External Filter

[Ian H]

Having trouble finding one without spending silly money!!

i was looking at the tetra-tec EX1200 but it says its for tanks upto 400litres, this tank will be 566 litres

only other one i have found so far is the Eheim 2329-51 Wet/Dry with built in heater but its just under £200!!

 

[Ferris]

Fluval FX5 would be more than enough and you can get them for under £150 now.

 

[mark7616]

only other one i have found so far is the Eheim 2329-51 Wet/Dry with built in heater but its just under £200!!

These are crap just get an fx5 to run that tank thats what I ran on my 5x2x2.

 

[Ian H]

i thought the FX5 would be overkill! although i suppose over-filtering is a good thing still expensive though and aint they huge??

 

[DevUK]

You could always go with 2x EX1200s. I'm sure you could find them cheaper than an FX5? (zooplus.co.uk for instance).

 

[mark7616]

nope wouldnt be over kill at all. they are big .

 

[Ian H]

You could always go with 2x EX1200s. I'm sure you could find them cheaper than an FX5? (zooplus.co.uk for instance).

on zooplus the EX1200's are £84.99 each delivered, cheapest i've found the fx5 is £136 delivered so nope

are the fx5's good filters then? since this will be my first external filter i want a decent one thats going to last me a while, plus i suppose if i go for a bigger tank again (i doubt it) then it could still be used.

 

[mark7616]

yes they are very good filters as I said I run 2 on my huge tank with no problems.

 

[adamgreen240]

mine is gr8 , very powerfull and big

 

[Ian H]

looks like im getting the fx5 now then

luckily for me i've got a nice big tax rebate coming my way so all is going well so far. Only thing i find shocking is the filter media! seems stupidly expensive!!

 

[michaelwgroves]

I use combination of Hagen and Eheim media in mine, that way you get the best of both worlds.
With a tank your size, I would only use max 2 baskets, leave the top empty.
I've got 900 litres, and I only use 2 baskets.

Ammonia and Nitrite both zero.............

 

[Ian H]

would that not mean i would have to clean it out alot more though since its halfed its filtration (sp?)

 

[michaelwgroves]

I'm talking biological filtration; you would keep your mechanical filtration as standard.
Although I recommend adding a fine filter (Blue) in the bottom tray.
It's also worth buying a pack of polishing pads (White) if you have a little cloudy water, they really keep it clean.

The Fluval out performs the equivalent Eheim in mechanical filtration, they are just the best, you will not b disappointed.

 

[Darkstar]

and on average the eheim beats the fluval in biological filtration as it has a longer contact time. Eheims are also far better built and are much more reliable in the long term (minus the fx5 but that hasn't been around long enough to tell how reliable it is)

minus the fx5 it still amazes me how many people will buy and recommend a fluval...

Anyway, out of your two choices I'd go for two tetratecs everytime, they come with media and by having two you have some redundancy...which is better than putting all your eggs in one basket so to speak.

 

[Ian H]

Anyway, out of your two choices I'd go for two tetratecs everytime, they come with media and by having two you have some redundancy...which is better than putting all your eggs in once basket so to speak.

you have a very good point there actually, i didnt take into consideration the cost of media and i like your thinking about a back up. But what about costs to run?

i read a topic on a eheim something or other vs an fx5 and the ehiem cost half to run a year it also cycled quicker so im really thinking about it but its so much more expensive

EDIT

it was the EHEIM 2080 PROFESSIONAL 3

link:

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