So I recently setup a 135 in my office. Lots of rock and mbuna. I was looking a little light on filtration based on adult size of my stock so I took a chance on a Sunsun HW304B. Cost about 100 bucks shipped with sponges and some media so i figured it was worth a shot. Read some pretty positive reviews and went from there. Here's my impressions after a month online....
The Good------
1)Flow. Very strong flow. Actually had to connect three of the spray bars together to chill it out a bit lol. haven't taken an actual measurement but this thing has very good output. advertised at 530gph without media, so I'm sure real world numbers are closer to 350-375, but still a good bit of umph.
2)Volume. Decent sized media baskets and a pretty large canister. Lots of room for anything you want to use, sponges, bio, chemical. Plenty of room inside for lots of setup options.
3)Volume again. This time sound volume. This thing is very quiet for it's size. about on par with an Xp3 and maybe even a bit quieter.
4)No bypass. Simple design, but water has one way in and out passing through all media in the filter.
The Bad--------
1)Intake and Output Hardware. Pretty much the worst. other than the sparaybars i used mostly spare XP series parts for the intake and output. Several pieces broke and a few just didn't fit together at all.
2)Maintenance. This thing is heavy and has no handles so moving it is not easy. It also leaks out the top even when picking it up from the bottom. Very awkward filter to move. I'm spoiled by my Xp's when it comes to maintenance i guess.
3)Priming. just doesn't work. Hoses are cut as short as i can possibly make them and the priming lever just doesn't create enough suction to fill the canister. I have to fill it manually which means once again lifting a lot of water unless you fill it once in your cabinet..
4)Directions. basically just a rough guide. not very specific or detailed.
5) Leaks???? WTF?? I've made habit of using what i call "oh sh*t" buckets under all my canisters. Basically just a rubbermaid storage container that the canister sits in just in case a leak were to happen. Small puddle of water next to the canister. Pulled the canister out, reseated the top and haven't had an issue since. But, it did happen.........
All in all is it worth 100 bucks? Yeah, it's definitely worth the money I guess, but the maintenance part of it is a big deal for me. I like a canister thats easy to work with and this isn't it. But it does still offer a lot of bang for the buck.......
curious as to what other think about out these filters
The Good------
1)Flow. Very strong flow. Actually had to connect three of the spray bars together to chill it out a bit lol. haven't taken an actual measurement but this thing has very good output. advertised at 530gph without media, so I'm sure real world numbers are closer to 350-375, but still a good bit of umph.
2)Volume. Decent sized media baskets and a pretty large canister. Lots of room for anything you want to use, sponges, bio, chemical. Plenty of room inside for lots of setup options.
3)Volume again. This time sound volume. This thing is very quiet for it's size. about on par with an Xp3 and maybe even a bit quieter.
4)No bypass. Simple design, but water has one way in and out passing through all media in the filter.
The Bad--------
1)Intake and Output Hardware. Pretty much the worst. other than the sparaybars i used mostly spare XP series parts for the intake and output. Several pieces broke and a few just didn't fit together at all.
2)Maintenance. This thing is heavy and has no handles so moving it is not easy. It also leaks out the top even when picking it up from the bottom. Very awkward filter to move. I'm spoiled by my Xp's when it comes to maintenance i guess.
3)Priming. just doesn't work. Hoses are cut as short as i can possibly make them and the priming lever just doesn't create enough suction to fill the canister. I have to fill it manually which means once again lifting a lot of water unless you fill it once in your cabinet..
4)Directions. basically just a rough guide. not very specific or detailed.
5) Leaks???? WTF?? I've made habit of using what i call "oh sh*t" buckets under all my canisters. Basically just a rubbermaid storage container that the canister sits in just in case a leak were to happen. Small puddle of water next to the canister. Pulled the canister out, reseated the top and haven't had an issue since. But, it did happen.........
All in all is it worth 100 bucks? Yeah, it's definitely worth the money I guess, but the maintenance part of it is a big deal for me. I like a canister thats easy to work with and this isn't it. But it does still offer a lot of bang for the buck.......
curious as to what other think about out these filters
