Best Filters??

I would like to create a top 5 list of filter's on the market today so it would be great if anybody could provide there top five...

That would be hard to do since it mainly depends on tank size for which filter to use! Maybe give an average tank size to go by! I've always keep the Fluval filters since they are reliable and do a good job.

Pleco Paul wrote:

That would be hard to do since it mainly depends on tank size for which filter to use! Maybe give an average tank size to go by! I've always keep the Fluval filters since they are reliable and do a good job.

ok lets go for a list of filters that would be built for lasting..and which do a better job..so what make like you said (fluval) and one that seems to be mentioned alot is Enheim...

Curby wrote:

Pleco Paul wrote:

That would be hard to do since it mainly depends on tank size for which filter to use! Maybe give an average tank size to go by! I've always keep the Fluval filters since they are reliable and do a good job.

ok lets go for a list of filters that would be built for lasting..and which do a better job..so what make like you said (fluval) and one that seems to be mentioned alot is Enheim...

i Agree Ehiem everytime they are reliable and low power consumption

only problem with the Fluvals is they leak after so long the seals seem to go on all of them

ehiem ,fluval ,aquaone ,jbl, tetratec

"L Number mad wrote:

ehiem ,fluval ,aquaone ,jbl, tetratec

iam watching an Ehiem aqua ball on ebay..are these any good??

another ebay nut
yer they are pretty reliable i have the pro 2180 thermo's they are awesome they do 1700l p/h

i think i have probz with my filter setup its kinda annoying me at the moment....i will take some pics soon and show you what i mean....
do you think there is a way to completely change the filter and get one like a ehiem to replace it??

Ehiem Aquaball
Fluval Externals series 4
Fluval "U" series

Thats my 2pence worth lol and it's easy to track down spare parts for the above filters which is an added bonus!!

i really fancy the ehiem aquaball...how do you find it ???

For an internal power filter I quite like the Otto series. They can power from 200lph up to a whopping 2000lph.
The directional output can be placed anywhere in 360 degrees. You can add the air intake and make lots of lovely bubbles.
The filter cups clip into each other and you can add or lessen the number according to your tank size. Filter sponges and cups are all readily available online here in Australia.
The best bit is if I am starting a new tank, I can clip off a few of the filter cups from other tanks and I have a filter seed which I just clip into the new filter. The plastic filter cups are see through so you can see when they are too grotty. Even when cups are absolutely chocabloc the filter will not stop working.

For a canister filter what can I say, fluval and eheim are great filtration but I have found the small hoses of the Eheim in our Australian heat will kink.
I usually order an Otto450 canister which is half the price of an Eheim and it has a great big spray bar and lovely thick tubing which will seldom kink. A bit of a fiddle to set up and get going but a real workhorse of a filter once its going. I usually toss a Purigen bag in the canister to polish the water.

I most always have some sort of air filter in every tank, be-it a sponge filter, undergravel filter or the old corner box filters which you stuff with media and filter wool. If the electricity goes off for any great length of time, I can hook up cheap battery pumps to the airfilters.

thats a good mix you have then...and its good to have a back up plan..i never actually thought of a power cut i would be pretty stuffed if one happend...
cheers for the input brengun..

its well worth doing... i had a power cut a couple of years ago and lost quite a few fish..... although my BN did spawn they must of though it was the rainy season

816johnv wrote:

its well worth doing... i had a power cut a couple of years ago and lost quite a few fish..... although my BN did spawn they must of though it was the rainy season

more like he thought " thank god he's finally turned the light's off " lol...

two weeks ago I had a full afternoon of power cuts, off for 45 minutes on for 5 and off again......

this could be one of the reasons why I lost so many cory recently.... dont think the filters went toxic but it can be quite hard to recover if the filters are off for longer than 45 minutes........

lost some of my best panda corys last week (

over that hurdle, I curently have a friend on the look out for a battery powered back up what runs pc servers when they go down and will put it in a cupboard ready for when power goes down ion the future,,.....

might cost a harm and leg but in the long run hopefully I will couple it just to the main filters and pumps....

alternatively I love fluval U series internals right now, had some good deal second hand then after a little cleaning and service were as good as new )

I am looking for some battery heaters which I once saw advertised and may be a couple of decent battery pumps if you could recommend any...

cheers in advance...

LJ

wolverine wrote:

two weeks ago I had a full afternoon of power cuts, off for 45 minutes on for 5 and off again......

this could be one of the reasons why I lost so many cory recently.... dont think the filters went toxic but it can be quite hard to recover if the filters are off for longer than 45 minutes........

lost some of my best panda corys last week (

over that hurdle, I curently have a friend on the look out for a battery powered back up what runs pc servers when they go down and will put it in a cupboard ready for when power goes down ion the future,,.....

might cost a harm and leg but in the long run hopefully I will couple it just to the main filters and pumps....

alternatively I love fluval U series internals right now, had some good deal second hand then after a little cleaning and service were as good as new )

I am looking for some battery heaters which I once saw advertised and may be a couple of decent battery pumps if you could recommend any...

cheers in advance...

LJ

I've only got experience with Fluvals, Eheims and Aquaone. I had an enheim external on my 6 footer when I lived in Cheltenham. Great filter but absolutely extortianate. I considered one with a built in heater when I looking at my filtration change a little while back. LFS advised against - they're winding down their stocks due to issues with built in heater failure under warranty and spare part availability.

Fluval - great apart from those ridged tubes. I never had seal issues but all the external fixings and pipe work went brittle over time and needed replacing. Plus ridged pipes - algal issues which means you have to rip it apart and clean them or you'll end up with gunk in your tank everytime you stop / start.

So far the Aqua One is proving be an excellent compromise - came with 3 year warranty as well and was under half the price of the equivalent Eheim on ebay and smooth tubes. No leaks / issues in the first couple of months - easy to maintane and get into in order to change carbon and phosguard.

Wolverine - have you tried checking your pH ? If your water quality has stayed good and your other fish are OK it could be that temporarily spiking which is knobblinh your cories. I've found that they are really really sensitive to pH change.

I think there is a fear that tanks go toxic after a short amount of time. tanks can go without filtration for hours, if the tank is planted, even longer. I would say that a 150ltr tank, with a few plants would be fine unfiltered for up to 24hrs. as long as the filter media is kept in the tank itself then it will fine. the smaller the tank the faster it will go nasty. A breeding tank will prob go killer toxic in about 5 hrs with fry, 6-7 without. the bacteria still do their job, they will still biologically filter the water. with the filter on it brigns the water to the bacteria, so the process is accelerated. Remember that bacteria coveres everything in the tank, filters, gravel, plants, glass, everything. they keep working long after the fitler stops.

Mark, I did take ph levels... need to find the sheet where i recorded the readings now, and compare last readings with this latest one. Dont think it could be as I normally pick any spiked readings up and can't remember seeing any when I did them...

Will post back here later.....

Just to let you know out of about 100+ pleco fry of my last two spawns I only lost one I think which got trapped between the fry tank and the normal tank wall and got squashed

Other wise they are aLL GROWING WELL RIGHT NOW THANK YOU... just not many cories left....

but my pleco's I am very happy with....

I wonder with Cories then if its due to their popularity - and how they are imported and treated. I love them but despite water quality good enough for Apistos to spawn I couldn't keep them alive. The only change being keeping my pH constant. My bristlenose fascination comes from wanting to have catfish - but not being able to keep Cories. I'm quite a fish geek when it comes to testing & checking.

It has to be down to fish health - I built my tank for cories - and then watched as I lost peppered, sterbaii, julii time after time. Lovely little cats

its weird, I was given a couple of corys from a friend who moved interstate and she couldn't kill the things. not that she was trying but the tank they were in was horribly under filtered (single spongefilter for a 3ft, 150ltr tank). the tank was green with algae and i would hate to think what the nutrient levels were. Once i got the tank i set up a canister and fixed it all up. From then on they were fine, they even bred a handful of times...they fry always got eaten by the featherfin but still the gave it a go. Seems odd that she could treat them with such neglect and they thrived and others who look after theirs well seem to have so much trouble.

Personally i never much cared for them, much rather have bristlenose cats, but thats just IMO. I finally got rid of mine to another friend who has spawned them twice now and most of the young survived i believe. maybe mine were just tough little nuts from such a hard childhood.