i have 2 fluval C4's on my 75g. its is lightly stocked and has always been crystal clear. no issues at all... cleaning is pretty easy(never owned anything else to compare to other then the tetra whisper 20, which is >_<) im gonna try an aquaclear next after all the great reviews i've seen on MFK
aquaclear vs fluval c series vs marineland... advice needed
- Thread starter ECW
- Start date
AGREE...............I use the AC101's as a mechanical/polisher for the water........As for biological, I build myself a DIY wet/dry sump filter.................
That Marineland 530 Canister filter does not give 530 GPH flow, more like 250-300 GPH if your lucky.
Also remember that all the canister/pump combos are entry level and built for simplicity. So if you looking for better filtration go with Tetra most models even have a built in UV.
Foster and sons have some nice canister but there listed under pond
Foster and sons have some nice canister but there listed under pond
So what your saying is they are lying to us and we should all go protest in front of their buildings.
How does one know how many actual GPH ?
I just got a few Aquaclears and have to say I'm very impressed. I also ordred a mag drive water pump too 950 GPH for water changes. I suppose the 950 isn't accurate as well ?
There was a guy here on MFK who tested the AC110s a few months back and that's what he measured. Not surprising at all, every filter on the market pumps less than the max flow rate on the box in the real world. That's still a great flow rate for a HOB.So what your saying is they are lying to us and we should all go protest in front of their buildings.
How does one know how many actual GPH ?
I just got a few Aquaclears and have to say I'm very impressed. I also ordred a mag drive water pump too 950 GPH for water changes. I suppose the 950 isn't accurate as well ?
With pumps, it's all about head height. It might pump 950 gph with no head, but that goes down for every foot of piping and connectors you run.
If you want to know the actual gph, get a container with a known measurement and pump into the container with a stop watch to see how long it takes. Do some basic math and get your actual gph.
aquaclear all the way. best thing about a big cannister tho in NOT having to work on the media all the time!
Aqua clear would get my vote out of the three. But because I am a Eheim fanboy I would recommend Eheim instead.
LOL. MFK members love their Aquaclears. You guys back them up and love them so much it has convinced me to buy an Aquaclear 110. I got a couple Fluval C4's first and I love the design on them. They are very very easy to clean. I don't even have to get my hands wet to clean the three different parts. If they made a larger model I might have just skipped on the Aquaclear 110.
So far i'm pretty happy with the Aquaclear 110. I used some fish safe silicone lube on the metal shaft that holds the impeller and it is very quiet. It has some good power and good space in the media compartment (though... after the huge sponge and a thin layer of Polyfill batting... I fit only a tiny bit more substrat pro than in my Marineland Penguin 350's with the refillable baskets). I also bought a Filter Max III prefilter for it and I love that it can easily fit onto the intake tubing.
My only minor complaint is that originally... I thought the impeller section was totally closed/separated from the media section. The top section is only separated by the filter basket which may? (not really sure) allow for some by-pass through the holes in the middle of the filter basket that I wasn't expecting. I also had a problem with brand new covers being cracked right out of the box (for both: Aquaclear and Fluval C4). Hagen does however have great customer service and replaced them... No real complaints, my water is clean and I love the quiet power! Only thing left is for me to see is how they work out over time.
Right now I'm liking the Aquaclear design but still like the design of the Fluval C4's better. I hope they make a Fluval C5 to equal the power of the Aquaclear 110. Check out Youtube and watch "Real/Full Hagen Fluval C Series Filter Review" by AquariumTech. His experience is that the wet/dry integrated system on the C4's with Seachems DeNitrate media (essentially smaller grained Seachem Matrix) helped reduce his nitrates (20ppm to 5-10ppm)!
So far i'm pretty happy with the Aquaclear 110. I used some fish safe silicone lube on the metal shaft that holds the impeller and it is very quiet. It has some good power and good space in the media compartment (though... after the huge sponge and a thin layer of Polyfill batting... I fit only a tiny bit more substrat pro than in my Marineland Penguin 350's with the refillable baskets). I also bought a Filter Max III prefilter for it and I love that it can easily fit onto the intake tubing.
My only minor complaint is that originally... I thought the impeller section was totally closed/separated from the media section. The top section is only separated by the filter basket which may? (not really sure) allow for some by-pass through the holes in the middle of the filter basket that I wasn't expecting. I also had a problem with brand new covers being cracked right out of the box (for both: Aquaclear and Fluval C4). Hagen does however have great customer service and replaced them... No real complaints, my water is clean and I love the quiet power! Only thing left is for me to see is how they work out over time.
Right now I'm liking the Aquaclear design but still like the design of the Fluval C4's better. I hope they make a Fluval C5 to equal the power of the Aquaclear 110. Check out Youtube and watch "Real/Full Hagen Fluval C Series Filter Review" by AquariumTech. His experience is that the wet/dry integrated system on the C4's with Seachems DeNitrate media (essentially smaller grained Seachem Matrix) helped reduce his nitrates (20ppm to 5-10ppm)!
