Witch Filter? Eheim Pro 3 - Fluval Fx5

[waterdrop]

How do you experienced people think about this "5-exchanges" thing?

Is is a nice estimate sitting out there in the middle? Is a minimal sort of number?

Am I correct in thinking the real answer is complicated? There are people with very different fish and plant loads. But clearly a cannister filter does a lot of important jobs like bio and mech filtration, potential chem filtration, surface agitation for oxygen exchange. But I'm trying to get inside your heads to know how you think about them.. are you hoping a better one will stretch out the time between cleanings? ..just hoping the cleaning job will get easier?

 

[jgray152]

I go for atleast 3 cycles per hour. Depends on the bio load of the aquarium. You can do less cycles per hour with more bio media and more cycles per hour with less bio media. I do about 5 CPH. You need some water movement, not a lot, depending on fish type, but enough to allow the water to move a tiny bit. If you see any flake food drop straight to the bottom without changing direction, then you don't have enough water flow.

 

[T1KARMANN]

"I Said this once and I will say it again, just because it process more due to the 13 liters of media, does that mean you really need that much? No, personall preference. I know I don't need that much in my 55. I will be building a 180 gallon. My 304 handled the bio load just fine and I have over 20 fish in my 55. So 13 liters of media would be even more over kill. And also, now that I have the water flow slowed down, there is more contact time with the media so I could handle even more bio load that what was said at full flow. "

i think you should tell all the people with sumps they dont need to put hardly any media in them as its not needed

if the pro3 2080 has to much media in it dont buy it as it must be to bigger filter for you

if its just a big sponge filter you want then stick with your fx5

you also state you have the fx5 slowed down to get more contact time well does that also make the 2080 better as it has longer contact time as standard

but for me personally i have 42 litres of media in my pro3 and i would say i have alot more fish in my tank than you which are alot bigger and my tank water is drinkable

 

[MojoDex]

ok i have to explain why i THINK the fx5 is bad so here goes,

first it looks like a septic tank! this is not a problem for most people but my fish tank stands are made by me out of steel box section and my filters are on show, the fx5 is discusting to look at. why oh why is the impellor housing sticking out at the bottom?? secondly it uses 35mm pond hose seriously have you ever tried getting pond hose into a tank that has bracing bars on it? it is no fun let me tell you!

when it was bought innitially it ran on a 6x2x2 which contained the following- an ornate bichir, 3 senegalese bichirs, 3 archer fish, 2 pimelodus ornatus, 1 megaladorus uranoscopus, 2 angel fish, 1 black ghost knife, 2 featherfin synos, 3 reedfish and 1 peacock spiny eel. by my working this is probably about half what fluval say the filter is capable of handling both in stocking and water capacity. yet despite this i was cleaning the thing out every week since it was clogging! so i lost my rag with it took it off and low and behond the eheim 2080 managed just fine and did not need cleaning out once the whole time the tank was running as an oddball tank!! keeping the water crystal clear as well i might add. if someone can show me a higher stocking ratio where the fx5 walked it fair then enough but i dont think it is going to happen myself.

now the fx5 runs on a tanganyika tank and seems to do ok but the biggest fish is only 2" long so time will tell with that one. theres also a 2180 on there as well.

yes the fx5 is quiet as stated many many times but so are hundreds of other filters and in a decibell test it still lost to the eheim 2080 so hardly something to brag about.

basic fact is i have one and i dont like it i thinks horrible to use does not filter properly uses stupid size hose is a stupid shape and ugly as sin!

serious question now i want to know what tank sizes all the fx5 users are running theres on

i'm not trying to argue here either so let me have my opinion and you can have yours fair enough?

 

[T1KARMANN]

ok i have to explain why i THINK the fx5 is bad so here goes,

first it looks like a septic tank! this is not a problem for most people but my fish tank stands are made by me out of steel box section and my filters are on show, the fx5 is discusting to look at. why oh why is the impellor housing sticking out at the bottom?? secondly it uses 35mm pond hose seriously have you ever tried getting pond hose into a tank that has bracing bars on it? it is no fun let me tell you!

when it was bought innitially it ran on a 6x2x2 which contained the following- an ornate bichir, 3 senegalese bichirs, 3 archer fish, 2 pimelodus ornatus, 1 megaladorus uranoscopus, 2 angel fish, 1 black ghost knife, 2 featherfin synos, 3 reedfish and 1 peacock spiny eel. by my working this is probably about half what fluval say the filter is capable of handling both in stocking and water capacity. yet despite this i was cleaning the thing out every week since it was clogging! so i lost my rag with it took it off and low and behond the eheim 2080 managed just fine and did not need cleaning out once the whole time the tank was running as an oddball tank!! keeping the water crystal clear as well i might add. if someone can show me a higher stocking ratio where the fx5 walked it fair then enough but i dont think it is going to happen myself.

now the fx5 runs on a tanganyika tank and seems to do ok but the biggest fish is only 2" long so time will tell with that one. theres also a 2180 on there as well.

yes the fx5 is quiet as stated many many times but so are hundreds of other filters and in a decibell test it still lost to the eheim 2080 so hardly something to brag about.

basic fact is i have one and i dont like it i thinks horrible to use does not filter properly uses stupid size hose is a stupid shape and ugly as sin!

serious question now i want to know what tank sizes all the fx5 users are running theres on

i'm not trying to argue here either so let me have my opinion and you can have yours fair enough?

well said i didnt even want to mention the hose size but it is a good point

 

[jgray152]

i think you should tell all the people with sumps they dont need to put hardly any media in them as its not needed

Putting words in my mouth again. Did I ever say you don't need media? No, I said in different ways, you may not need that much media.

if the pro3 2080 has to much media in it dont buy it as it must be to bigger filter for you

Correct and could be to big for others as well.

if its just a big sponge filter you want then stick with your fx5

I already said once and will again, hardly a spunge only filter.

you also state you have the fx5 slowed down to get more contact time well does that also make the 2080 better as it has longer contact time as standard

YOu must not have read what I said correctly. I never said I slowed the flow down for more contact time with the media. I slowed it down because full flow is to much for my 55 gallon. I than said that due to the slower flow, there is more contact time between the water and media.

Are you one of those that twists other peoples words around for your own benefit?

but for me personally i have 42 litres of media in my pro3 and i would say i have alot more fish in my tank than you which are alot bigger and my tank water is drinkable

Im glad to hear! Really I am. I'm not saying at all that the Pro3 is not for you, if it works better for you, than great, really, but for people that don't need all the extra bio media, there is not point in spending all the extra $$. Im talking US dollars as in another 200-300 dollars more for a 2080 compaired to a Fx5.

ok i have to explain why i THINK the fx5 is bad so here goes,

first it looks like a septic tank! this is not a problem for most people but my fish tank stands are made by me out of steel box section and my filters are on show, the fx5 is discusting to look at. why oh why is the impellor housing sticking out at the bottom?? secondly it uses 35mm pond hose seriously have you ever tried getting pond hose into a tank that has bracing bars on it? it is no fun let me tell you!

when it was bought innitially it ran on a 6x2x2 which contained the following- an ornate bichir, 3 senegalese bichirs, 3 archer fish, 2 pimelodus ornatus, 1 megaladorus uranoscopus, 2 angel fish, 1 black ghost knife, 2 featherfin synos, 3 reedfish and 1 peacock spiny eel. by my working this is probably about half what fluval say the filter is capable of handling both in stocking and water capacity. yet despite this i was cleaning the thing out every week since it was clogging! so i lost my rag with it took it off and low and behond the eheim 2080 managed just fine and did not need cleaning out once the whole time the tank was running as an oddball tank!! keeping the water crystal clear as well i might add. if someone can show me a higher stocking ratio where the fx5 walked it fair then enough but i dont think it is going to happen myself.

The hose was VERY easy to put in the tank with Hagens rim connectors. My tank has one bracing bar in the center. No issue....


I myself have to agree the stock and tank ratings on the Fx5 are a little much compaired to the surface area in the center baskets. The spunges I dought will clog up first. Fine filter pads im sure will though if you excede the limit.

yes the fx5 is quiet as stated many many times but so are hundreds of other filters and in a decibell test it still lost to the eheim 2080 so hardly something to brag about.

The decible test is irrelevent. I could care less about a damn number. I just want to know how well I can hear it. Who knows if the person doing the test had the filter set up right. I can't hear mine run at 3 feet away so those numbers mean crap to me. I would say go with ehiem because its quieter then the Fx5. You would have to have ultra sensitive hearing for the Fx5 to bother you.

basic fact is i have one and i dont like it i thinks horrible to use does not filter properly uses stupid size hose is a stupid shape and ugly as sin!

Agree about the shape and I really don't think the space inside was utilized at its best and they could have done a lot better. The hose size is fine to me. I have no issues with it.

serious question now i want to know what tank sizes all the fx5 users are running theres on

i'm not trying to argue here either so let me have my opinion and you can have yours fair enough?

I lost count as to how many times I have mentioned what size tank mine is on. I'll let you search around.

Opinions are fine. Over exagertions of the truth are not.

 

[MojoDex]

the only tank size i have seen you mention is 30 gallons and that will be 30 US gallons so roughly 25 metric gallons. if that is the case then you really arn't in any position to say how good the fx5 is to be fair.

my 6x2x2 has 3 bracings on it one in the middle and one either end. this is a well disnged tank and its hard to get the hoses in i dread what it would be like in a badly designed tank

here is an example of good design

and bad design

imagine trying to get the fluval through that small gap! that is one of eheim installation sets going through there and it bareley fits. the main problem with the rim connectors is that they then make the 35mm hose into 50mm as shown here

compare that with the eheim one

i know the picture is bad but it barley even sticks out 30mm and thats with the suction cups holding it out from the glass as well.

whats the better design?

i would also like you to point out what i have over exagerated as well! i have all this as experience with the filter how is that exagerated pray tell??

 

[Bastables]

This is an old long standing argument as others have said, the test I refer to is one of thousands, so I doubt with respect that you are looking at the same one I am, as your comments towards the end resemble nothing at all of what was said, and what I did previously say still stands.

Please point me to the test, as from my looking there is one comparative test looking at FX5 and the 2080 written by the same man posted on multiple forums and one webpage.

 

[T1KARMANN]

mmmm you are putting a fx5 on a 55g tank and saying its good that tank is less than half the size it is recomended for i would expect it to be good

if i put a 2080 on a 20g it would be out of this world

 

[funkyhoney]

One thing that is always overlooked is Eheims hoses... they suck, the reason Fluval have ribbed hosing is so they can't kink and ensure maximum flow. Those stupid plastic things on the Eheim pipes don't work.

 

[MojoDex]

One thing that is always overlooked is Eheims hoses... they suck, the reason Fluval have ribbed hosing is so they can't kink and ensure maximum flow. Those stupid plastic things on the Eheim pipes don't work.

please tell me you are joking!!! they come with things so the pipes should never have to be bent I.E.

the inlet

the shepards crook outlet

and with my 10+ eheim filters i beg to differ, they work perfectly

at least better than pond hose in an aquarium! add to that i could break plastic pnd hose by hand! i could not however break eheims hoses by hand, less chance of a leak? me thinks so!!

 

[funkyhoney]

One thing that is always overlooked is Eheims hoses... they suck, the reason Fluval have ribbed hosing is so they can't kink and ensure maximum flow. Those stupid plastic things on the Eheim pipes don't work.

please tell me you are joking!!! they come with things so the pipes should never have to be bent I.E.

the inlet

the shepards crook outlet

and with my 10+ eheim filters i beg to differ, they work perfectly

at least better than pond hose in an aquarium! add to that i could break plastic pnd hose by hand! i could not however break eheims hoses by hand, less chance of a leak? me thinks so!!

Hmm did they change the outlet recently? I have a 2217 that's just a piece of flexible hose with a stupid plastic thing you attach.

 

[Bastables]

One thing that is always overlooked is Eheims hoses... they suck, the reason Fluval have ribbed hosing is so they can't kink and ensure maximum flow. Those stupid plastic things on the Eheim pipes don't work.

Depends, ribbed hosing is harder to clean and provides indentations for gunk to accumulate. Considering my fluval 305 needs more maintinace vurses my 2215 becasue flow drops a lot faster im not so sure it's a better option.

The plastic lip protectors for the outlet are for the eheim 2213-2217, all the eheim Pro's come with sheperds crooks for the outlet. The last desgn change for the eheim "classic" 2213-2217 was 16 years ago when they intragated the o-ring to the head unit. Yhe suprising thing is that they still preform well and are comparable at filtering vurses the 2006 fluval 05 series. Eheim does manufacture installations sets for the out put and input (grey ones) for the old classics or more correctly any hoses for 16mm. you can see one bit in MojoDex picture where he shows it in the badly desgind tank.

 

[CFC]

Fluval hose better!!!! That corrugated hose is the worst stuff in the world to use on a fish tank, i had a 404 that came with that stuff and i was having to power flush the hoses with a jet spray once a month to get out the gunk that got trapped inside the hose. Its fine for use on ponds where you are using big bore hose and pushing water around with pumps measured in thousands of gallons per hour but in diameters under 50mm and small pumps its useless unless you are only keeping tiny fish.

 

[funkyhoney]

Fluval hose better!!!! That corrugated hose is the worst stuff in the world to use on a fish tank, i had a 404 that came with that stuff and i was having to power flush the hoses with a jet spray once a month to get out the gunk that got trapped inside the hose. Its fine for use on ponds where you are using big bore hose and pushing water around with pumps measured in thousands of gallons per hour but in diameters under 50mm and small pumps its useless unless you are only keeping tiny fish.

Hmmm, I've not once cleaned my fluval setup for over a year nor my works two 404's setup for over 3 years and have noticed no adverse effects. The eheim hose on the other hand is filthy. Eh, either way I prefer fluval (no I do not dislike eheim, just prefer fluval).