sudz
Aquarium Advice Addict
OK, so I started the hobby with Aquaclears HOB Filters. Great. never had a complaint.
Then I found Canister filters. I had a Fluval 304 I got on a boxing day sale. I had that for a number of years (7) and then t he motor just stopped working. (sad, as I poured 50 bucks in parts when I broke the ceramic shaft replacing the impeller I thought was worn out) It was good. I loved it. It was stealthy, but didn't prime easily with the little plunger.
When it died, I got the SunSun fluval knockoff.
What a piece of... fish poop. The big prime button doesn't do anything, its loud, and the flow rate was horrible. but it worked, and I could use the media from my 304. It died (the plastic inlet pipe cracked randomly, started sucking in air over a weekend, and its lost 90% of its flow since then, and takes 20-30 attempts to start each time. (I think some of the windings died in the motor)
I scrambled and have been able to find a 2 year old Eheim 2217 for $100 bucks.
I cleaned it out, Put my bio media in the bottom (ceramic O's) and Priming it was 100x easier than any "autopriming" canister I've ever had. Suck on the outlet. Water gushes in. Sprays out spray bar. Plug in. 10 seconds later, more flow than I've ever seen in my life. (in fact, too much)
Its so quiet, its so powerful, and its so darn simple.
On top of that, I had to put my CO2 atomizer on the inlet, and since its a bottom up design, I never have to worry about it cavitating. The CO2 will naturally rise out of the system! Best Reactor EVER!
I'm in love. Provided it doesn't randomly break and/or flood my living room, I'll never buy another filter. Old, Tried Tested and true.
Then I found Canister filters. I had a Fluval 304 I got on a boxing day sale. I had that for a number of years (7) and then t he motor just stopped working. (sad, as I poured 50 bucks in parts when I broke the ceramic shaft replacing the impeller I thought was worn out) It was good. I loved it. It was stealthy, but didn't prime easily with the little plunger.
When it died, I got the SunSun fluval knockoff.
What a piece of... fish poop. The big prime button doesn't do anything, its loud, and the flow rate was horrible. but it worked, and I could use the media from my 304. It died (the plastic inlet pipe cracked randomly, started sucking in air over a weekend, and its lost 90% of its flow since then, and takes 20-30 attempts to start each time. (I think some of the windings died in the motor)
I scrambled and have been able to find a 2 year old Eheim 2217 for $100 bucks.
I cleaned it out, Put my bio media in the bottom (ceramic O's) and Priming it was 100x easier than any "autopriming" canister I've ever had. Suck on the outlet. Water gushes in. Sprays out spray bar. Plug in. 10 seconds later, more flow than I've ever seen in my life. (in fact, too much)
Its so quiet, its so powerful, and its so darn simple.
On top of that, I had to put my CO2 atomizer on the inlet, and since its a bottom up design, I never have to worry about it cavitating. The CO2 will naturally rise out of the system! Best Reactor EVER!
I'm in love. Provided it doesn't randomly break and/or flood my living room, I'll never buy another filter. Old, Tried Tested and true.
