Canister filters

[Lonewolfblue]

I have an XP2 and 2 XP3's. Love them all....

[chase33]

Gee, I have a fluval 305 and have no problems with it. Easy to disconnect and perform maintanance and works well. But, with all the replies recommending the Rena's I wish I would have checked them out. When researching cannisters prior to buying (two months ago), I received responses stating the Rena's break down quicker and that led me to the fluval, but with all of these responses again, I wish I would have looked at them myself.

[duke33]

I like my fluvals.

[smn723]

I have a rena xp2 and a rena xp3....wouldn't change them for any other filter. Never had any complications but if it does happen they are very easy to fix. Maintenance is a breeze!

[gheitman]

I love my Filstar xP1 and wouldn't hesitate to recommend that line of filters to anyone. Maintenance is pretty straightforward and I've never had water leak out in the two years that I've owned mine. Once a month I just disconnect the filter and take about fifteen minutes to clean the inside and replace the micro-filtration pad. When I first got my filter I did replace the included Bio-Chem Zorb pouch with Seachem's Matrix biological media though. If you live in an apartment, and are worried about your tank flooding the place, make sure you get a waiver to your renters insurace to cover that possibility.

[degbowl]

Just another update. I can't beleve how easy it is to clean the Rena filters. I have 4 tanks and I now have two XP1's and an XP2. I will be buying one more for my 46 gal tank. For the money they are great. They also run so quiet I have to touch them just to make sure they are running. My friend had an old fluval that broke and asked me to get him a new fluval. I talked him into an XP3. He is so happy with it. It pumps more gph than his old fluval and it was $100 cheaper. I just want to thank everyone for their advice.

Jim

[tat2dude25]

Let me tell you about my experience with Fluval. I bought my first one at a thirift store for $3.00. Brand new in plastic and box, totally unused. The store didn't even know what it was. This was model 204. Brought it home set it up. The lock nuts broke before the unit was ever plugged in and the hoses are total trash. The plastic pieces that keep the hoses from kinking never fit the thing at all so I have never used them. After replacing the hoses with tubing from a local building store it was useable. The next fun part is priming the thing. Its horrible trying to pump the little lever to prime it. Takes a good 20 min to get it going. I finally bought a water pump just to prime it and my next piece the Fluval 403. I bought the 403 next used. Instantly replaced the hoses, impeller, shaft, impeller cover, and o ring. This unit yes its older but is 1 worse. Priming is next to impossible without help from the water pump and the carbon containers never want to pry apart. Needless to say after 1 month of use the 403 decided to leak, flooding the house. Had to replace the subflooring and all the carpet. The water even ran under a wall into another room. Luckily the damage did not require repairs to the wall or the other room other than a carpet shampooer. What happenedwas the cheap plastic clips broke just enough to keep vaccuum and prime but enough to drain a 55 gallon tank almost to the bottom. Save yourself the problems and headache and dont but the Fluvals. Im sure the new generation isnt any better. I also have a Marineland magnum canister that after almost 20 yrs. of service not one issue. That is a good filter if you want canister. I use mainly now Emporer 400 power filters which are excellent and probably will not cause $3,000 damage to my home!

[chadthedad]

My turn! I have been using a Fluval 404 for 4yrs now with no problems. Priming is easier if you fill the canister before putting the top back on (with tank water of course).

Also, I just noticed you can find NIB 404s on ebay with a buy it now option for $85 shipping included.

[tawolcott]

Agreed on the Fluval Chad, though I do wish the clamps were better constructed. I'm not clairvoyant so I can't speculate if the newer versions will be/are better than my 404's. Like everything anymore most of the 'extras' included with anything are low quality. Change out the hoses , add a check valve or ball , an inline heater and off you go.

[pitt420dude]

Have to agree with the last two posts about the Fluvals. I just got a 304 for my 55 gal about a month ago. It runs great (though there is a little rattling, I think I may need to take the top off and re-seat it), fairly quiet other than the rattlign which I think is user error, has great filter media accessibility.

Just a little note about all this priming talk: It is a complete non-issue. For me it is at least. The 304 and anything after that has this feature called "aquastop" where with the flip of a valve, you can completely stop the flow and keep the siphon, and then remove the filter from the hosing in about 5 seconds. So long as you fill the cannister back up with water (preferably tank but you can use tap at the risk of losing some ben bact filtration) you can just hook it back up to the hoses, open the aquastop, and plug it in: no priming needed at all. The one and only time you should ever need to prime it is when you set it up for the first time. You may have a much harder time priming it if there is a leak or something, or the hoses aren't underwater when you're trying to do it.

I think they're all great and love canister filters. I only have exp. w/ a fluval but can tell you that I LOVE my 304 for $55.