Help me decide brand of filter and heater, please :)

"Harry Muscle" wrote in message
...
"NetMax" wrote in message
...

SNIP

What gets reported by people about their filters gets outdated very
quickly as manufacturer's release hardware revisions correcting any
problems found. Many of these revisions are not evident in the model
number. Check out the Fluval 304 or 404. The latest model has MSF
stamped on the chassis and uses cantileve les. This is what I
would purchase at this time.
SNIP

NetMax


Thanks NetMax, I'm just a little worried about the Fluvals since there
have
been way more reports about problems with them than any other canister
filter that I have read about. Granted, these were probably about the
older
, however, I also came across this review of what I'm guessing is
the
latest edition of the Fluvals, since they call it the MSF model:

http://www.fishinthe.net/html/reviews-11.html

I didn't like what they said about the maintenance aspect of these
filters
in that review, especially since, on another site (which I can't find
the
URL for right now) a quick comparison between the Fluvals and the
Filstar
filters gave the Fluval 2 out of 5 for maintenance, while the Filstar
got 5.
There was no more explanation as to why, etc, but it makes me think
that it
probably doesn't clog as quickly and it's easier to clean. If I find
that
site with that comparison, I'll post it.

Thanks,
Harry

Thanks for the link. The first reviewer detailed his findings more, but
had issues with maintenance. The next 7 reviewers thought is was easy to
clean but offered little details. It's always interesting the extremes
you can get from anecdotal reporting, though it's hard to imagine a
scenario which would require cleaning a canister filter every 2 weeks.

Two of my home canisters are Fluvals, eight of my work canisters are
Fluvals and I get feedback from many customers on the various filters I
sell or that they have purchased elsewhere. I also supply replacement
filter components to a wide demography (I have no competitor in my
store's neighbourhood), so I like to think I have a good handle on issues
such as serviceability and parts most likely to be replaced.

I can tell you that all my work Fluvals are on planted tanks, and some of
them *blush* I have not cleaned in over a year. I _do_ open them
periodically, but if everything looks good, I just give the bio-max a
rinse and back in it goes. Depending on your fish-load, you might find
that no accumulation occurs, (which one of my customers finds very
confusing, but his tank is overfiltered).

Servicing is flipping up 2 switches, 2 side latches and pulling the foam
or the media compartments upwards. I don't clean the impeller for normal
maintenance (though I probably should). My biggest complaint about
canisters is priming them, but newer models have very little air
entrapment, so it's just a technique to get used to. I start them dry
with the outlet in a pail. I then suck on the outlet and listen to the
water rush down into the filter and wait for it to reach the outlet.
Then I put the outlet where it belongs and turn it on. When servicing,
replace the canister as full of water as possible and there is no priming
needed, plug & go. This technique works equally well on all canister
models, regardless if they have priming capability (these priming pumps
have never impressed me and I would not pay extra for the feature). Some
very old canisters had pockets of air entrapment which would take several
hours to clear (shake the canister for a new batch of bubbles), but all
the newer models have the water move up the canister, taking air bubbles
with them.

Not much to say about impellers and catching debris. Impeller blades
either fold forwards (aggressive and high water flow), or they fold
backwards (runs quieter traps less material but has much lower torque) or
are straight-bladed (compromise between maintenance & torque). Next time
your canister is open, check your impeller blades orientation, but AFAIK,
all the canister manufacturers are using straight-blade design these
days, so there should be no significant differences between any of the
makes & models (all other things being equal, like the use of similar
strainers).

Like I've said before, with only one exception, all the big name
manufacturers have designs which have evolved through many years of
fine-tuning, so IMO there are no filters to avoid. The one exception is
a company which re-brands the Marineland Penguin into a cheaper filter by
eliminating the bio-wheel. This apparent cost saving renders an
excellent design to be almost useless. How can you preserve your
nitrifying bacteria when you need to throw it away with a proprietary
filter pouch full of carbon? This was a case of the accountants decision
over-riding the designers and common sense.

Like I said, IMHO, best value today, check out the Fluval 304 or 404 for
yourself. Have someone show you exactly how it gets serviced. Compare
it with other manufacturers. Check what parts are washable or need to be
replaced. Compare the surface area of the pre-filter sponge. Internet
research is great, but it's never the complete story, and not everyone's
expectations and applications will be the same.

NetMax