The Puffer Forum

I have as some of you know a 30 inch tank, up to now my water quality has been ok/so-so, I have been using an INTERPET filter designed to match my litreage but although clean and quite clear the water just wasn't quite crystal, no-one else can see it but me, but you guys will know when it just isnt quite right dont you?

Anyhow i was offered a new fluval 3 from a friend at a dedicated fish shop in dundee, it was box open but never used (carbon sponge missing or something) anyway put it in and turned it on, straight away the current was very strong in comparision, 30 minutes later perfectly crystal clear water, i put a bit of old filter media in new filter for a helping hand but fluval in my opinion is a far superior product to go with.

Only paid £25 too cos box damage, shelf price was £45 or something. You guys probably already know this but hey im all excited about my new purchase and your gonna hear about it

I run a few Fluval 4 series filters and the only thing I really don't care for on them is the tubing. Being corrugated tubing it builds "slime" and crud in it. When you shut down and restart the filter you get a discharge of this gunk (like the technical terms? ) in to your tank. I reaplaced the tubing with a smooth tubing and it stopped happening.

I had that with my eheim external, when my son kicked it by mistake (as hes 17 months old) it filled my tank with shart. Changed to 2 internals instaed not as aesthetically pleasing but very effective, thats in my 4' tank

LOL great running filter but I hate it. Priming the thing never works and I've had quite a few "discussions" with mine.

Can't complain when you get it for that price though

I know what you mean, all you could hear was bubbles and no pressure, as you say it was cheap (about the same as the 2 fluvals) but the fluvals just plug and play and do what they set out to do.

Will this filter run well one a 29 gallon? I'm looking for a canister filter to use along with my HOBs.

Should do yes it says on the box 90-130 litres, 29 gallons is about 132 litres, you cant get closer than that.

The Tetratec EX canister filters work wonders as well; I use those on all of my tanks, no problems. Easy to prime, clean and run. Tubing is the smooth sort. The only complains I have are:
* the stopper at the end of the outflow pipe can sometimes pop out with the pressure of the water. I tend to seal mine on with aq. sealant as a precaution;
* the plastic screws used to tighten up the connection between tubing and canister are a little flimsy. Just don't overtighten them and there's no problem...otherwise expect a creaking and a snapping sound followed by panic

Fluval internal filters are absolutely my favorite. They are the best in my opinion. I've testet many internal filters, and only one can be compared to Fluval, and that's an Eheim (not Aquaball - that one I don't like) Fluval internal filters are not perfect, but still the best of internal filters. The weak part is that you have to clean the impeller quite often, as it's more sensitive to dirt on the impeller than other filters (maybe except Juwel filters - they have the same problem).

If you want to make Fluval filters even better, you take out the filter casette (or whatever it's called), and replace it with a not too fine filter sponge. As you take out the whole casette (including the sponges, of course), you will have room for more sponge than was in the filter when you bought it. And that means more rook for filter bacteria when it's cycled. You don't need to rinse the filter as often as before either (keeping cories and suckermouths means trouble with filters getting clogged quite often). I see a huge difference.

I have a Fluval 3 plus underwater filter in my 20Gal. I love it keeps the water clear and its pretty quite too. It also has a power head option built in.