Filters

[old col]

what's the best and most reliable filters on the market today both internal and external for 4 foot freshwater tank.

 

[stang1]

Depending on the volume of the tank I would use a Fluval 405 external filter. I would however recommend going for a lot bigger filter than required. I run double the filtration on my tanks and find this causes less problems with water quality.
I run Fluvals on all of my tanks and have never had a problem with them.

 

[england]

sits by to watch the ehim lovers ............. i always have fluval on my fish tanks a never have had a problem

 

[smegforbrains]

I too would opt for Fluval every time. For a 4' tank, I would recommend the FX5 if you can afford it, otherwise, the 405 will be more than sufficient.

 

[kribensis12]

For a HOB filter, i would get a Aquaclear. THey just wont die. There is also alot of room for customizing filtration, and you can clean it in under 2 mins!

 

[Goodygumdrops]

Yep,fluval fan here too.They're practically silent aswell.Tested on a 24" tank right enough,but the new fluval internal came tops in a recent PFK test.(This month)

 

[markandhisfish]

eheim are widely regarded to be THE best filters on the market

 

[raptorrex]

what's the best and most reliable filters on the market today both internal and external for 4 foot freshwater tank.

The best is hard to define, as conditions in tanks differ so much. though, clearly the most reliable, over all, seems to be Eheim for the cannisters an fluval for the internals.
for the record, i have a fluval3 on a 30g. cant fault it. though in 12 months, or more, i have never cleaned it. an Eheim2224 and a hydraprime 30, on a 50g. again i cant fault either filter for their operation. but the hydraprime is fiddly to open clean, and reassemble after service. its fittings are also fiddly and fragile. for me the operation of these filters if fine. its when the filter is not working, during cleaning and service, that you notice the difference. the only other thing to think about is the investment. form the comments and experience, around the hobby. the Eheim have a reputation for lasting and lasting, it depends on how much you value long life, because the Eheim are a lot more expensive than most other filters.