SunSun HW-5000 Coming Soon 1215 gph

[Fish Tank Travis]

Hey everyone, it’s been a while since I’ve been on here. I’ve been busy getting ready for a baby girl that we will be having in August.

I had to get on here and let everyone know about this new SunSun filter I saw that will be coming to the US soon. The SunSun HW-5000 comes with an adjustable controller and is definitely a knockoff FX6. However, it will only cost about $169.99 and advertises 1215 gph of flow. It still comes with SunSun’s standard 9W UV sterilizer.

For a better overview, here are a few unboxing videos from people that got them early:

It definitely looks like it could be a great option, especially since you could buy two for less than the price of one FX6.

Let me know what you all think. I’m pretty excited to hear more about it.

 

[Backfromthedead]

Interested in hearing your review! 1215 gph sounds interesting but i think thats too much for a canister to be used for bio. It would make a hell of a water polisher packed with floss though.

 

[Fish Tank Travis]

IME, the gph rating SunSun gives is probably the bare pump sitting in water. Once you take into account the hose and fitting restrictions, and filling it with media, you will probably lose at least a third of that flow, if not closer to half. I would say you’d be lucky to get 800 gph once it’s all setup. That’s still really good flow though.

Unfortunately, I don’t have any need for one of these filters and will probably not be getting one, at least not anytime soon. I do have a 303B on my son’s 29 gal tank. My 220 has a 55 gal sump though, so I have nothing to put it on.

I am looking forward to hearing from anyone else that gets it for one of their tanks. If I had to choose between this or an FX6, I would go with this HW-5000 for sure.

 

[PYRU]

Awesome so now instead of breaking and leaking 400gph on the floor...it will leak 1215gph.

I foresee problems. The clamp and def the shutoff valves. i wonder if you can go with fluval valves. That was the prob with cfs-500 I had.

I use to recommend Sunsun but after mine split seams 3yrs in I got a bad taste in my mouth

 

[xraycer]

IME, the gph rating SunSun gives is probably the bare pump sitting in water. Once you take into account the hose and fitting restrictions, and filling it with media, you will probably lose at least a third of that flow, if not closer to half. I would say you’d be lucky to get 800 gph once it’s all setup. That’s still really good flow though.

If I had to choose between this or an FX6, I would go with this HW-5000 for sure.

+1

I just got my 4th Sunsun 304b last week. I have 2 Sunsuns, and an Odyssea that's been running my 180 for the past 6 years. The Sunsun's pump appears to have a life span of around 5 years, but at a price of only around $90, I think it's a good deal.

 

[Louis Orem]

I have had the Sun Sun Hw5000 for a few weeks now. The quality is much better than their previous products. The valves are not an issue at all. And the flow rate with the filter full of media is excellent. I find it troublesome that people review a product without actually owning the product.

 

[Matteus]

I have had the Sun Sun Hw5000 for a few weeks now. The quality is much better than their previous products. The valves are not an issue at all. And the flow rate with the filter full of media is excellent. I find it troublesome that people review a product without actually owning the product.

Keep us updated in 6 months or even a year from now. Only time can really tell if they have truly improved anything on their quality.

 

[islandguy11]

I too am interested to see more info and reviews about this newest Sunsun (and Thx for sharing your positive experience so far Louis Orem).

Similar to Backfromthedead I'm also wondering how efficient a higher flow rate is with regards to beneficial bacteria in a canister filter. But then I also think of my experiences canyoning in some high flow waterfalls -- the rocks are treacherously slippery even in very strong falls, due to algae/slime build up on the rocks, even with tons of water pouring down on them.

If those rocks (which are much smoother than most of our biomedia) can support algae growth in such situations, then I'm thinking beneficial bacteria may also do ok. That said a waterfall has plenty of oxygen exposure, more like a huge trickle filter, whereas a canister filter is enclosed, which would likely affect the equation quite a bit.

In any case the HW-5000 does have digitally controlled output, so one can easily lower the flow rate. And in this regard it's arguable that the HW-5000 is superior to the Fluval FX-6: I would think that using valves to control output, while not super detrimental, will surely result in more wear and tear to motor/impeller compared to electronically controlling the wattage/output (which can also save on electricity costs).

But as Matthew alludes to only time will tell if this digital output controller and other aspects of the HW-5000 are dependable. I did a bit of research to see if anyone was having problems with the HW-3500 (5000's predecessor) controller or other problems but couldn't find any such references -- though admittedly I don't think there are tons of people who actually have the 3500),

 

[Shane.devon]

My old Rena filstar died on my 75 leaving just the sponge and a magnum 350… so I stole a 304b off another tank and was in need of a new filter for it anyways. I was going to buy the hw 3000 until I saw there was the hw5000 coming out soon. I've spent the last month or 2 checking for it and finally yesterday found one on Amazon. It will be here by Thursday. I'm interested to see how well it will work

 

[islandguy11]

My old Rena filstar died on my 75 leaving just the sponge and a magnum 350… so I stole a 304b off another tank and was in need of a new filter for it anyways. I was going to buy the hw 3000 until I saw there was the hw5000 coming out soon. I've spent the last month or 2 checking for it and finally yesterday found one on Amazon. It will be here by Thursday. I'm interested to see how well it will work

Good for you, let us know what you think after receiving and setting it up.