Equipment Reviews

[AndrewH]

I was just looking for personal reviews for equipment you've owned?

I have a Rena XP3 and love it!!! Very easy to clean and maintain. I would highly recommend it to anyone.

[dcacjc]

I will second that on the XP3.

[biggin]

XP3s are great on the HOB side Marineland Emperor are better but the Penguin work well also.

[dcacjc]

HOB I would go with the Aqua Clear line, easy to maintain!

[poel_19]

what media do you have in your xp3?? I love mine I actually bought a marine land big screen filter and cut it into squares for my xp3......water looks ultra clear and all the nooks and crannys that pad has is like adding exra biostars!!

[AndrewH]

I have regular filter pads on the bottom and bio-balls in the rest of the baskets.

[dcacjc]

I have what cam ewith it in the top and bottom baskets and Seachem Matrix in the middle.

[biggin]

My XP3 is packed.... Typical Rena 20 and 30 filters, ceramic tubes, Seachem Matrix, water softener pillow and no-phos pillow. Water runs a 0-0-0....and clear.... too bad the tank glass is always dirty.

[kewlkatdady]

if this is for ALL equipment reviews, I will throw something up about the FX5...

Man its a BEAST...I got a SMOKING deal on one from ebay ($199/ free shipping:werd:)

Its on my 125 with 56 africans...yes i said 56.... this filter has 2L's of ehfisubstrate pro and a basket full of poly floss...

I've dumped in 11 fish at once with no spikes... the filter moves ALOT of water and is quite as a mouse. I was a little skeptical about this filter as I have always had ehiems in the past...

I am now a full on fluval guy now (its only because I'm cheap) and the fluvals are considerably less expensive.

I have since added a AC110 as a water polisher and it is full of poly floss and the big sponges that it came with (cut in half to allow for more poly floss)...

hagen is doing something right with there filters...:clap:

[poel_19]

wow that was a sweet deal!!!

[AndrewH]

if this is for ALL equipment reviews

Heck yeah! My thread, so post reviews regarding any equipment you (or anyone else) want.

EDIT: Just no trash talking ;)

wow that was a sweet deal!!!

I second that!!

[fishyjoe24]

i love my two fluval 404s they work well on my 240.

[Goathead]

I have used...

emperor 400's and 280's Love them both no complaints

Fluval 404 Hated it, broke all the time....Kept the water very clean

Fluval FX5 Love it, easy to use, and it pushes a ton of water.

Penn Plax 1200 Canister Good filter, but a little noisy

Lifeguard Fluidized bed filter. I will never have a large tank without one....By far the most useful filter i have owned.

Lots of other misc equip, but those are the main few.

[bra8ndy8]

I had a magnum 350 with biowheels...and HATED IT!! It almost caused a divorce EVERY water change....lol. The propeller would get stuck...have to be replaced all the time...the whole thing SUCKED!!

[dcacjc]

I have a Magnum 350 that I have been running for 10 years with same impeller and have never had a problem.

That said I love my XP3.

[bra8ndy8]

I had that one for 8......and have CONSTANT problems....the company does send replacement parts when needed though.

[dcacjc]

Even with the luck I have had with it I still like the XP3 better.

[bra8ndy8]

I might have to try one.....I saw someone talking about a large filter on ebay for 199.....it would filter my 300 gallon....does anyone remember what it was??? THANKS
(bets chris will find it and post it with a smarta$$ comment!)

[Goathead]

Its a Fluval FX5. I have one on my 215 gallon, and its a great design. Oh yeah, and since Chris didnt get to it, why dont you pay attention next time. :tease:

[kewlkatdady]

yeah that was me... and TXFRONT is correct it was about the FX5 that I found on ebay...

brand new shipped for $199:hehe:
I LOVE MY FX5

I might have to try one.....I saw someone talking about a large filter on ebay for 199.....it would filter my 300 gallon....does anyone remember what it was??? THANKS
(bets chris will find it and post it with a smarta$$ comment!)

[bra8ndy8]

Thank you!! And I just read yalls mess....I don't take it all in! :brandy::brandy::brandy:

[fishyjoe24]

FX5 damn good cansiter, taking care of the 225G easeally(sp?).

[bra8ndy8]

Dang talk about digging in the old pile!!

[AndrewH]

http://pet.imageg.net/graphics/product_images/pPETS-3762487t400.jpg

^ I've owned 3+ of these and they all broke within 6 months. JUNK DO NOT BUY THEM.

I recently purchased one of these:
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/images/Categoryimages/normal/p_18773_26648DZ.jpg

and install it yesterday. So far so good. Easy suction cup installation with a switch to go between F or C. Readily available small battery. Best part... it's portable from one tank to another and can be mounted anywhere within the tank.

http://cnb-host3.clickandbuild.com/cnb/shop/accessdrugtests?imageID=805&op=imgLib-viewImage

I've always had good luck with this type though they're a little unsightly and from what I understand hard to move/remove.

[kewlkatdady]

1.Never had a problem breaking the first one...I understand alot of people have broken them...but how?

2.never owned a digital, but a buddy has one in his 90 with large africans...they yank on the wire as if were a toy...

3.I hate these had on both my tanks when I bought them...I don't feel comfortable with judging the temp of the tank from the outside...but its just my opinion.

[alta678]

The only glass one ever broken in our house was done by my son when cleaning algae a little too enthusiastically with the magnetic cleaner! I made him fetch out the broken pieces!

[AndrewH]

1. Very good questions because all of the ones I've had were in community tank with small fish and one day I'd look in there and it'd be at the bottom with the center broken in half (with all the "red" stuff missing). I've never lost any fish, so it must be fish safe, but still sucks at $2.99-$3.99 each. 2 of them had the suction cup part break. Where the plastic tube slides through a hole in the suction cup. Pretty much worthless after that (tends to float and not give an accurate reading).

2. One thing I don't like is the fact that there's a black cord running along the side of my tank (rimless, open top 33 gallon). If it were within a canopy and better hidden it probably wouldn't be so bad if even noticeable at all. If you had black silicon it'd be real easy to hide the cord as well.

I'm not sure there's a good solution for Africans. They pretty much rearrange the tank how they see fit anyway (at least with the decor that's smaller/light enough they can move it around). Might be able to glue the probe to a rock?

So far I like the digetal, but they need to make it where the probe is magnetized kinna like those "floating algae glass cleaners", where the display would be on one side of the glass (outside) and the probe inside with them sticking together. Major problem would be isolating the probe signal from the magnetic field.

The one pictured above (Coralife) was $9.99 for reference.

3. I agree. It's pretty hard to read some of them that use dark colors to indicate the temp. One I had was dark purple/blue against a black background). I had to have all the lights in that room turn on to read it.

Plus like you said I'm not sure how accurate they are while sitting on the "cooler air side" of the glass.

[kewlkatdady]

This why they call you the inventor...hint hint...
So far I like the digetal, but they need to make it where the probe is magnetized kinna like those "floating algae glass cleaners", where the display would be on one side of the glass (outside) and the probe inside with them sticking together. Major problem would be isolating the probe signal from the magnetic field.


I've always had the suction cup ones with my africans, they will dis lodge it from the glass but then it just floats...

again, I've never had one break...maybe I"ve just been lucky in that sense.

[Fir3_Cr0tch]

1. The tops of mine break quite often. Also I have noticed when you are taking one out of the tank, make sure you do not grip it too tightly. They shatter rather easily and the suction cups can be tricky.

2. Never used.

3. I only used these twice. First time i couldnt read it. The second time, the whole strip lit up so I tossed it.

[horseshadow]

i just purchased the EFU 45 with the uv light already inside the filter for my 150 that I am setting up. Hopefully, it will be ok, since it's rated for up to a 175 gallon. :D i always like to over filter the water....lol

[intofish]

i just purchased the EFU 45 with the uv light already inside the filter for my 150 that I am setting up. Hopefully, it will be ok, since it's rated for up to a 175 gallon. :D i always like to over filter the water....lol


how is this working out for you

[Born of Water]

OK there is a lot of useful info in this thread however I would like to know if anyone has tried this Eheim Pro II External Canister Filter 2026 i have been seeing it and its a fairly priced. thoughts?:fish:

[freddy1*]

Anyone else have issues with Fluval canisters? I have a 304 that has started leaking around the clamp.

[OOwl]

Born of Water, I have two Eheim 2026s and it's my favorite filter I have EVER had. They're even easier than the classics to use because there are no double-disconnect valves in the middle of the hoses (which can leak if not assembled or aligned properly and if if the o-ring wears out). The 2026 has the disconnect valve in the head that attaches to the motor housing. It's a fantastic configuration. I have NO problem with it losing its prime when I do maintenance (about once every 9 months to a year). The motor is so strong that it never even loses water flow. I keep replacement parts on hand but I've seldom had to use them (main motor o-ring, impeller shafts, and disconnect valve o-rings). The parts for this filter are reasonable too (not all Eheim filters have inexpensive parts and it's always a good idea to check prices on those items before you invest in a particular Eheim model). All in all, I wish I had several more of these filters. Big Al's has a sale on them about once a year. Good luck!

Freddy, I had a Fluval years ago (and I mean like in the early '90s) and it worked well enough but not nearly as strong a motor as the Eheim classics I eventually started using. I gave away all my Fluval filters a few years after that. I think they're workable if you already have one but not anything I would go out and buy now. You can get replacement parts online to fix that leak, but with the price of shipping, I think I might be tempted to just start over with a different filter.

[redfishray1968]

XP3s are great on the HOB side Marineland Emperor are better but the Penguin work well also.


Love Marineland products I use them on all my tanks ..I recently had the light fixture on the Esclipe 3 go out and they sent out another immmedialty.. I paid nothing ! those things are like 100 bucks