Which Filter Would You Choose?

[alpine]

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[rich_one]

all great comments, folks... I appreciate the input... much food for thought here.

[alpine]

I have several Eheims (Pro II ) idle not being used . Decided to use Hydro sponges and Aquaclear 110's in my BB tanks . It works just fine . Love the quality of the Eheims ++ .

Roberto.

[rich_one]

Hdro sponge? have to look that up...

[Eddie]

Hdro sponge? have to look that up...

Simple sponge filter. Picture taken from Kensfish.com

[pcsb23]

Been a while since I used a fluval, they are ok but the build quality wasn't a patch on eheims. Having used the wet/drys for some years I have to say that they are THE most efficient cannister bio filter out there - not so great at mechanical though. Nowadays for canisters I find the Eheim 2217's hard to beat. Cheap, simple, reliable, flexible, quiet, bullet proof and efficient.

[Darrell Ward]

I do actually hear more cons about fluvals than Eheim filters. I was just reading the reviews on the Eheim, had me laughing. One person said it was recommended for NASA engineers as they couldn't put it together. LOL

To be honest, for the price, I'd go for the Eheim Pro II 2128.

http://www.petsmart.com/product/inde...3B+Circulation

LOL! I am always amazed at how many stupid people are out there! Canisters are very simple. Of course now mfgs. are putting useless gizmos on some of them to justify a high price. A person could make their own if they had a container they could seal, have it hold pressure, and not blow the lid off. The only canisters I have been using lately are a couple of Ocean Clear 354 poly bead filters that hold 7 lbs. of poly beads. I only have one of them running at moment after taking down a few tanks, but these things are amazing mech. and bio filters that are capable of handling a small pond. To choose between Fluval and Eheim is easy for me, IMO Fluval is lacking the quality that the Eheims have. Heck, I have some old Eheims in the garage somewhere that are at least 20 years old. If I were to hook them up now, they would still run. If I were to buy one, it would be the one that looks like a 5 gal. bucket with a pump on top, the Eheim 2260 I think. You can put some serious media in that thing.

[erikc]

LOL! I am always amazed at how many stupid people are out there! Canisters are very simple. Of course now mfgs. are putting useless gizmos on some of them to justify a high price. A person could make their own if they had a container they could seal, have it hold pressure, and not blow the lid off. The only canisters I have been using lately are a couple of Ocean Clear 354 poly bead filters that hold 7 lbs. of poly beads. I only have one of them running at moment after taking down a few tanks, but these things are amazing mech. and bio filters that are capable of handling a small pond. To choose between Fluval and Eheim is easy for me, IMO Fluval is lacking the quality that the Eheims have. Heck, I have some old Eheims in the garage somewhere that are at least 20 years old. If I were to hook them up now, they would still run. If I were to buy one, it would be the one that looks like a 5 gal. bucket with a pump on top, the Eheim 2260 I think. You can put some serious media in that thing.

I agree, it's the best filter I've ever had the 2260 (rinse the media out evry 6 months!), however I have upgraded to the Eheim pro 3 series. These filters can hold a lot of media and that is the most important thing you are looking for in biological filtration.

I don't do daily WC's on my tanks so the filter capacity is very important to me. It will depend on your water changing regime .....

[grantbudd74]

http://www.discusforums.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=7080

This did it for me. I have the Eheim pro 3 they are bullet proof, build quality is great and more importantly power consumption is LOW! I hate the bucket look of the FX5 and what ever you do get it at your LFS If it dies the fluval that is then you can take it back with no postage or issues. FX5 is loud and the gimmick;s are not needed i find as this only means more to go wrong!

good luck, go see them in the flesh for yourself and listen to them, Do the math from a power consumption point of view and replacement filter pads option. Eheims are expensive for a reason....they are the best

but thats my opinion only

:-)

[rich_one]

Thanks, everyone... maybe I'll look at this 2128... that Pro 3 is WAY too cost prohibitive for me to even consider.

-Rich

[TankWatcher]

I have never heard a bad word said about eheim classic series. The 2217 is said to be a great filter, though I don't have one myself.

I've just bought the eheim pro 3 2075. Not the big pro 3, which is the 2080, as it doesn't fit in the cabinet.

[poconoboss]

If you go with the FX5, get it on ebay, people sell it new for $200. Don't spend $300. at the stores.

[nc0gnet0]

You can't beat the fluval fx5 for cost if purchased on ebay. And I am laughing at all the eheim fanboys. That wet/dry filter is a nitrate factory waiting to happen. As for build quality, the fx5 is built much better than prior fluval models so it's a non issue.

I might add that I currently own 2 fx5's, a rena xp4, 2 fluval 404's and a ehiem proII 2028 and a 2026. The ehiem proII series were a leak waiting to happen with there silly incorporation of the self priming button that had it's own seal and has formed leaks on both of my canisters. So much for superior build quality. My 404's developed problems as well, in all fairness, as the impeller cap loves to break on those, but, a much easier and less costly fix than the eheims.

You can adjust the output flow on the fx5 if your worried about too much flow, or better yet make yourself a long spraybar.

[akumastew]

That wet/dry filter is a nitrate factory waiting to happen

I am kind of interested in this comment.

Wouldn't the nitrates be created by a non wet dry system?

Aren't nitrates just the end of the nitrification cycle?

Or am I missing something about wet/dry filters?

[nc0gnet0]

Higher nitrates in a wet/dry trickle filter are caused by the accumulation of dissolved organic matter on the bio-material. For this reason it is important that you keep the bio-media free from DOC build up. This accumulation is greater in a wet/dry filter due to the fact the water is being trickled over the bo materail with little pressure to work against the buildup of DOC's.

On the flip side wet/dry's are much more efficient at converting ammonia to nitrite to nitrate as the are more highly oxygenated. Some of the best filters in the world, bakki showers, are wet/dry filters but they are exposed to sunlight in most cases and as such also expierance some algea growth which overcomes the tendencies and reduces nitrate concentraton.