Most important things to look at when purchasing a filter?
- Thread starter andrewred
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Best advice I can give is don't listen to anything Hawkerw says about the FX5. The FX5 hold 6 liters of biomedia, yet it this is mostly sponge 
sponge also is a bio media if it were even true. Properly assembled the FX5 has next to no bypass of the mechanical media and no bypass of the biological media. Hawk is just sore because he couldn't figure out the complicated hose clamps that go on the FX5
Just check out his treads, make your own call.
sponge also is a bio media if it were even true. Properly assembled the FX5 has next to no bypass of the mechanical media and no bypass of the biological media. Hawk is just sore because he couldn't figure out the complicated hose clamps that go on the FX5Just check out his treads, make your own call.
I disagree that you must have a wet/dry filter for tanks over 100g. It may be true for salt water tanks which must find space to maximize biological filtration, but not for fresh water tanks. A good mechanical filtration is all you need for a fresh water tank as adequate biological filtration can be achieved inside the tank in substrate, glass and rock surfaces.
I am operating my 125 gal tank with two Penquin 350 and two Penquin 170 with a combined GPD of over 1000 gpd. Unlike wet and dry, or canister filters, HOBs give you the true gpd with no load reduction. When an HOB filter media is clogging, you still get the same gpd bypassing the media. A wet and dry flow rate is reduced by the head it has to lift from the sump to the tank, so you don't get the full rated gpd. A canister rated gpd is reduced by the amount of clogging in the media as there is no bypass.
The greatest pitfall of HOBs is that they have the smallest filter media, which means that you can't be lazy and must change media frequently. But changing a HOB media only takes 5 min, not 30 min as for canister filters. I have been buying cheap polyester batting by yards from JoAnne fabric to save money on filter media . Frequent media change is actually healthier for the fish than infrequent change as it removes solid waste from the water promtly thereby reducing contact time with water and subsequent nitrogen loading.
I was seriously considering wet and dry for my 125g, but the huge evaporation loss and the small risk of flooding eliminated it as my option. I have zero tolerance of flooding in my living area. For the same reason, I will not trust canister filters in my living area as they are vulnerable to leak from worn out O rings or mistake in reassembling. HOBs are cheap but efficient, and are abosolutely OK with big tanks provided that you run multiple of them.
There is not much more evaporation loss from a wet/dry sump setup then for most HOB or canister systems. Simple.....cover it.
And if properly designed, there is zero risk from flood. My 75 gallon sump is equipped with 1 1/2 swing checks and siphon breaks on both lines, run Herbie style ( 4 drains, each able to fully handle the entire tank flow alone). I have zero tolerance from flooding in my living area as well, with hardwood floors all around my tank....
Ironically, the only flood I've had in any tank was the one equipped with Emperor HOB's. I travel a lot, so when Im gone my wife changes the socks ( which takes about 2 minutes) on the sump tank and filter pads on the HOB tank. If she forgets, which she has from time to time, a clogged sock will overflow into the sump. A clogged HOB filter pad overflows out the top of the filter which, by design, is outside the tank. Thankfully my HOB's have been garage filters for quite awhile, so the minor flood we had was on the garage floor and not carpet or the wood flooring. Plus, I cant stand seeing plumbing in the viewing area and HOB's have intake tubes that cannot be moved.
I also run a 135 with nothing but canisters ( 4 Renas and a Sun Sun) and the simple solution for a potential flood in this situation is plastic storage container under each canister. I size them to hold about 4 times the volume of the canister and place my intakes at a point where the canister will run dry before a flood could ever happen. I can pull and clean my Renas in about 10 minutes each.
HOB's are functional and cost effective, but have just as much flood potential as any other filter IME.
And if properly designed, there is zero risk from flood. My 75 gallon sump is equipped with 1 1/2 swing checks and siphon breaks on both lines, run Herbie style ( 4 drains, each able to fully handle the entire tank flow alone). I have zero tolerance from flooding in my living area as well, with hardwood floors all around my tank....
Ironically, the only flood I've had in any tank was the one equipped with Emperor HOB's. I travel a lot, so when Im gone my wife changes the socks ( which takes about 2 minutes) on the sump tank and filter pads on the HOB tank. If she forgets, which she has from time to time, a clogged sock will overflow into the sump. A clogged HOB filter pad overflows out the top of the filter which, by design, is outside the tank. Thankfully my HOB's have been garage filters for quite awhile, so the minor flood we had was on the garage floor and not carpet or the wood flooring. Plus, I cant stand seeing plumbing in the viewing area and HOB's have intake tubes that cannot be moved.
I also run a 135 with nothing but canisters ( 4 Renas and a Sun Sun) and the simple solution for a potential flood in this situation is plastic storage container under each canister. I size them to hold about 4 times the volume of the canister and place my intakes at a point where the canister will run dry before a flood could ever happen. I can pull and clean my Renas in about 10 minutes each.
HOB's are functional and cost effective, but have just as much flood potential as any other filter IME.
The rena xp4 i would NOT recommend. I URGE you to read this link it is very important you do before buying 1 -> http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/archive/index.php/t-44242.html
The xp3 is great but there has been recent discussion that Rena has significantly started cheaping out on their products. Similar to marineland. Esssentially rena put NO thought into the making and design of the xp4. They just shoved an extra basket in and called it a day.
The xp3 is great but there has been recent discussion that Rena has significantly started cheaping out on their products. Similar to marineland. Esssentially rena put NO thought into the making and design of the xp4. They just shoved an extra basket in and called it a day.
I do not own an xp4. 5 xp3's and xp2 and an xp1
5 years running on 3 of the xp3's with same impeller's. Only thing Ive replaced is the gasket that seals the housing to the canister itself. My dog decided to chew one that dropped on the floor lol. so I always keep a few of those around, which are universal to all filters in the line.
I've heard many folks complain about the early xp4's so I stayed away. I've heard they have a new impeller design for that filter, but the xp3's work so well, I've decided to stay with what I now. Real world gph is only 7 gph different from the 3 to the 4, so you are essentially paying the extra money for 1 extra basket
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5 years running on 3 of the xp3's with same impeller's. Only thing Ive replaced is the gasket that seals the housing to the canister itself. My dog decided to chew one that dropped on the floor lol. so I always keep a few of those around, which are universal to all filters in the line.
I've heard many folks complain about the early xp4's so I stayed away. I've heard they have a new impeller design for that filter, but the xp3's work so well, I've decided to stay with what I now. Real world gph is only 7 gph different from the 3 to the 4, so you are essentially paying the extra money for 1 extra basket
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Yea thats what im talking about. I totally recommend xp3 and maybe even xp2. I even have an xp3 myself, BUT the xp4 is very poorly designed.
I agree from everything Ive heard. They were just trying to compete with the 400gph and up club.
I don't know how you can say that there is zero risk for flooding with a properly designed sump. In my experience, a HOB has less chance of causing a flood than a sump or canister filter.
with 4 drain lines, each able to handle the entire flow from the pumps, all 4 would have to be blocked at the same time which I suppose is possible. So maybe 99.9999% chance it won't lol
With BeanAnimal or Herbie setup you have at least 1(Herbie) or 2(Bean) emergency drains. I run 2 overflows so each contains a primary and and emergency ( Dual Herbie). 2 mains, 2 emergency.......
Like I said, if properly designed, you have little to no chance of a flood. In my experience with my wife forgetting to change the pads in my Emp400, the hob filled and overflowed out the top of the filter. Yes, If I had been home it wouldn't have happened, but she forgot and it did in fact overflow all over the garage....
