Odyssea CFS 500 Can-filter review and circumference modification
- Thread starter CWO4GUNNER
- Start date
Even if the pump were 10 X stronger than stock, the modified sponge has far too much surface-area-throughput to allow enough pressure to build and collapse it even it it were 75% clogged. Besides the intake hose would collapse first and the outflow hose would burst as hoses are the weakest link in almost any hydraulic or pneumatic system.
Thanks!
Gunner, thanks a ton for reviewing this filter. I purchased one after reading about it here and it has been amazing. This filter is a beast. It's running on a 55g fresh and I CAN'T HEAR IT AT ALL.
I think I'm going to put my two Magnum 350's in storage as backups and get another couple CFS500's! I am sick of the buzz, rattle, hum of my magnum 350's.
Gunner, thanks a ton for reviewing this filter. I purchased one after reading about it here and it has been amazing. This filter is a beast. It's running on a 55g fresh and I CAN'T HEAR IT AT ALL.
I think I'm going to put my two Magnum 350's in storage as backups and get another couple CFS500's! I am sick of the buzz, rattle, hum of my magnum 350's.
It funny you should say that becasue as much as I don't mind the little extra gurgle-hum of my magnums and use both on my Oscar 60 tank, having them both on a 30/30 minute analog timer really makes a racket for 1 second when they fire back up lol. Whereas my FX5s and CFS500s are silent cycling on and off every 30 minutes. More importantly 1 CFS500 modified does the work of 2 mag 350's
Thank you for the review and troubleshooting the filter to come up with some really effective mods. I do have one thing to add though. My lid ended up getting fractures all over. I began by getting leaks through the lid and couldn't even see any cracks; it was as if the water was just diffusing through the plastic. Not long after, the cracks were very visible and water was quickly leaking out. I realized that the major problem was that the locks weren't evenly distributed along the lid, so why not force it to be evenly distributed? Here's what I did:
Cracks all along lid:
I cut out a ring of 1/4" birch plywood that would distribute the pressure throughout the lid:
I'm not sure if they're even necessary, but I even added on large fender washers to distribute the force from the nuts to the wood. Here it is all together:
Even with all of those cracks, I haven't had a single drop of water leak out of this thing. The addition of the wood and washers hardly adds any additional time in removing the lid as there's still enough wiggle room to loosen the nuts and bring them down without having to remove them. It was a quick, easy, and cheap fix that I would highly recommend, whether as a preventative measure or to fix an already cracked lid.
Cracks all along lid:
I cut out a ring of 1/4" birch plywood that would distribute the pressure throughout the lid:
I'm not sure if they're even necessary, but I even added on large fender washers to distribute the force from the nuts to the wood. Here it is all together:
Even with all of those cracks, I haven't had a single drop of water leak out of this thing. The addition of the wood and washers hardly adds any additional time in removing the lid as there's still enough wiggle room to loosen the nuts and bring them down without having to remove them. It was a quick, easy, and cheap fix that I would highly recommend, whether as a preventative measure or to fix an already cracked lid.
Thanks for the review and mods. My filter will be here tomorrow. I already got the new o-rings and poly blanket.I can't wait to get this filter up and running. It's going on a 150 gallon tank along with two DIY internal canister filter.
VERY GOOD funkman262 Im proud of you! I considered a full flange made of either plywood or stainless but I was too lazy to make one. The fact that you are still using the cracked lid is a testament to your fix which is far better then mine. I may do this myself and now I regret tossing out my cracked lid which I could have kept as a spare. Very good fix and preventative measure.
I've read through the entire thread and have to thank Gunner profusely for taking what was a curiosity on Ebay and making it a serious contender for my next purchase, with his mods (and likely the plywood pressure distribution flange pictured above or something similar).
That said, I could get a Eheim Pro II 2026 rated for up to 90G -- reasonably sure that's the model in question, I will double-check -- used from the local fish place for $120 out the door with a new gasket and good media included, or I could order the CFS 500 from topdogsellers on Ebay, wait a week+ for it to get here (I am a sometimes impatient soul) and spend a few hours and a few more dollars doing the mods, so call it $65, $70 + mild frustration. Roughly half the cost, and I'm on a very tight budget as a law student right now.
The question is, either of these would be going on a fairly small 29 gallon tank with a single Green Spotted Puffer (~2.5") and a small Pleco (~3.5-4"). I'd also be keeping a Penguin BioWheel 350 as a backup hang-on-the-back. Yes I know, I am crazy, way over-filtering, but GSPs are extremely messy fish and sensitive to water quality, and I love my fish. I'd have them in a 65 gallon if I had the space, but my living situation is far from ideal right now.
Which is better for the setup, ignoring price entirely? I don't need total silence, but either one will be about 5 feet from where I'm sleeping and probably not inside a cabinet (just tucked in the corner) so I would obviously prefer something that's going to be really loud or grating. Reviews I've read suggest the Fluval filters (which the CFS line seem to be based on) like the FX5 are considerably louder than comparably rated Eheims. I've had Eheim pumps before (custom computer watercooling) and was impressed with their quiet operation, though flow rates were not that great and price was very high, even used, as here. It's also worth noting I don't know how old the Pro II is or anything about its history, so I have no idea how many hours are left on the pump or if it was ever run dry, anything like that. I really like my local fish place (Fishy Business! If you're in Columbia, SC or the surrounding areas I bet you know it) and the guy that owns it is extremely friendly, knowledgeable, and has been willing to point me to used tanks and such in the past when I expressed concerns about my budget. Their prices aren't too bad for a local shop, but a little on the high side. I suspect I could get a used Pro II somewhere else a lot cheaper, but the guy said he'd go through and make sure everything was in working order before selling it to me, and I trust him to do a good job with that, so that's worth something to me assuming it isn't determined $120 would be a rip-off for a used 2026 in good condition.
I do enjoy modding stuff, I come from a background building custom computers and doing extensive case modifications and full custom water cooling systems, so I know my way around basic tools / saws / drills pretty well. My primary concerns with the CFS 500 are noise levels, longevity, and inability to easily and quickly obtain replacement parts should the need arise. I'm poor, but I'd rather buy something I can trust to keep working. I treat my things well and take my time where it's needed, so if that's enough to ensure years of operation out of the CFS 500, I'm fine with it. If there's a good chance it'll give up the ghost for no good reason at some point, I'd like to steer clear.
In other words: If I get the thing, take my time and do the mods, and treat it right, is it going to be really loud or break one day, dumping half my tank all over my (rented) floor, losing me a $700 security deposit because I tried to save $80? Am I better off with the Eheim? Are there other places I should be looking? Are there other models or manufacturers I should be considering? I realize it sounds like I'm asking you to do my research for me, but I've been reading for hours, have little real world experience with this stuff, and my head is spinning. My last tank was a 20 gallon tropical setup with an angel fish and a few others when I was 11, 15 years ago. I just got back in to the hobby about a year ago because I wanted a puffer, and I'm still feeling a little lost despite tons of research. There doesn't seem to be a lot of consensus among the fishkeeping community -- the last 15 pages of this thread behind no exception at times.
I imagine people here or on other aquaria forums buy and sell used stuff regularly, should I be looking those kind of places? I'd prefer not to buy something like this used sight unseen. Too many potential issues. Already put an ad up on Craigslist locally, but people around here are crazy -- they think their used 75G with a broken brace and horribly done home re-sealing job is worth $150+, that kind of thing. I'd be amazed if I get one reply from my "want to buy" ad, nevermind anything in a sane price range.
Suggestions?
EDIT: Also! Where should I get "poly blanket"? The fish store? Somewhere else cheaper? I'm all about saving money so long as there's no big sacrifice to quality and it doesn't hurt my fish. Is there any 'trick' to using construction sand as substrate, apart from letting it settle out and filtering well before adding anything?
2ND EDIT: Saw Gunner's other thread about using washers and neoprene / another squishy material to distribute the pressure, might just go with that if I decide to go with the 500. Also, apparently SunSun is calling themselves Perfect these days. Should I be considering those? They're cheaper but I dunno, would they be more than sufficient for my setup? What kind of difference in maintenance interval / cost are we talking?
Aaand.... sorry about the wall of text. Wow.
That said, I could get a Eheim Pro II 2026 rated for up to 90G -- reasonably sure that's the model in question, I will double-check -- used from the local fish place for $120 out the door with a new gasket and good media included, or I could order the CFS 500 from topdogsellers on Ebay, wait a week+ for it to get here (I am a sometimes impatient soul) and spend a few hours and a few more dollars doing the mods, so call it $65, $70 + mild frustration. Roughly half the cost, and I'm on a very tight budget as a law student right now.
The question is, either of these would be going on a fairly small 29 gallon tank with a single Green Spotted Puffer (~2.5") and a small Pleco (~3.5-4"). I'd also be keeping a Penguin BioWheel 350 as a backup hang-on-the-back. Yes I know, I am crazy, way over-filtering, but GSPs are extremely messy fish and sensitive to water quality, and I love my fish. I'd have them in a 65 gallon if I had the space, but my living situation is far from ideal right now.
Which is better for the setup, ignoring price entirely? I don't need total silence, but either one will be about 5 feet from where I'm sleeping and probably not inside a cabinet (just tucked in the corner) so I would obviously prefer something that's going to be really loud or grating. Reviews I've read suggest the Fluval filters (which the CFS line seem to be based on) like the FX5 are considerably louder than comparably rated Eheims. I've had Eheim pumps before (custom computer watercooling) and was impressed with their quiet operation, though flow rates were not that great and price was very high, even used, as here. It's also worth noting I don't know how old the Pro II is or anything about its history, so I have no idea how many hours are left on the pump or if it was ever run dry, anything like that. I really like my local fish place (Fishy Business! If you're in Columbia, SC or the surrounding areas I bet you know it) and the guy that owns it is extremely friendly, knowledgeable, and has been willing to point me to used tanks and such in the past when I expressed concerns about my budget. Their prices aren't too bad for a local shop, but a little on the high side. I suspect I could get a used Pro II somewhere else a lot cheaper, but the guy said he'd go through and make sure everything was in working order before selling it to me, and I trust him to do a good job with that, so that's worth something to me assuming it isn't determined $120 would be a rip-off for a used 2026 in good condition.
I do enjoy modding stuff, I come from a background building custom computers and doing extensive case modifications and full custom water cooling systems, so I know my way around basic tools / saws / drills pretty well. My primary concerns with the CFS 500 are noise levels, longevity, and inability to easily and quickly obtain replacement parts should the need arise. I'm poor, but I'd rather buy something I can trust to keep working. I treat my things well and take my time where it's needed, so if that's enough to ensure years of operation out of the CFS 500, I'm fine with it. If there's a good chance it'll give up the ghost for no good reason at some point, I'd like to steer clear.
In other words: If I get the thing, take my time and do the mods, and treat it right, is it going to be really loud or break one day, dumping half my tank all over my (rented) floor, losing me a $700 security deposit because I tried to save $80? Am I better off with the Eheim? Are there other places I should be looking? Are there other models or manufacturers I should be considering? I realize it sounds like I'm asking you to do my research for me, but I've been reading for hours, have little real world experience with this stuff, and my head is spinning. My last tank was a 20 gallon tropical setup with an angel fish and a few others when I was 11, 15 years ago. I just got back in to the hobby about a year ago because I wanted a puffer, and I'm still feeling a little lost despite tons of research. There doesn't seem to be a lot of consensus among the fishkeeping community -- the last 15 pages of this thread behind no exception at times.
I imagine people here or on other aquaria forums buy and sell used stuff regularly, should I be looking those kind of places? I'd prefer not to buy something like this used sight unseen. Too many potential issues. Already put an ad up on Craigslist locally, but people around here are crazy -- they think their used 75G with a broken brace and horribly done home re-sealing job is worth $150+, that kind of thing. I'd be amazed if I get one reply from my "want to buy" ad, nevermind anything in a sane price range.
Suggestions?
EDIT: Also! Where should I get "poly blanket"? The fish store? Somewhere else cheaper? I'm all about saving money so long as there's no big sacrifice to quality and it doesn't hurt my fish. Is there any 'trick' to using construction sand as substrate, apart from letting it settle out and filtering well before adding anything?
2ND EDIT: Saw Gunner's other thread about using washers and neoprene / another squishy material to distribute the pressure, might just go with that if I decide to go with the 500. Also, apparently SunSun is calling themselves Perfect these days. Should I be considering those? They're cheaper but I dunno, would they be more than sufficient for my setup? What kind of difference in maintenance interval / cost are we talking?
Aaand.... sorry about the wall of text. Wow.
Last edited:
