Filter Choice

[bullit]

hi. i have 125 litre tank with the following

geophagus
2 firemounths
orange chromide
blue eyed ciclid
sailfin plec
6 tiger barbs

everything is small at the minute with a tank upgrade in the future. basically i want to sort an external filter out and wondered if any are best suited to what ive got. im thinking around 1000lph + but dont know which would be best. a TETRATEC ex1200. fluval 405 0r eheim 2217. 0r anything else?

thanks

 

[kaivalagi]

I am running an EX1200 on my 125 Litre currently, and am waiting on a nice 5ft tank to be delivered. I have another of the same filter dry at present which I'll add to the new tank when setup...

I have had no real problems with the filter. I only had an issue once when I didn't fix the lid down properly because I hadn't seated the trays properly...this washed the o-ring grease away because there wasn't a tight seal, and when I set it up again properly it started leaking

. A touch of Vaseline on the o-ring fixed it for good. That was 3 months ago now, I haven't had a single problem since then.

So....I'd recommend a Tetratec EX1200...The Ehiem's can not be praised highly enough either, but are expensive, but if you go second hand that would be okay, they last forever too apparently. The Fluvals (except for the FX5) have a bad reputation.

Hope that helps

edit: How does your Orange Chromide get on with the others? They not from Africa or S/C America, but from Asia...they're supposedly brackish water bound too???

 

[jacko32]

fluval fx5 best filter around for value for money and flow rate

 

[bullit]

I am running an EX1200 on my 125 Litre currently, and am waiting on a nice 5ft tank to be delivered. I have another of the same filter dry at present which I'll add to the new tank when setup...

I have had no real problems with the filter. I only had an issue once when I didn't fix the lid down properly because I hadn't seated the trays properly...this washed the o-ring grease away because there wasn't a tight seal, and when I set it up again properly it started leaking

. A touch of Vaseline on the o-ring fixed it for good. That was 3 months ago now, I haven't had a single problem since then.

So....I'd recommend a Tetratec EX1200...The Ehiem's can not be praised highly enough either, but are expensive, but if you go second hand that would be okay, they last forever too apparently. The Fluvals (except for the FX5) have a bad reputation.

Hope that helps

edit: How does your Orange Chromide get on with the others? They not from Africa or S/C America, but from Asia...they're supposedly brackish water bound too???

yeah think i read about the little problem you had. the eheim doesnt seem to much more but i done think the media ect comes with it. i take it everything you need comes with the tetratec? cheers for help though

the chromide gets along fine. he chased all the new arrivals as he was first but hes really bottom of the pecking lol. i did have two but a krib was recentlessly chasing it and it died. the krib was nuts to the firemouths aswell so had to get rid of it.

 

[kaivalagi]

Yep, the tetratec comes with everything you need

As long as you're aware that the o-rings need to be well sealed you should be fine. I think most issues come from what I went through but people would sooner send back the filter head than fix up the issue themselves. The filter works well IMHO and is good for the cash.

Now an FX5 would be awesome, take a look at one of those...you may only need one for your new bigger tank...but that flow rate might be a bit extreme for a 125L? Not sure on flow control with the FX5? Beware though the FX5 has BIG hose diameters so using an external heater might prove difficult.

I use a Hydor ETH external heater with my filter, it's the nuts! Just make sure it's the 16mm variety if you go down that road, the 300W is only in that size, the 200W is available in 12 and 16mm I think...

 

[Confish]

hey i was in the same boat wondering what to get in the end i went with the ex 1200 because it good value and easy to maintain. ive got it on a 240 l with the juwel internal as well which keeps breaking ive had it for some months now and it works great no problems and i love how simple it is to open it up and clean and its also easy to prime with a push button. this is the first external ive had so im only telling you what i know about the ex1200. also kaivalagl can you tell me about your external heater ive not came across them before except the ones that are built into the filter cheers

 

[minxfishy]

An eheim 2217+ comes with all media and is brand new less than a TTex1200 and has better flow, is for a higher rated tank and IMO better than the TT.

 

[bullit]

An eheim 2217+ comes with all media and is brand new less than a TTex1200 and has better flow, is for a higher rated tank and IMO better than the TT.

minxfishy do you have a link? would the flow be too much. can you have to much flow?

Yep, the tetratec comes with everything you need

As long as you're aware that the o-rings need to be well sealed you should be fine. I think most issues come from what I went through but people would sooner send back the filter head than fix up the issue themselves. The filter works well IMHO and is good for the cash.

Now an FX5 would be awesome, take a look at one of those...you may only need one for your new bigger tank...but that flow rate might be a bit extreme for a 125L? Not sure on flow control with the FX5? Beware though the FX5 has BIG hose diameters so using an external heater might prove difficult.

I use a Hydor ETH external heater with my filter, it's the nuts! Just make sure it's the 16mm variety if you go down that road, the 300W is only in that size, the 200W is available in 12 and 16mm I think...

yeah i was just looking at the heater youve got and i think i fancy one of those aswell. would it fit the eheim aswell?

 

[bullit]

An eheim 2217+ comes with all media and is brand new less than a TTex1200 and has better flow, is for a higher rated tank and IMO better than the TT.

minxfishy do you have a link? would the flow be too much? edit. it says it runs 1000lph when the ex is 1200lph? also why do you rate this filter better? cheers

Yep, the tetratec comes with everything you need

As long as you're aware that the o-rings need to be well sealed you should be fine. I think most issues come from what I went through but people would sooner send back the filter head than fix up the issue themselves. The filter works well IMHO and is good for the cash.

Now an FX5 would be awesome, take a look at one of those...you may only need one for your new bigger tank...but that flow rate might be a bit extreme for a 125L? Not sure on flow control with the FX5? Beware though the FX5 has BIG hose diameters so using an external heater might prove difficult.

I use a Hydor ETH external heater with my filter, it's the nuts! Just make sure it's the 16mm variety if you go down that road, the 300W is only in that size, the 200W is available in 12 and 16mm I think...

yeah i was just looking at the heater youve got and i think i fancy one of those aswell. would it fit the eheim aswell?

 

[minxfishy]

http/www.warehouse-aquatics.co.uk/aquarium-filtration/external-filters/eheim-external-filters/classic-range/eheim-classic-2217-plus-external-filter-free-media-p-2898.html

Comes with free delivery too.

You can never have to much flow, if its a little too high for the fish, you can always angle the spraybar towards the glass to slow it.

 

[bullit]

http/www.warehouse-aquatics.co.uk/aquarium-filtration/external-filters/eheim-external-filters/classic-range/eheim-classic-2217-plus-external-filter-free-media-p-2898.html

Comes with free delivery too.

You can never have to much flow, if its a little too high for the fish, you can always angle the spraybar towards the glass to slow it.

cheers. it says it has less lph compared to the EX? i edited the above post not sure if you noticed

i take it you can then fit external heaters to this aswell?

 

[minxfishy]

No idea about external heaters, never used em.

Because Ive never had problems with an Eheim 2217 (I run 4), whereas I found the TT after a while, had problems priming and leaking.

The TT is rated for 200-500L tanks, the eheim 2217 for 600L tanks, I dont take much notice of the LPH. The power from the spraybars is also higher, they dont need maintenance on them as often either. Its just my opinion of course.

 

[meguro]

so i just used google to convert 80uk pounds to $aud

T_T

 

[Confish]

No idea about external heaters, never used em.

Because Ive never had problems with an Eheim 2217 (I run 4), whereas I found the TT after a while, had problems priming and leaking.

The TT is rated for 200-500L tanks, the eheim 2217 for 600L tanks, I dont take much notice of the LPH. The power from the spraybars is also higher, they dont need maintenance on them as often either. Its just my opinion of course.

hey ive got a ex1200 and was just curious to how does the eheim spray bar and piping need less maintenance ( i might be getting another external you see)

 

[minxfishy]

The filter (canister) itself doesnt need IN MY EXPERIENCE as much maintenance on it.

However if you want my opinion on the TT spraybar, its pants, I gave up with it and took it off and just used the the pipes to create the flow.