John's 45g Planted Noob Build - Start to Finish

[Fishcraze]

For my 46 gallon bowfront I was deciding between the fluval 406, ehiem pro 3 and the JBL e1501.

I had a fluval 205 and like the filters, media capacity seems less than the others. The have a great 'Aqua stop' function which makes cleaning easy, they can be a pig to prime going off the 205 but the 406 may have markedly improved. The tubes are thicker though and did not fit in my tank cut outs and they still insist on using corrugated tubing which, although is nice and flexible, collects crud like I don't know what. I can't comment on the ehiem but I have had ehiems and I can say they are more expensive because they just seem like a better build quality and the pump in the 2217 I had was ultra silent. Unfortunately this canister didn't fit in my cabinet which was an inconvenience I didn't want to have to get round. The tubing is a horrible green but it comes with a spraybar which the fluvals do not. T

Then I found the e1501 by JBL and not only did fit perfectly in my cabinet, like the ehiems the standard size tubing allowed me to connect directly to my inline atomiser and it puts out a flow rate slap bang in the middle of the ehiem and fluval. Come with a euro plug though and the spraybar provided was too small so I used the fluval one which is longer.

I actually had my hand on the trigger ready to buy the Eheim Pro 3 today. I was ever so close. Then I started reading reviews. I think from Amazon. They had a bunch of 1 stars. Now I know Eheim has a better name than that but it was interesting that one reviewer stated that they are not using the same quality parts as they did in the past. Idk. Here is what I do know. When I read they Fluval reviews it is nearly spotless. Very few complaints and I love that so many people use them. So yes, I pulled the trigger on a 406 not five minutes ago. I will send the Cascade back citing an issue with bypass which I read a lot about with this filter.

Now, how do we get up to 10x flow? Even with the 406, that will not do it. I would like to hear any and all suggestions.

 

[Caliban07]

I actually had my hand on the trigger ready to buy the Eheim Pro 3 today. I was ever so close. Then I started reading reviews. I think from Amazon. They had a bunch of 1 stars. Now I know Eheim has a better name than that but it was interesting that one reviewer stated that they are not using the same quality parts as they did in the past. Idk. Here is what I do know. When I read they Fluval reviews it is nearly spotless. Very few complaints and I love that so many people use them. So yes, I pulled the trigger on a 406 not five minutes ago. I will send the Cascade back citing an issue with bypass which I read a lot about with this filter.

Now, how do we get up to 10x flow? Even with the 406, that will not do it. I would like to hear any and all suggestions.

I'm sure you have made an excellent purchase there.

Well the 10x flow isn't compulsory. It's just a target that many adhere to. I can see you want to do things right the first time which is obviously a good thing. If you do want to take the 10x flow literally then I suppose you would be looking at an additional power head to make up the rest.

Then you may find it more difficult to balance flow dynamics.




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[TMaier]

Not sure where you ordered yours but I found this site and will probably order some. You buy it by the Kg so I'm not exactly sure how much I need. Anyone have experience with this? Going to fill a Fluval 406.

This is the only US distributor I have found and where I purchased.
I bought 3 500kg packs. 2 of the ultimate and 1 mini for my 30g. Very nice people.


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[Fishcraze]

This is the only US distributor I have found and where I purchased.
I bought 3 500kg packs. 2 of the ultimate and 1 mini for my 30g. Very nice people.


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I think you mean 500g packs, not kg right? ?

 

[TMaier]

This. Lol


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[Fishcraze]

The replacement Finnex fixture arrived today from Amazon. This time it was packaged in a cardboard shipping box. Much better. While I wait for the Fluval 406, I am researching additional flow and also clear pic. I liked the idea of glass spray bars and lily pipes but it does seem there is a real breakage potential. Clear PVC on the other hand is def a possibility.