Extrnal Filter Help Please!

[infinity1]

hi all,going to be setting up my new tank as opposed to the established one! and would like some advice on filters if poss,the tank is a juwel vision 260,and i will be starting from scratch with it,i have got a eheim pro 2 2026 filter on my other tank that im more than happy with and i am quite prepared to buy another one of those and use that,but i have seen fluval filters being sold very cheap at maidenhead aquatics and just wanted an honest opinion on them,unless anyone can come up with any ideas??? will be mostly community fish and a few plants(just to keep the kids interested!!)
thnaks in advance

 

[rabbut]

IMO the Fluvals are rubbish. You'd have to pay me to run one these days, which work quite conveniently do when I'm there

My old 404 gave electric shocks out whenever you placed your hand into the tank. It was noisy and the thing clogged very quickly (In one week where my Tetratec's go for 6 months). Relative the the Eheim Pro 2 range, they are a royal PITA to prime also.... Oh, and my mate had one wash the floor with half of his tank's water, while they were eating dinner. The main seal ring packed up and water spewed everywhere in the 2 seconds he took over crossing the room and raising the quick-release to shut off the flow. 30-40l of water onto the floor makes quite a mess Thank goodness he was in the room at the time to stop it...

For a new Exturnal filter, I'd advise looking and the Ehim Pro 2 range and the Tetratec range. A Tetratec EX1200 would do it well, as would a Eheim Pro 2 2028. Unfortunately, the 2026 would be too small for your new tank IMO, hence the recomendation for the next one up

All the best and HTH
Rabbut

 

[joecoral]

I've never used a fluval external, but haven't heard many good things about them.
I've owned/used several Eheims and they have all been fantastic so can highly recommend them. As Rabbut says, Tetratec's are also supposedly very good too, and slightly cheaper than Eheims, although having never used one, can't vouch for them myself

 

[Schmill]

I have a Fluval 104, and it seems like a bit of a PITA! It has a manual prime pump that doesn't really seem to do anything, and seems dreadful for getting airlocks, (and not clearing them without a good shake, tilt & wobble), but thankfully I am only running it without media as an 'inline pump' for when I do my gravel syphons
My actual filter is an Aqua One Aquis 1200 and it seems much better. It doesn't have anything to prime (other than a cap you can fill with water), but I actually prefer this, I just keep a full IN pipe, connect it to the filter, and open the taps and let it syphon fill itself
I believe the newer Aqua One 'Advance'? externals have a prime button, but I can't vouch for whether this works or not as I've not used one

 

[infinity1]

[cheers for the replys guys,the 2028 is the one i think any ideas where i can get one cheapish???

 

[smegforbrains]

I've always recommended Fluval over Eheim.


I've NEVER experienced noisy impellers or electric shocks.

I think an electric shock is more likely to do with a dodgy heater - with an external canister filter it is near impossible, the electrics in the powerhead are completely sealed off from the the main canister.


I have found priming Fluvals to be the easiest of the lot compared to other brands. A few quick pulls on the plunger and it's ready to go.


Maybe those who have had bad experience didn't follow the maintenance guidelines

 

[OldMan47]

For easy priming, there is no beating the Rena XP series. You set them in place, open the valves on the hose and wait a minute for it to prime itself. Then plug it in. Any manual priming is extra work not needed.