Non eheim or fluval
- Thread starter Adamski
- Start date
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ice fish
Aquarium Advice Activist
what do you plan to do with it? are you talking about canister filters or just HOB filters? i have a fluval fx5 that i use currently on my setup till i get my sump im working on going. it does its job and cycles through my 55 gallon 4 times per hour. they do require alot of cleaning if you dont want your nitrates to explode
External canisters. I have plenty of time and don't mind the cleaning side of things (actually enjoy it) I've been checking prices are there are similar spec filters than are vastly cheaper. I know you get what you pay for etc but just after opinions on the other brands on the market
ice fish
Aquarium Advice Activist
if you want a canister filter, get the fluval. like i said with my fx5. its easy to take apart and clean just a hassle to do it so regularly. mines going for sale soon but your just a bit far away to make the price worth it with shipping lol.
ice fish
Aquarium Advice Activist
there not that expensive. ive seen them on sale around here used for 150 bucks? new though there around 300-400.
ice fish
Aquarium Advice Activist
thats USD. pounds it would be cheaper
Adamski,
I have just gone through what you are doing. I can give you my 2 cents ( pence in your case )
I have a 29g tall and a 125g 72" wide tank(s), both are planted community.
29g is low tech lighting and the 125 gis high tech LED lighting.
Filter debates will go on till the end of time.
My experience:
The flow rates on all filters are marketing B.S. I think they are measured flow with empty canisters. When filled with essential media, you get what you get, depending on what you put in the canister ( much lower flow rate, which is good for nitrifying bacterial growth)
29G tank:
i got an eheim 2215 right from the beginning, and it has been flawless. Silent, crystal water and excellent filter. As their classic design, the canister is not as easy to clean as filters with trays, but the time difference is not more than 5-10 minutes, in my experience; but works very well. The best part is that the design is very simple.
For the 125g :
I started with a fluval 405, it moves water and has an easy means of cleaning. The hoses are corrugated and made of thin wall polyethylene. They are flimsy but are easy to place. The corrugation are a haven for gunk growth ( due to the increased surface area)
I was not able to get the tank crystal clear no matter what i packed the filter with.
I switched to Eheim ( Pro3 ) and it was pretty good, but i had a lot of bypass around the media. I liked the filter, but was not "Amazed."
I added a Sunsun 404 ( very cheap and cheerful ) and it works well. Knowing that the size was inadequate for my tank, I knew I needed to get an a secondary filter.
I got a wild hair up my backside and I bought a monster Eheim 2262 (basically a 5 gallon bucket with a pump on it ) Great filter for a 300 gallon tank, but not so, for a 125g. It was not silent, but pretty quiet, and it raised the water temp in my tank. Not bad for cold Colorado winters, but bad for warm summers. The tank was amazingly clean and I needed to make a custom spray bar to prevent a river like flow of water.
I returned it and bought 2 Eheim 2217's to work with the Sunsun 404. The tank is crystal clear with no regrets. I have enough beneficial bacteria in all filters to prevent a problem if one is out of service.
The SunSun is a much lower flow, than the Eheims, which is great for nitrifying bacteria.
Granted my purchases are/were "Over the top " but it gave me a chance to learn first hand.
Both Eheim and Sunsun filters use thick walled PVC tubing. The tubing is a bit more difficult to position but easy to get in place. It's easier than Fluval to drop tubing behind a tank that is inches from the wall. The thin wall poly from Fluval took more time and was frustrating.
The downside with Eheim tubing is that if it put in too tight of a radius, the tubing will kink and create a point of kinking in the future. Easily remedied by putting the tub in a piece of plumbing PVC to accommodate any tight areas.
As far as media goes. Matrix or Eheim substrate will both work well. They are both sintered glass with high porosity. One may have higher porosity than the other, but the bacteria don't seem to care. I run both and even bought some of the Tyne Valley Aquatics Biohome ( see youtube, he's a POM ) sintered glass product with very high porosity.
On a side note he does have another youtube vid which shows how he recommends to pack his filter.
Hopefully this will help, or further fan the flames on the debate between Eheim and Fluvial.
Do look into the Sunsun. For $95.00 US i was pleasantly surprised, not bad for a cheap made in China, filter
As for Eheim, I personally like German engineering, and a simple design.
If you want, PM me and I will send you a pic of my tank and filter set up, for reference.
Now that my tanks are well filtered, I am learning the finer points of fertilizers for the planted part of the tank.
Any feedback on any of this is welcome.
There are some brilliant people on this forum.
I have just gone through what you are doing. I can give you my 2 cents ( pence in your case )
I have a 29g tall and a 125g 72" wide tank(s), both are planted community.
29g is low tech lighting and the 125 gis high tech LED lighting.
Filter debates will go on till the end of time.
My experience:
The flow rates on all filters are marketing B.S. I think they are measured flow with empty canisters. When filled with essential media, you get what you get, depending on what you put in the canister ( much lower flow rate, which is good for nitrifying bacterial growth)
29G tank:
i got an eheim 2215 right from the beginning, and it has been flawless. Silent, crystal water and excellent filter. As their classic design, the canister is not as easy to clean as filters with trays, but the time difference is not more than 5-10 minutes, in my experience; but works very well. The best part is that the design is very simple.
For the 125g :
I started with a fluval 405, it moves water and has an easy means of cleaning. The hoses are corrugated and made of thin wall polyethylene. They are flimsy but are easy to place. The corrugation are a haven for gunk growth ( due to the increased surface area)
I was not able to get the tank crystal clear no matter what i packed the filter with.
I switched to Eheim ( Pro3 ) and it was pretty good, but i had a lot of bypass around the media. I liked the filter, but was not "Amazed."
I added a Sunsun 404 ( very cheap and cheerful ) and it works well. Knowing that the size was inadequate for my tank, I knew I needed to get an a secondary filter.
I got a wild hair up my backside and I bought a monster Eheim 2262 (basically a 5 gallon bucket with a pump on it ) Great filter for a 300 gallon tank, but not so, for a 125g. It was not silent, but pretty quiet, and it raised the water temp in my tank. Not bad for cold Colorado winters, but bad for warm summers. The tank was amazingly clean and I needed to make a custom spray bar to prevent a river like flow of water.
I returned it and bought 2 Eheim 2217's to work with the Sunsun 404. The tank is crystal clear with no regrets. I have enough beneficial bacteria in all filters to prevent a problem if one is out of service.
The SunSun is a much lower flow, than the Eheims, which is great for nitrifying bacteria.
Granted my purchases are/were "Over the top " but it gave me a chance to learn first hand.
Both Eheim and Sunsun filters use thick walled PVC tubing. The tubing is a bit more difficult to position but easy to get in place. It's easier than Fluval to drop tubing behind a tank that is inches from the wall. The thin wall poly from Fluval took more time and was frustrating.
The downside with Eheim tubing is that if it put in too tight of a radius, the tubing will kink and create a point of kinking in the future. Easily remedied by putting the tub in a piece of plumbing PVC to accommodate any tight areas.
As far as media goes. Matrix or Eheim substrate will both work well. They are both sintered glass with high porosity. One may have higher porosity than the other, but the bacteria don't seem to care. I run both and even bought some of the Tyne Valley Aquatics Biohome ( see youtube, he's a POM ) sintered glass product with very high porosity.
On a side note he does have another youtube vid which shows how he recommends to pack his filter.
Hopefully this will help, or further fan the flames on the debate between Eheim and Fluvial.
Do look into the Sunsun. For $95.00 US i was pleasantly surprised, not bad for a cheap made in China, filter
As for Eheim, I personally like German engineering, and a simple design.
If you want, PM me and I will send you a pic of my tank and filter set up, for reference.
Now that my tanks are well filtered, I am learning the finer points of fertilizers for the planted part of the tank.
Any feedback on any of this is welcome.
There are some brilliant people on this forum.
Thanks for your reply. That's really helpful. Tyne valley aquatics are well trusted in the UK and his filter media packing video is superb.
You are right this place has some very knowledgable people. I've had my tank since may and have resisted adding anything until my research is complete. I want to avoid anything coming to harm from my impatience or poor planning. I used to be a personal trainer and people would swear by certain supplements when there was nothing different bar a high price tag. A company over here sells their own version of sun sun filters which practical fish keeping called the best external on the market. I'm going to try a tetratec ex700 and I'll let everyone know how it goes
You are right this place has some very knowledgable people. I've had my tank since may and have resisted adding anything until my research is complete. I want to avoid anything coming to harm from my impatience or poor planning. I used to be a personal trainer and people would swear by certain supplements when there was nothing different bar a high price tag. A company over here sells their own version of sun sun filters which practical fish keeping called the best external on the market. I'm going to try a tetratec ex700 and I'll let everyone know how it goes
ScaryFatKidGT
Aquarium Advice FINatic
- Joined
- Jul 8, 2014
- Messages
- 543
Idk you get what you pay for, my lfs told me they sell a lot of Aquatops and they even come with a UV sterilizer but I told them I thought the plastic felt cheap and brittle and when the guy was taking it out for me to show it to me the handle snapped off and hes was like well you don't want one now get the Fluval lol, cuz he new I was worried out it lol.
What size tank do you have? A Fluval 406 and a HOB should be fine unless you have 180g or larger, then I probably would just drop the $340-$400 on an FX6.
What size tank do you have? A Fluval 406 and a HOB should be fine unless you have 180g or larger, then I probably would just drop the $340-$400 on an FX6.
The tank size will dictate your filter.
The choice is what you make of it. You can save money buying used, but if it breaks, what have you saved?
For the 300-400 you can get 2 Eheim 2217's and a Sunsun 404. HOB's are great especially with a biowheel.
It is very subjective. Scary is a big fan of Fluval filters. They are widely used and a good filter. A lot of people like them and the company is big for a reason, they are one of the largest filter manufacturers, because they are good. Eheim is also good. Sunsun is also good.
high flow rated filter with reduced flow due to media does a great job, especially with polishing floss on the top of the filter. You need to have lower flow to allow more bacterial growth.
Depending on the tank size, two is better than one. I have never heard of water being too clean for fish !
What ever you get, it will work fine.
The choice is what you make of it. You can save money buying used, but if it breaks, what have you saved?
For the 300-400 you can get 2 Eheim 2217's and a Sunsun 404. HOB's are great especially with a biowheel.
It is very subjective. Scary is a big fan of Fluval filters. They are widely used and a good filter. A lot of people like them and the company is big for a reason, they are one of the largest filter manufacturers, because they are good. Eheim is also good. Sunsun is also good.
high flow rated filter with reduced flow due to media does a great job, especially with polishing floss on the top of the filter. You need to have lower flow to allow more bacterial growth.
Depending on the tank size, two is better than one. I have never heard of water being too clean for fish !
What ever you get, it will work fine.
CCXGT
Aquarium Advice Addict
I saw an FX5 for £50 on Gumtree..
You really can't get a better canister than a Fluval (or Eheim ?)
I'd go for it if I was you. You'd be amazed at how well it performs.
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CCXGT
Aquarium Advice Addict
However, I know that people use Aquaclear canisters as a cheaper alternative to the big boys.
You could pick up two of them.
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You could pick up two of them.
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CCXGT
Aquarium Advice Addict
24cm?!
You're not going to fit much in the way of a big canister with that little space.
You may want to consider a HoB.
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