hey guys, I am starting a 250 gal soon but i am having troubles with filter choices. I am currently hesitating between a fluval fx6 with a fluval 307 vs two sunsun hw 5000s, because while the sunsuns would perform better on paper i havent had any experience with the brand and fluval has a good reputation. I am planning on keeping either lots of mbunas or a little less heps & peacocks
Filtration concerns
- Thread starter koteleking
- Start date
I very rarely run just one filter on a tank over 10 gals. My biggest is a 150 which has an Eheim Pro II 2026m a H.O.T. Magnum and and AquaClear 500. I runs the same canister on a 75 but I also have two powerheads with large intake sponges.
The reason is simple- I do not want single failure points. I do not want the failure of a filter to be able to crash an entire tank. I do the same thing with heaters.
That said I will only use Eheim canisters so I cannot comment on the other brands. I have several of the Eheim Pro IIs and the oldest has been running for over 19 years. For about a decade it also doubles as the reactor for pressurized CO2 as well as doing the filtering that the plants did not handle.
Out of curosity have you considered a sump? One of the prettiest tanks i ever saw was a mbuna display tank. You could not see any equipment inside the tank.
The reason is simple- I do not want single failure points. I do not want the failure of a filter to be able to crash an entire tank. I do the same thing with heaters.
That said I will only use Eheim canisters so I cannot comment on the other brands. I have several of the Eheim Pro IIs and the oldest has been running for over 19 years. For about a decade it also doubles as the reactor for pressurized CO2 as well as doing the filtering that the plants did not handle.
Out of curosity have you considered a sump? One of the prettiest tanks i ever saw was a mbuna display tank. You could not see any equipment inside the tank.
I'm not really considering sumps due to my inexperience with them, i would screw that up. Reflecting on your first point: I do not want only one filter, in Both setups there was two in my post. Also, not a fan of eheim filters imo they are a Pita to setup and the design is not my style.
You should opt for the filter you have the most experience with, IMO. Maybe opt for your second/third filter with a new one to gain that hands on experience. Which means you could also opt for a small sump in addition to get that experience.
Sorry I missed the 2 Fluvals. So, I would add that, if doing two Fluvals, it makes more sense, if possible, to have two of the same model. That way you can keep a couple of small parts like an impeller or whatever else tends to break the soonest in those particular models. I also keep spare gaskets for my Eheims.
Years back I bought a used 75 gal. that came with a Fluval canister. I could not exchange it fast enough for my first Eheim. I have to assume they are made better today, but I have no need ever to buy another canister as I am in the process of winding down everything and retiring from the hobby.
I pretty much refuse to buy anything made in China that would come into contact with my fish. I do not trust Chinese in this respect at all. But SunSun is a "cheaper" filter and cannot be expected to last as long as the better made brands. Moreover, the UV in it is a waste. It is too small and the flow rate of the filter is way too high for it. Most tanks have no need for UV. I have a 9w UV I use for special situations- (receiving wild fish just imported) and it is used in a 29 gal Q tank. It is barely adequate for that size tank.
Also- Amazon rates all the filters they sell as well as all the pet supplies. Here is how they rate the sunsun hw 5000: customer reviews come out at 3.5/5, nt great. And their Best Sellers Rank: #192,486 in Pet Supplies (See Top 100 in Pet Supplies)
I want my filters to hold media not UV or heaters. They occupy space better used for media. Also, it is more of a Pita to replace such parts if they fail. My UV is and independent set-up. I much prefer using inline heaters with canisters. I use the Hydor inlines. I have 3 running, one for 19+ years.
I will add one last comment. This is the digital age and now many (if not all) canisters come with some form of digital controls etc. Not for me. I have noticed a trend to put digital into anything mechanical and what then tends to break is the digital. I am even a tad nervous with my digital heater controllers. I was still able to find a mechanical dishwasher about 8 years ago. It replaced one with a motherboard which had to be replaced 3 times in under 5 years. The current one has not missed a beat yet. It has buttons, a dial and a slider lock. The same applies to the washer and dryer. Nothing digital and still working after about a dozen years. I am not even sure one can find a current canister model that doesn't have digital included. *SIGH*
Years back I bought a used 75 gal. that came with a Fluval canister. I could not exchange it fast enough for my first Eheim. I have to assume they are made better today, but I have no need ever to buy another canister as I am in the process of winding down everything and retiring from the hobby.
I pretty much refuse to buy anything made in China that would come into contact with my fish. I do not trust Chinese in this respect at all. But SunSun is a "cheaper" filter and cannot be expected to last as long as the better made brands. Moreover, the UV in it is a waste. It is too small and the flow rate of the filter is way too high for it. Most tanks have no need for UV. I have a 9w UV I use for special situations- (receiving wild fish just imported) and it is used in a 29 gal Q tank. It is barely adequate for that size tank.
Also- Amazon rates all the filters they sell as well as all the pet supplies. Here is how they rate the sunsun hw 5000: customer reviews come out at 3.5/5, nt great. And their Best Sellers Rank: #192,486 in Pet Supplies (See Top 100 in Pet Supplies)
- #613 in Aquarium Filters
I want my filters to hold media not UV or heaters. They occupy space better used for media. Also, it is more of a Pita to replace such parts if they fail. My UV is and independent set-up. I much prefer using inline heaters with canisters. I use the Hydor inlines. I have 3 running, one for 19+ years.
I will add one last comment. This is the digital age and now many (if not all) canisters come with some form of digital controls etc. Not for me. I have noticed a trend to put digital into anything mechanical and what then tends to break is the digital. I am even a tad nervous with my digital heater controllers. I was still able to find a mechanical dishwasher about 8 years ago. It replaced one with a motherboard which had to be replaced 3 times in under 5 years. The current one has not missed a beat yet. It has buttons, a dial and a slider lock. The same applies to the washer and dryer. Nothing digital and still working after about a dozen years. I am not even sure one can find a current canister model that doesn't have digital included. *SIGH*
I have an fx6 on a 120; and quite frankly on a 250 i would run two fx6 (which would be a pia to clean); on the 450 i'm setting up i will run a sump in the basement below the tank - the sump would be a lot easier to clean and monitor and allow for more flexibility in flow and filter size; also i can grow a bunch of plants in it.
my edit which i cannot add to the above post:
I find the fluval fx6 better than the eheim 2217 i have with regards to cleaning 'cept that the propeller area of the fluval is impossible to clean (on the eheim it is designed for cleaning); also over time both have lost a lot of flow and i've seen others complain about the fx6 drop in flow over time. One thing i hate about the fx6 is lack of spray bar (there are third party available for around $40; have not tried them but they seem to have good reviews.
I find the fluval fx6 better than the eheim 2217 i have with regards to cleaning 'cept that the propeller area of the fluval is impossible to clean (on the eheim it is designed for cleaning); also over time both have lost a lot of flow and i've seen others complain about the fx6 drop in flow over time. One thing i hate about the fx6 is lack of spray bar (there are third party available for around $40; have not tried them but they seem to have good reviews.
I ended up buying an fx6 and an fx4, I'm optimistic that it will be enough. Even with this choice i went over my budget a bit (around 480 euros)
Hi there, i have a Fluval shaker 252 with a Fluval 307 canister which came with it and it's plenty enough filtration did a little altering regarding media and backed my tank up with a Fluval U4 internal filter having these before and everything runs great and i hope you get the benefit you need with yours
