Is the Fluval 305 my best choice for a 29g GSP tank?

[Mr. Limpet]

Getting ready to order a canister filter (my first) and I'm leaning towards the 305. I want tons of filtration because these little guys are messy and to be able to customize the media baskets as I see fit.

Any other cans that you might recommend? Or reviews/comments on the 305 would be greatly appreciated.

TIA

 

[mfdrookie516]

I wouldn't say its the best, but it is a very good filter. I have one and love it. That said, a Fluval 305, Rena XP2, or Eheim 2224 would all be sufficient. Realistically, its all going to boil down to the design you like best, as the quality of those 3 are all about the same IMO

 

[Mr. Limpet]

I wouldn't say its the best, but it is a very good filter. I have one and love it. That said, a Fluval 305, Rena XP2, or Eheim 2224 would all be sufficient. Realistically, its all going to boil down to the design you like best, as the quality of those 3 are all about the same IMO

Some of your comments on other threads is the reason I'm leaning towards the 305 . I've read a lot of reviews on it, some with leaking issues but from so many positive reviews that sounds more like operator error more than the filter problems. I'm checking out the others you suggested too.

Thanks again!

 

[Mr. Limpet]

After looking over a few different canisters, I think the Fluval 305 is the one I want for this tank.

Now I just gotta decide where to get it. Petguys.com has at a good price and seems to have good reviews. Anybody ever order from them? Are they pretty good about. Getting it shipped out, back ordering, etc?

Thanks!

 

[carey]

Hi. I believe amazon has it for 119. At least the last time I checked. i loved my 305, its on my sw tank now and never had an issue with it.

 

[Mr. Limpet]

Hi. I believe amazon has it for 119. At least the last time I checked. i loved my 305, its on my sw tank now and never had an issue with it.

Thanks Carey and I've read your take on it in a couple of your threads, getting feedback here really makes a big difference IMO.

Petguys are 115+tax so it's a pretty good price. Just never ordered from them and I looked at amazon and even though this ships free, other things I want to order are going cost me more in shipping than the flat rate at petguys. Go figure .

 

[mfdrookie516]

Some of your comments on other threads is the reason I'm leaning towards the 305 . I've read a lot of reviews on it, some with leaking issues but from so many positive reviews that sounds more like operator error more than the filter problems. I'm checking out the others you suggested too.

Thanks again!

I understand. To be honest, I used to hate my eheim simply because it was a different design than my fluvals and the fluvals were my first canisters. Recently, I've discovered that my eheim is quite the filter. But, I do still favor the dsign of the fluval a little bit over the others.

When I got my first canister, which was a fluval 305, it came with a 29g tank. A spraybar is probably a good idea unless you need a little extra flow (not quite sure about gsp's and flow)... so that may be something to keep in mind.

 

[Mr. Limpet]

I understand. To be honest, I used to hate my eheim simply because it was a different design than my fluvals and the fluvals were my first canisters. Recently, I've discovered that my eheim is quite the filter. But, I do still favor the dsign of the fluval a little bit over the others.

When I got my first canister, which was a fluval 305, it came with a 29g tank. A spraybar is probably a good idea unless you need a little extra flow (not quite sure about gsp's and flow)... so that may be something to keep in mind.

All 3 you recommended had their strong points and I like the Eheim a lot too. When it came down to it, I like the media setup of the 305's 3 baskets and the sponge/filter segment seperate from the stack better. I'm planning on adding the spray bar for sure and the surface skimmer somewhere down the road. Petguys is located across the bay in Oakland, so could save me some time and shipping cost too .

 

[Mr. Limpet]

Looks like Petguys.com is the place for me to get the 305 along with some good deals on other items and no worry about shipping costs. I can order from them and pickup it at the Pet Club in Emeryville (home of Pixar®) since they work out of the same building. Then I can hit a couple good LFS along the way since they have great plants to select from .

 

[Mr. Limpet]

Got the 305, looks like a great setup going thru all the pieces and parts. I'll have enough carbon to last a couple of years, and a Fluval carpet protector lol. Now I just gotta figure out the best path for the media.

1. Foam pads look like they'll capture some serious detritus.
2. bottom basket will have poly-fil in both compartments
3. Middle tray will house Eheim Substrat Pro in both compartments.
4. Top tray will be split between ESPro and poly-fil. I may replace part/all with an ammonia scrubber after the tank has had a chance to get seasoned.

Does that seem like the correct setup or is there a better arrangement that I should consider?

 

[xxwolfpackof1xx]

pics please?

 

[Mr. Limpet]

pics please?

I wish, my phone took a powder and no app/pics till Monday (if I'm lucky) .

If you mean the filter, here's what I got: Aquatic products

The really cool stuff to see is what I got at Pet Club after I picked up the filter. Two pieces of African root wood, a really nice chunk of petrified wood and a piece of slate with a purplish hue to it (turned a bit brownish after soaking) .

 

[mfdrookie516]

The media configuration sounds fine to me. I never have run polyfill in mine. I always run the sponges on the side, then all 3 baskets full of ceramic rings. I have one basket full of the prefilter rings, then the top two full of standard biorings (name escapes me.. biomax?).

I will say that the substrat is very hard to clean compared to the rings. I have an eheim with the substrat and it takes considerably longer to clean than my two fluvals. But... its ultimately your choice. My line of thinking is that since only as much bacteria as the bio load will support will be there, there's not much need in spending tons of money on new biomedia when an $11 box of rings will give you all you need.

 

[xxwolfpackof1xx]

ive never seen a canister in person are they like huge bulky thiings or no

 

[mfdrookie516]

I'll post a picture of the canister under my 40 breeder real quick.. I know Mr Limpet isn't able to take pics ATM....

This is an eheim 2224, tank stand is 3' wide for reference (and this only shows half). It's roughly the same-ish size as your typical canisters, though it may be a tad shorter.

 

[xxwolfpackof1xx]

oh wow its not nearly as big as i thought

 

[Rokuzachi]

I love the Fluval 05 series. Was the last thing I used before I exited the hobby, and the first thing I used when I got back into it!

 

[Mr. Limpet]

The media configuration sounds fine to me. I never have run polyfill in mine. I always run the sponges on the side, then all 3 baskets full of ceramic rings. I have one basket full of the prefilter rings, then the top two full of standard biorings (name escapes me.. biomax?).

I will say that the substrat is very hard to clean compared to the rings. I have an eheim with the substrat and it takes considerably longer to clean than my two fluvals. But... its ultimately your choice. My line of thinking is that since only as much bacteria as the bio load will support will be there, there's not much need in spending tons of money on new biomedia when an $11 box of rings will give you all you need.

I was considering that point and the amount of bacteria a 29g would sustain, plus the fact that the ESPro has a ton more surface area that the rings that came with the 305. I'm wondering if I may have too much since the filter is good for 75g, but figure the old adage that you can never have too much filtering was appropriate for a GSP tank .

I had the ESPro on hand so figured it was worth a go and I can see your point about cleaning being tougher (more material per Sq. inch), but after a couple times going thru it I'll figure out a system that will make it a bit easier.

The poly-fil is doing a tremendous job of filtering out fine particles in the filtration process just on the one tank I'm testing it with now. I'm planning on adding some to my goldies tank (2 HOB) and see what it does in there. I have to say that the media basket configuration of the 305 is fantastic and really easy to setup and I can't wait to see it in action.

 

[Mr. Limpet]

ive never seen a canister in person are they like huge bulky thiings or no

They're not that big and once the hoses and all are setup, I see this as being a much easier way to deal with filtering my bigger tanks. I'll get pics up on my build tread that this unit is going into this week, as well as the decco I found .

Link to my build: http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f70/new-tank-build-29-gallon-gsp-adventure-147269.html

 

[itsgracia]

I work in emeryville! I like the Fluval 305. I was thinking of putting that on my 29.