RENA filstar or fluval

[SEW1965]

RENA filstar or fluval......

Hey Guys.... Just need a little opinion. I want my new 55g aquarium to have a canister, only because it will sit close to the wall. My question is, who makes the better quality filter and has anyone had bad experiences with these. I don't know how much room is needed for the Emporer 400, which is also a possibility. All comments are appreciated!

 

[pinballqueen]

I had a Fluval 303 that finally quit working after many years of service... the motor finally burned out after our last power outage. My mom has a Fluval 403 on hers, and I must say, it has a lot of improvements over the model I had, including a self-priming ability (Yay, no more trying to siphon the thing to get it going....). I have been impressed with the quality, and there are only a few drawbacks to them, common to most canisters....

The worst part of a canister is there is unfailingly a mess waiting to happen when you change or clean the media. Have plenty of towels handy, because they always let water spill out. The newer filters are better than the older ones were, though.

On the whole, though, Fluval is a great product, IMO. Others may have a different story.

 

[125gJoe]

Rena Filstar!

I have both the Fluval 404 and Filstar XP-3 canisters. I have proven the Filstar to filter better than the Fluval. The Filstar has many more features, and it even has 'grips' or handles for easy carrying when cleaning is needed. Another good thing is the Filstar has a variable flow which is real nice in case you think you have too much water flow. Or, which I did, is hook up a UV sterilizer to the outflow side. I slowed the flow down some so the UV can do its thing... Too much flow thru a UV sterilizer is not wanted..

 

[stpower]

I agree, the Filstar is a better filter. I have seen the Fluval 404 in use at my LFS and was there when the guy was cleaning it. My opinion, the filstar is much easier to clean and is a lot cleaner while servicing.

 

[NJ Devils Fan]

I would go with the medium size filstar and an Emp 400.

 

[BigOh]

An Emperor 400 will set your tank about 4" away from the wall.

 

[goozy]

I have a filstar xp 2 on one of my 37 gallon tanks. It's a great filter. It sucks up everything. It is also easy to clean. It has an emergency release kind of thing so when you take it apart almost no water spills out. The only time I ever had any water spill was when I didn't put the top back on tight. I would highly recommend this filter.

 

[FishHunter8]

Love my flouval 404

 

[superjohnny]

What about the Eheim professional series? Those look really nice.

 

[christopher1260]

no complaints with my fluval, but i have heard great things about filstars