External Filters

[donna123]

hi,
i have a juwel 180ltr, i want to get an external filter to run along side the standard juwel internal,
my choices are,
fluval 205 ,which is for tanks up to 200ltrs. £52.95.
eheim ecco 2232, which is for tanks up to 100ltrs, £52.95.

as well as extra bio load, what i also want is a pre filter so the water looks clear, from the pic ive seen of the eheim it has a poly pad, i cant tell if the fluval has a pre filter pad.
also do you get everything in the box ready to go? are they easy to maintain?
thanks for any info. donna

 

[corrosive]

If your looking at fluval, its only an extra... £20? get the 305, 300L capacity... better to over do the filtration than not. The fluvals come with everything you need to use the filter .

 

[Coomon10]

I don't have an external filter (though i would really like one! ) but i would guess one consideration is how the added currents will affect the fish since some fish really like a current whereas others don't...

 

[CFC]

The Eheim is a superior bit of equipment, though i'm not a fan of the ecco range (bit underpowered for the messy fish i keep) they still knock spots of the the fluvals which are in my experience and opinion a load of crap.

For the same kind of money you can also pick up a Eheim classic 2213, they dont have the self priming of the ecco models but they have a bit more power and greater scope for filter medias, these are my filters of choice unless you are spending a couple of hundred on the pro 2 or 3 models.

 

[Bloo]

If it were me - I'd run none of your options. I'd go for a Eheim 2026 minimum.

Even my Eheim 2224 I felt underperformed for my expectations (on my Juwel Vision 180).
I'd stay far away from Fluval. As well as the Ecco Eheim range for the size tank you have.
I also think the Eheim 2213 would be too underpowered - I ran one of these (brand spanking new) on my 19US gallon guppy/endler tank and they hardly noticed the bit of current !!

Check out eBay - there are often bargains to be found there.

 

[Miss Wiggle]

I knwo fluval filters get slated a fair bit but I've never had any problems. I've had internals and externals fom them and they're some of my favourite filters (is it incredibly sad to have a favourite??!)

 

[CFC]

Thats funny Bloo, i have a 2213 running on a 75 gallon tank and it does just fine, ok there are only two fish in the tank and neither are that large (pair of 10" catfish) but i'd be more than happy using a 2213 as a secondary filter on a 180 Litre community tank. I would have expected small fish to be blasted to the other side of the tank on a 20g mine pumps out quite a bit of current, certainly enough to move the water around in a 75g, prehaps it depends on the media you fill them with, mine is ceramic rings, coarse sponge, efi substrat pro and efi mech (in that order from bottom up).


As for Fluvals, i've had two (both 303's) blow their seals and dump filthy water all over the carpet and then drain the tanks down via the undistrupted syphon and kill fish, one is an accident, two is poor manufactoring. On the other hand i run 6 Ehiems and i've never had a problem with any of them.

 

[Bloo]

There is absolutely no way that I'd ever risk a Fluval External. Not with so many regular reports all over the www about leakage - broken seals and pipes. There is no way I'm going to wish having 100Gallons of water - or even just 50 if I keep my inlet midway.

Be warned those who don't want to risk having their entire tank contents on the floor "should" it ever leak.

Never have the inlet all the way down to the substrate - because that's the point to which your tank could empty!!

Thats funny Bloo, i have a 2213 running on a 75 gallon tank and it does just fine

wow interesting - nope my filter was brand new with the standard media in my planted tank.
But I have to confess - my outlet was the larger "special" opaque grey pipe with larger outlet holes. I suspect it might have been a more forceful outflow if the pipe was thinner with smaller holes.

 

[jayjay]

Yeah, i'd say eheim aswel, i'm soon to get one, too use inconjuction with internals on my 90g.

 

[CFC]

Ah, i force mine down through a reducer and use 10mm plastic tubing to make my own spray bars (Mr Cheapo here) rather than buy the over priced official eheim bits

 

[Miss Wiggle]

fair enough, and I have heard loads of other bad reports about fluvals. We've two 405's and a 205 plus a 4+internal (think the ref numbers are right) and never had a single problem with any of them. However the eheim 2232 we have one of the media baskets has warped (lord only knows how??!) which means the flow is disrupted so it has next to no output at all. Had to top up the flow with a little internal. Good thing we're closing the tank down tonight or we'd be in some serious trouble. ah well, maybe i'm just lucky for fluval's and un lucky for eheims?!? who knows

 

[voo]

Although not on your list, tetratec are also good but not many have had experience with them as they're new. I've had mine about a month now and so far so good

 

[Miss Wiggle]

I take it alllllll back after the fun and games we had with the fluval last night

 

[novamadcars]

im running a eheim 2213 on my 37g tank and it does its job i would recomend it 101% waters always crystal clear

 

[Number 1 Jasper]

im running a eheim 2213 on my 37g tank and it does its job i would recomend it 101% waters always crystal clear

Further to this , i have a uwel rio 125 tank with the origional Filter + a fluval 2 internal filter .

I dont like the look of the fluval in the tank & want an external pump For aesthetic / better filtration . any suggestions ?