Fluval 404 :(
 

I swear as soon as I get my sump going I'm going to throw this Fluval 404 in the garbage! The damn thing takes forever to prime. I now have a massive blister on my finger from trying.... Anyone have some tips for priming this thing?

Walter

No I went through the same thing if it makes you feel any better. That damn thing Im sure lead to over 30 gallons of water ending up ending up on my floor over a couple months.

Josh

Re: Fluval 404 :(
 

You want to know how to prime it Walter?
Do what I did with my 404....Throw it in the garbage! :roll:
My 404 caused about 10g of saltwater to spill on my floor.

thing in the left conner
 

Hello josh what is that contraption in the left hand conner of your main tank. Is that your home made overflow box or ?? If it is how many gallons an hour flow rate do you get? curious.

Well, I don't feel so bad now.... too bad I spent so much on the filter... oh well, it has done me for a year I guess... :?

Walter

Hi,

I have a fluval 403 and a 303 for about 6 years now. IMHO, they are okay as long as you don't need to take them apart. Priming is a bit fun, but there are a couple of ways to make it work. The easiest way is to fill the canister with water and flip the fluval upside down while you turn it on. It is a bit hard to do this, but if you have the room...it will work. The other ways are trickier, but it is possible. Another way is to tip the canister on its side (make sure there canister is full of water) and let it run like that for an hour or so.

I still hate fluvals and I don't really recommend them. The 404 is much better than the 403/303...lets say...at least you can put the lid easily. I would recommend the Marineland Magnum 350, HOT Magnum or the Eheim Classic family. All three of these are workhorses and can easily last 7 to 10 years.

How much do you spend on the 404 ?

- Victor.

I gotta disagree with you Victor.
Althought the old 3 series are hard to prime and hard to get the lid back on they are alot more indistructable then the new 4 series. The old Fluvals are a bull/ the new fluvals are a flea.
I have a fluval 203 that just got taken off line cause I didnt need it anymore and it's been running for 24/7 for 8 years now. My new 404 lasted 7 months :roll:

I think I paid arounf $200 when they first came out. I'll just wait a bit until I move my tank and set up the sump. I must say that is a nasty blister I got from that thing! To top it off I put a brad nail in my finger today aswell.... it's been a good week so far :wink:

Walter

ive had a 404 running 24/7 for over 5or6 years i belive... not a single problem yet, and its run on fresh and salt. primes easy if you ask me... i didnt know you could break them, ive stood on them to reach something and i think you could almost run them over with a big truck without problem. At the same time i wont highly recommend them as i am a sump man myself. i think they would be great on a 33gallon fresh tank
not any bigger though.

Are you sure your not talking about the "403" which are the old round fluvals and the new ones are called "404's" which are rectangular shape and made from cheep plastic and have not been out that long?