Aquarium Equipment Reviews

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WyldFya

WyldFya

Baryancistrus demantoides
MFK Member
Dec 23, 2005
20,794
69
132
Moscow, ID
Post up your reviews of filters you have worked with, used, owned or maintenanced. Please inclued the make and model, a star rating (*, **, ***, ****, *****) 5 being the best, PROs, CONs, and comments.

Tetra: Whisper 40-60
**
PRO: Affordable, and easy to find parts for.
CON: Weak pump, water often bypasses the media, relies mostly on charcoal. NOT FOR PLANTED TANKS.
Comments: Decent for a aiding filter, but not a primary filter.

Tetratec: PF300
***
PRO: Decent pump, larger media capacity than the whisper.
CON: Very large, requiring more space behind the tank. Hard to find cartridges for it. NOT FOR PLANTED TANKS.
Comments: Much better filter, but still not for a primary filter.

Emperor 400
****
PRO: Good pump, has bio-wheel.
CON: Requires large space behind tank. NOT FOR PLANTED TANKS.
Comments: Great filter, can be a primary filter.

Eheim: Liberty
***
PRO: Good media setup, good pump.
CON: Very small. NOT FOR PLANTED TANKS.
Comments: Not a primary filter. Good filter to help aid primary filtration though.

Fluval: 404
**
PRO: Found everywhere, and is quite cheap.
CON: Weak pump, often clogs. Tubing is corrugated, and catches detritus.
Comments: Can be a primary filter, but not for tanks over 55 gallons. I wouldn't use this for a planted tank as it will clog too fast.

Catalina Aquariums 1000
****
PRO: Low cost, good filter.
CON: Hard to find, harder to find parts for.
Comments: Discontinued, but based on the Eheim Pro 2 2028 filter. GREAT FOR PLANTED TANKS!

Eheim Classic 2217
*****
PRO: Great pump, good media area. GREAT FOR PLANTED TANKS!
CON: Lacks shutoff valves.
Comments: Very good filters.

Eheim: Pro 2 2026
*****
PRO: Great pump, good media area. GREAT FOR PLANTED TANKS!
CON: Mech filtration is lacking.
Comments: Very good filters. Should have a HOB to help with mech.

Eheim: Pro 2 2028
*****
PRO: Great pump, good media area. GREAT FOR PLANTED TANKS!
CON: Mech filtration is lacking.
Comments: Very good filters. Should have a HOB to help with mech.

Eheim: Pro 3 2080
*****
PRO: Great pump, good media area. GREAT FOR PLANTED TANKS!
CON: Mech filtration is lacking.
Comments: Very good filters. Good for larger tanks up to 150 gallons. Should have a HOB to help with mech.

H.O.T. Magnum
*****
PRO: Great for clarity.
CON: Not too good as a stand alone.
Comments: Great for charcoal, purigen or other medias that are temporary.

All-glass Aquarium: Superflow Sump
***
PRO: Customizable
CON: Cost
Comments: A good type of filter, but overpriced. The ones I have setup all were missing parts.
 
Catalina Aquarium CA-900
*****
PRO: Very powerful. 1/4" Input.
CON: Can pull up sand into the impeller shaft.
Comments: Good for water movement.

Eheim Aquaball powerhead
****
PRO: Will not clog.
CON: Low GPH.
Comments: Good for keeping the bottom moving, but does not move a lot of water.

Rena Hyperflow HF-10
*****
PRO: Affordable, high GPH.
CON: Drops off power quickly with added back pressure.
Comments: Great to keep water moving, or for above tank sumps.

AquaClear 30
***
PRO: Powerful pump.
CON: Media basket is weak, and often falls apart.
Comments: The newer models are much better, mine is old.

Mag Drive 7
*****
PRO: Very powerful pump.
CON: Cost
Comments: Great for sumps!
 
Tetra Whisper: Internal filter 40i
*
PRO: Able to be used for small indoor ponds, and paludariums.
CON: Water often flows past the media, and has minimal, to no contact.
Comment: Not a primary filter, good for a concealed filter.
 
I'm sure other people have dealt with filters here! Come on post up reviews of filters/powerhead/pumps that you have used, doesn't matter if they have already been reviewed, everyone has a different experience.
 
Mag Drive 18
*****
PRO: Powerful Pump
CON: Vibration (if it is on top of wood panel) and pin hole leak on first 3 days (after that it seals by itself (don't know why).
Comments: Great for both external and Internal water pump

Rena xp3 Canister Filter
*****

PRO: Cleans very well and very quite
CON: Media is expesensive and drain or return hose kinks if you do not cut it properly.
Comments: To save on media and filter pads use refills and cut to size.

Rena 400 Air pump
*****

PRO: Hight output and very quite
CON: Price, Egg shape and air volume adjustment is useless (leaks needed air)
Comments: Great for fish that needs high air flow

Aquarium Glass 10 Gal HOB Filter
**

PRO: Cheap
CON: Impeller easily clogged, would not run after turning off
Comments: Not worth the money

Eclipse System III (29 Gal tank full set up)
****

PRO: All in one System, cleans very well, great for starters, Bio-Wheel!
CON: Filer housing too small, frequent chaning of media needed or cleaning
Comments: Never gave up and still running, fish is surely secured (if jumpy)

CPR CR3000 (Wet/Dry Filter 400 gal Capacity)
*****

PRO: Cleans very well, high capacity sump, and uses bio-bale
CON: Filter floss tray hard to change, split in two chamber (one Bio-bale and one sump)
Comments: Would love to have a new design that would have the filter floss tray slidding and have the whole system in one piece to avoid possible problem. Works great for it's function as a whole.

Aqua UV Sterilizer 25W with Wipper
*****

PRO: Large Capacity sterilizer, wipper helps in maintaining clean and effective treatment of water (never had any outbreak... at last!)
CON: Price and mounting brackets are hard to install (you need to drill and be creative)
Comments: Great addition for securing your expensive fish from diseases.

Hellios 48" T5-II Light
**

PRO: Very slim, not bulky (built-in-ballast) and easy to mount of you have a low canopy
CON: Will die on you in less than 4 months, no replacement lamp, and price
Comments: 48" dies fast, 36 inch last up to 1 year, would want to have an option to replace lamps if busted (which they don't have---cost too much)


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Try to keep this to the filtration side, so air pumps that can be used for UGF or sponge filters are fine, UVs are good to go, but lets keep the lighting seperate. Protein skimmers would also be good to get a few reviews for.
 
Tetra 20 power filter
**
PRO: cheap, discreet.
CON: GPH too low for aquarium it's rated for, clogs quickly.
COMMENTS: good if you're on a low budget, but if you can, ditch it and get an emporer or an aquaclear.

Aquatic Gardens 10G air pump
***
PRO:cheap, fairly quiet.
CON:there are better air pumps for about the same price.
COMMENTS:this is a fairly good air pump. it is cheap, and isn't too loud. but, their are similarly priced air pumps that are better than the bog standardndess of this one.
 
nice topic! here my 2 cents:

Eheim 2128
**
Pro: nice capacity, internal heater, easy maintenance, dont clog easily
Con: expensive, not very good for mech filtration
Comments: i love these filters. A nice 6 liters of media compared with a 200W heater. What more can you wish for!

Eheim 2080
**
Pro: Huge filter capacity! Easy maintenance, superb pump! dual inlet. very quiet!
Con: expensive, not good for mech filtration.
Comments: with 12L of media and a pre-filter, this is a beast! its super easy to clean whenever you need to (twice a year...) but it costs a lot. you probably want something extra for some mech fltration but this is one of the best for biofiltration.

Eheim 2260
**
Pro: Huge filter capacity! superb pump so doest clog. quiet.
Con: expensive, not good for mech filtration.
Comments: with 18L capacity, this is a beast too! its less easy to clean than the 2080 cuz it has no buckets but you only need to clean it like twice a year. you probably want something extra for some mech fltration but this is one of the best for biofiltration.

Eheim 2213-2217
**
Pro: Nice price for quality, good media capacity and good pumps! quiet.
Cons: ehm... the smaller models sometimes have a hard time starting up after cleaning.
Comments: my first good filters and still running strong after years of usage. Very good filters but again, might want to add some mech filtration.

Resun INTERNAL POWER FILTER SP 1200-3800 L
**
Pro: cheap, very nice for mech filtration and current in tank.
Cons: bigger models produce quite some heat. they might start making strange sounds quickly.
Comments: i have these for mech filtration and they do a good job! clean them every week and it works like a charm. but as they are cheap, they probably arent the best and produce quite some heat which sucks during summer. also the sounds certain models seem to make is quite annoying (dont have this on all filters tho).
 
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