opposite the hoses allows air to escape and the canister to fill all the way up. During maintenance, water is already locked in the hoses, so I just clean, fill and "bleed" then turn it back on. Any knocking sound coming from the filter is usually due to air trapped beneath the cap. I've found rocking and shaking the unit gently while it's on helps get the air pushed out and I can hear bubbles run up and out through the return spout. Filter media is included and I've actually been fine using the provided set. Nothing has needed to be replaced, just rinsed out to remove the trapped contaminants. I haven't even replaced the activated carbon pouch (which I know should be, but hasn't proven necessary). I just completed my routine maintenance which I do every first weekend of the month (filter cleaning, gravel vacuum, glass scrub and water change) and realized it's been over three years since I bought this "temporary" filter. This prompted me to look up the product to see what others had said about it. Obviously it's a per user basis, but my experience has proven it worthy of high marks.

I’ve had this filter hooked up to a 10 gallon tank with a (filthy) crayfish in it for the past 4 years. It produces a strong flow for its size, keeps the water clear, and is very quiet. I’ve never performed maintenance on it other than cleaning the media and changing the carbon pouch every 3 months and the flow has had no noticeable decrease. I perform water tests on the tank every couple weeks and have never had a trace of nitrites or nitrates. I like the quality and length of the hoses, I’ve not had issues with leakage or air and I still have a couple feet extra after placing it 4’ away from the tank. It self primes after you clean it, it takes about 2-3 minutes for it work out the air and it goes back to light hum. It’s really not a cheap little filter but it seems to be indestructible so far. Just buy it!

Works good except when you go to take apart to clean hoses, the plastic piece broke where there is a this endetion where you push in and twist to secure! Tried to fix with flex seal glue, no luck. I think it's made cheep so you have to buy parts.😕

Very happy with this filter. Using this on a 35 gallon freshwater tank, filter is mounted below in a cabinet. Plenty of power to pump water up over 4 feet to the top of the tank, says for 30 gallon but I'm sure will work great on much larger tanks. Comes with 2 sponges and all filter media, including hoses. Completely silent, clear tank so you can see when it needs to be cleaned. Just set it up today so I cant speak to longevity but so far so good. Easy to prime with the primer plug. Directions are clear and in plain English (not poorly translated). Would definitely recommend

Since purchasing this product, we have found that the 2 clips that secure the upper portion of the canister filter to the lower portion are extremely difficult to latch and unlatch. Doing so requires a painful amount of strength in one's hands to accomplish what should be a very simple task. Cleaning it is a major ordeal because of those latches. Today while trying to pry open the clips, one of the clips snapped off the piece that is attached to the canister. It is not broken, but the small plastic crossbar must be snapped back into the groove of the piece that toggles and is attached to the canister. This also requires great strength to snap it back into place and every time we try to push hard enough to snap it back in, the part that toggles up or down slips back up or down and then the crossbar slips out of position. We are unable to get the clip back on and so cannot secure the top part with the motor to the bottom part with the canister and the filters, so it can no longer be used. Very poor design and not user-friendly. It should not be this hard.

Exactly the right fit for a ten gallon, actually had to back the circulation down. Easily good for larger tanks. Easy set up, easy assembly and instructions. For hobbiest this is as easy as it gets for canister filters, started right up and purged itself.. Well done ZooMed.

Out of the box, there was a slight noise, mainly a kind of hissing or water moving through the unit. Not loud, but you could hear it in a silent room. After a few weeks, I guess some slime has built up in the impeller because I don't hear it at all. VERY happy with the sound level now. This filter holds a lot of media. The sponges alone must be at least 5X the size that was in the HOB filter I had. The filter moves a good amount of water for smaller tanks. I run the filter on a heavily planted 16 gallon tank. I use the spray bar to diffuse the output as not to blow any of the leaves around too much. I actually added some holes to the spraybar to further diffuse the output. This allows me to run it full flow, instead of reducing the flow with the controls on the inlet/outlets. The water is very well filtered and crystal clear. I've cleaned it twice since I've owned it. Nice touch that shutoff valves aren't needed. I was worried about the tank draining out when removing the piece the hoses mount to, but they were thinking and designed in some kind of automatic shutoff valve. I was expecting something Chinese made, but this unit is made in Europe and the plastic/materials look like good quality. I believe replacement parts are available as well, so I hope to have this for a long time. This is the first Zoo Med product I have bought and would definitively buy their products in the future.

Excelente equipo. La mejor compra para mi acuario. El agua cristalina y limpia peces felices. Lo recomiendo al 100% tiene todo lo necesario para ponerlo de inmediato en la pecera

Dont use in UAE The package was opened on delivery. The box was torn at the bottom with black dust spread inside. The item appears not UAE spec; after 10 seconds of running water, smoke smell, mini blast sounds, then it stopped working. Im returning this item

Me desconcertó un poco que me hayan mandado un modelo diferente, el NANO 511, sin embargo posee las mismas características y dimensiones del NANO 30. Me funciona muy bien en mi acuario plantado de 60 litros. Lo recomiendo.

It's quiet, efficient, and sturdy! Easy to set up if you know how. Those beginner filter machines that require a changing of pad-like filters over and over, can add up cost-wise, and they don't even work that well. But this machine? it, will produce clean water in no time, plus you'll have a tank full of happy fishes. Would buy again!!