Fluval FX4. A better replacement?

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Jacky12

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I need a new canister filter for a 125 G. I have several FX4s and FX6s, but they are heavy to pull out for cleaning & seems to be Fluval overcharges on many items. Can anyone suggest a good alternative?
 
You can either look for something more premium, but more expensive or less expensive bit lower quality. Generally you get what you pay for.

On the more premium side of things you have Eheim. An eheim pro 5e would be their equivalent to an FX4.

IMO Fluval and Eheim offer the best options for large canisters.

On the more budget side you have a Chinese manufacturer called Sensen that markets their products under different names in different locations. All Pond Solutions in the UK. Sunsun in the US. They also market under the name Polar Aurora. Their closest equivalent to an FX4 would be the All Pond Solutions 1400EF. Sorry I don't know the Sunsun model number for that. Sunsun filters are very popular with large scale hobbyists where value for money is important.

But a large canister is a large canister. They will be heavy to move and with your sizable aquariums, unless you plan on setting up sumps, canisters are probably your best option. You could go for 2 smaller canisters, rather than 1 bigger one. So say 2 x 307s or 407s instead of 1 x FX4. Sumps would definitely be easier to maintain.

You could consider a small pond filter, which was the preferred option for large aquariums before Fluvals FX range went to the market. But I don't really know where to direct you there.
 
Thank you very much for your detailed and useful answer. Greatly appreciated. I have indeed been looking at Polar Aurora & SunSun online. And you make an excellent point. They are all apt to be heavy and bulky for a petite woman such as myself.

I am not sure I could work with two filters, but it is an idea worth exploring. This 125 will be on a stand that has a 75G on the lower shelf. So I have places left right for a FX4 on either side of the stand.

I have a 110 gallon Frontosa tank. It is filtered by three Tidal 110 HOBs & a small Fluval 306 below. I’m wondering how this would work on the 125. It will be all juveniles & a few young adult P.Scalare.
 

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