Aquaclear or Fluval

[Jaws]

For a 135G fish only tank, which of these two do you think would be quieter and which one would work better or is usually reccommended?

[Invigor]

they're both about the same, but when your water level drops the aquaclear will have that trickle sound, fluvals will not (depending on where you put the output) fluvals operate almost silently, I like mine. easy to work with too

[Bob I]

Both are good, but I lean toward Fluval. I have Fluvals on all my tanks, and am happy with them.

[kuatto]

Over all I like the Fluvals,just make sure the intake hose has a proper screen,or sponge cover to avoid fish from being sucked up.

[Invigor]

speaking of fluvals, has anyone sucessfully used a surface skimmer without getting a million bubbles?

[bulletsworld]

In the two years I have tried aquarclear 200 - 500, Fluval canister filters 304 -404 & Rena Filster canister filter XP3. A while back I posted up a post, “Throw your Fluval off the balcony party!”. Here is your chance to save yourself against the Fluval.

A list of the pro’s and con’s against the two (Fluval & Aquarclear) and an alternative suggestion unit (Rena XP3), as I have all these filters running right now, the Aquaclear mini, Aquaclear 300, fluval 404 and the Rena XP3.


Aquarclear- Mini to 500
The downside to Aquaclear is that you will have the trickle sound, more so when the water level is running low. With a big tank (135Gal) you would need Aquarclear 500 possibly two. I find though that if you have a heavy tank load, Aquaclear is not the best route to go because it doesn’t create much if any water flow only under the waterfall. Also if you have a heavy stock of fish the aquaclears have a short wand to suck up debris. The pro is that Aquaclears units are easy to clean & start priming again with little or no problems.


Fluval 404
In less then 2 years I have purchased three Fluval canisters, 404. Out of the three I only have one that works today. I imagine you will be looking at the Fluval Canister 404 because you will want a high flow rate for your 135gal and the model Fluval 404 is the largest canister filter for Fluval. I have had so many problems with Fluval let me tell you why,

CONS

PRIMING/ OVERHEATING/CLEANING- Problems with overheating. Two of my Fluval’s died do to this problem, head unit that clips on to the canister impeller would imbalance causing stress on the unit and then I find the unit to be unreliable with its hick up stops suddenly and then start again by itself. The whole plastic canister is cheaply made, making the clips to hold the top on the ceramic impeller lid easy to break. Also you have to be Superman to push the lid back on canister when the seals around the rim get dried out. While your doing this water often spill out of the sides making you think you filled the canister up to much but later you have to pour a little more water in through the hose connecting to get the unit to prime properly.

Cleaning the unit becomes a dreadful task. The hose that come with the new Fluval's are very cheap and hard to clean inside due to the ribbed tubing. I found if you didn’t clean hose successfully, after time the hose would get buildup, algae trapped in the tubing & the will spit back into your display tank… yuk! I ended up replacing the hosing that came with the unit with thick clear tube hosing.

The priming with the Fluval was the biggest stress! The priming where I constantly had to fight for the water to prime through the hoses to get started every time after cleaning. IMO, was a big pain, time consuming and very stressful, challenging your patience for sure. With having to pull the canister forward a couple of times to get the water running through to get started. Yup, you will know what I’m talking about as soon as you get one.

NOISE- I found that the three Fluval’s all were noisy, vibrations even when the canister was placed under a cabinet. I find that my Fluval is the noisest out of the three other units I have running (2-Aquaclear & Rena) Also the ceramic impeller shaft inside the Fluval casing I have found often gets unbalanced at times and will cause the head unit to be even louder and in time wear out having to replace parts. The replacement parts are available and will run you about $40.00 each time to replace. The only pro’s I found with the Fluval was I liked the idea that the one hose acts as power head creating more flow in your tank. Overall, I’m not impressed with the Fluval at all and after purchasing three units I believe it will be my last. If you do like the idea of the canister filters though. I would definitely recommend the Rena Filstar Canister Filter XP3, even though a little more for this unit, well worth it.


Rena Filstar Canister Filter XP3.
I purchased a Rena used and love it! Among all the filters mentioned, this unit has a higher flow rate (350gph), recommended for an aquarium up to 175 Gallons, its extremely quiet. I often check to see if it’s running. My BF (not being in the hobby) noticed & even said, “Wow, this filter is Way better made and you don’t even hear it!”. I told him, “I know, isn’t it GREAT!”. The cleaning for this unit is simple. It’s got a simple pull down shutoff valve to lock in the water in the hose, easy to clip off to clean out media & replace and simple clipping back up. I had no problem with priming this unit. I found the hoses easier to clean and the canister itself clear to see media. COOL! For the little extra it costs to get a Rena, I would definitely recommend this before a Fluval any day but then again that’s just IMO.

Link to Rena product detail.
http://www.jlaquatics.com/cgi-bin/sh...logno=pf-apxp3

Are you buying your unit used or new? I notice occasionally the BUY/SELL forum always has someone selling one of any of these units above.

Best of luck.

[Jaws]

Thanks for all your replies. How many XP3's do you think I would need on my tank to filter it properly?

[bulletsworld]

I guess it would depend what your fish stock load is going to be. If your going to be running a skimmer as well? On the Rena link I gave above it gives you the product info. It says "recommended for an aquarium up to 175 Gallons". So I would say one should be fine for your 135gal.

Yeah I love the Rena. I got mine used from someone who posted on the buy and sell forum. People sell them & the Fluval when they decide to drill there tanks. I was lucky & got the Rena for $80. But I tell yeah, well worth every penny if I had to buy a new one.

[bear27]

I thought that the object of saltwater filtration is to reduce nitrates not to encourage them to grow. Canister filters reduce ammonia and nitrite to nitrates. so why would you use them

[Bob I]

Originally Posted by bear27

I thought that the object of saltwater filtration is to reduce nitrates not to encourage them to grow. Canister filters reduce ammonia and nitrite to nitrates. so why would you use them

There is of course a reason to use one. I , for instance use canister filters on my tanks because I use Chemipure for nitrate scavenging. I need somewhere to put the product, and the best place is a canister filter. I use Fluval 204's without any other media in the filter, just the Chemipure.