In one of my fishkeeping magazines they had a article on this. I was planning on using 2 eheim pro 3's but this seems to be pretty good and I think 2 of these are about the same price as 2 eheims. Anyone heard anything about it? Here's a link to a site selling it (sorry it dosent have much info the official site is down at the moment and this is the best I could find.) Fluval FX5
New Fluval FX5 Canister Filter
- Thread starter Kieranuk
- Start date
I dont know anything about fluvals but the eheim pro 3 has ard 25 litres of filter space if im not wrong and dual inlets.
Unless Fluval has changed, I would not reccomend them...They have the crapiest filters around!!! Try this link....The RENA filters are really nice.....I am using one right now, you can't even tell its running! I also use EHEIM.
http://www.aquariumpharm.com/filstar.html
Jen
http://www.aquariumpharm.com/filstar.html
Jen
I like the Rena filters but my tank is going to be between 310-360 US Gallons so those Rena filters wont be big enough. The flow rate of the FX5 is 3500LPH where as the flow rate for a Professional III is 1700LPH which is significantly lower than the fluval. I quite like the idea of the impeller being monitored so it keeps at optimal flow rate for the fluval. No filter media has been produced for the FX5 yet so you have to use your own media which is a bit annoying as there is normally a starter media pack included. The pre-filter on the eheim which is easily accessible would make maintenance much easier IMO than having to open up the full filter for weekly maintenance. I think the fluval has 2 outputs which might be good but I was planning on having 2 of either of the filters anyway so 4 outputs might be a bit much. Running at max. with no resistance 2 of the FX5's would turnover 1850GPH whereas the Eheim's would only turn over 890GPH and I highly doubt either filter would reach its maximum output. So the eheim would turn over my planned tank approx 3 times and the FX5 6 times per hour. The Eheims packed full of media would have approx 6.90G of media and the FX5 would have just 3.6G of media. I also like the auto-water change feature with the FX5 so you can connect a normal hose pipe to the output and it will pump out the water for water changes. Hagen seem to be trying hard to compete with eheim on being the lead filtratation marked for 'Monster' tanks, so think they would be worth giving a chance to see if they are any better than previous fluval models or thing it would be better to stick with eheim?
If you are looking for turnover i would actually suggest stackable overhead filters. They can have high turnover rates with tons of space for media and can even be expanded when you need more filter space. Most importantly however is the type of filter media that you are using, invest in good media and turnover rates will not really be a problem anymore.