New Fluval 304

I just picked up a Fluval 304 (Petsmart was giving them away - insert your
own joke), as I'll be moving to a larger tank later this year and want to
run a couple of 304s on it. It's running alonside my AC500 for now.

I searched for concerns regarding the flimsy rubber rings holding the tubing
in place, but found none. I guess there aren't any horror stories out there
about the output nozzle springing loose? I think I'll rubber band it as
well, you know belt and suspenders.

Secondly, they don't tell you what filter media they give you. One is
obviously Carbon and I gather the other is BioMax and not prefilter rings?

If your concerned about the rubber rings (I wouldn't be....I've never heard
of any failing), put a hose clamp on them and "gently" tighten it up.

They give you a sponge, carbon, and BioMax.



"Bill Stock" wrote in message
et.cable.rogers.com...
I just picked up a Fluval 304 (Petsmart was giving them away - insert your
own joke), as I'll be moving to a larger tank later this year and want to
run a couple of 304s on it. It's running alonside my AC500 for now.

I searched for concerns regarding the flimsy rubber rings holding the
tubing
in place, but found none. I guess there aren't any horror stories out
there
about the output nozzle springing loose? I think I'll rubber band it as
well, you know belt and suspenders.

Secondly, they don't tell you what filter media they give you. One is
obviously Carbon and I gather the other is BioMax and not prefilter rings?

On Wed, 04 Aug 2004 02:15:18 GMT, "Bill Stock"
wrote:

I just picked up a Fluval 304 (Petsmart was giving them away - insert your
own joke), as I'll be moving to a larger tank later this year and want to
run a couple of 304s on it. It's running alonside my AC500 for now.

I searched for concerns regarding the flimsy rubber rings holding the tubing
in place, but found none. I guess there aren't any horror stories out there
about the output nozzle springing loose? I think I'll rubber band it as
well, you know belt and suspenders.

For what it's worth, I had a Fluval 304 a few years ago on my 55g tank
and it worked okay, but the filter media needed to be cleaned out on a
regular basis. Of course, this could have just been because it tended
to suck up a lot of my more delicate plant leaves at the time.

Overall, the design was okay, and I didn't have any real problems with
it. There was one thing that bothered me, though. The plastic tubing
was kind of inflexible and a little too short, making it difficult to
keep the filter stored underneath the tank, inside the stand. Minor
stuff, but still annoying.

Secondly, they don't tell you what filter media they give you. One is
obviously Carbon and I gather the other is BioMax and not prefilter rings?

I think it is Biomax. You may be able to check what you have against
what other kinds of filter media is sold for the Fluval 304 until you
find the match. Mine came with carbon and some short, porous,
cyllindrical tubes that aided in biological filtration, I think.

Good luck with the new tank.

-Bill H.

"Bill H." wrote in message
...
On Wed, 04 Aug 2004 02:15:18 GMT, "Bill Stock"
wrote:

I just picked up a Fluval 304 (Petsmart was giving them away - insert
your
own joke), as I'll be moving to a larger tank later this year and want to
run a couple of 304s on it. It's running alonside my AC500 for now.

I searched for concerns regarding the flimsy rubber rings holding the
tubing
in place, but found none. I guess there aren't any horror stories out
there
about the output nozzle springing loose? I think I'll rubber band it as
well, you know belt and suspenders.

For what it's worth, I had a Fluval 304 a few years ago on my 55g tank
and it worked okay, but the filter media needed to be cleaned out on a
regular basis. Of course, this could have just been because it tended
to suck up a lot of my more delicate plant leaves at the time.

It's been doing well so far, been running a couple of weeks nows. I did wash
the sponge about a week ago, but the filter floss looked fine.

Overall, the design was okay, and I didn't have any real problems with
it. There was one thing that bothered me, though. The plastic tubing
was kind of inflexible and a little too short, making it difficult to
keep the filter stored underneath the tank, inside the stand. Minor
stuff, but still annoying.

Yeah, I probably should have left the tubes longer for the new tank.

Secondly, they don't tell you what filter media they give you. One is
obviously Carbon and I gather the other is BioMax and not prefilter
rings?

I think it is Biomax. You may be able to check what you have against
what other kinds of filter media is sold for the Fluval 304 until you
find the match. Mine came with carbon and some short, porous,
cyllindrical tubes that aided in biological filtration, I think.

Seems to be Biomax.

Good luck with the new tank.

Thanks.

-Bill H.

"Bill Stock" wrote in message
et.cable.rogers.com...
I just picked up a Fluval 304 (Petsmart was giving them away - insert your
own joke), as I'll be moving to a larger tank later this year and want to
run a couple of 304s on it. It's running alonside my AC500 for now.

I searched for concerns regarding the flimsy rubber rings holding the
tubing
in place, but found none. I guess there aren't any horror stories out
there
about the output nozzle springing loose? I think I'll rubber band it as
well, you know belt and suspenders.

Secondly, they don't tell you what filter media they give you. One is
obviously Carbon and I gather the other is BioMax and not prefilter rings?



__________________________________________

I'm not sure about the new ones, but I've been running both an old 304 and
an old 404 for about eight years with no problems (leaks etc.).