Daniel Posted October 5, 2006 Share Posted October 5, 2006 You can get the Eheim Pro 3 for under $600. Instead of using the Eheim media, just buy some cheap noodles ($20 to $30) and use lava racks as biological media. That's essentially what Ehfisubstrat, Bio Strate, matrix etc are anyway. Just give it a very good rinse before you use it. Will cost you $10 for a 20 kg bag from your nursery. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Satanoperca Posted October 16, 2006 Share Posted October 16, 2006 Hi, I have just recently purchased a FX5. Afer some muck around I decided to replace the DIY pressurised cannister filter I made from a 35 lts drum due to low flow rates even with a 2000 ltr/hr pump - reduced down to 800ltrs at the tank. Firstly, after much DIY and research, the most critical element in moving large amounts of water around without massive pumps is tube/piping diameter. This model fuval delivers - 1". The whole filter and attachment is of good design and high quality with exception, the developers of this product went to all the trouble to create this filter and really f?????????? up with the outlet nozzell design. Having the water do a sharp 90 degree turn decrease pressure greatly. This has already been pointed out in a previous post. It is disappointing, that a company can spend so much money on tooling up for a product such as the FX5 and get 90% right but screw a small but critical component - nozzle design is critically important to pump pressure and water flow. A larger bend to the nozzles would reduce pressure greatly Overall, I am happy with the FX5, the design and oveall quality is excellent for the price paid. I will be changing the outlet nozzle designs and also re instating the DIY filter with a new pump. In recent posts on filtration, flow rates, types of filtration and media can be discussed to the end, but another critical factor in good tank/ filtration design is where your inlets/outlets are placed in the tank and their design is critical to provide the straightest path from pump to tank to maximise flow rates. In order to achieve maximum efficiency water movement/ circulation is another consideration. Benjamin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kilroy Posted October 16, 2006 Share Posted October 16, 2006 Hi, Does the outlet go to a spray bar or is it some other type of setup? I am looking at getting an FX5 myself for my new tank. Cheers Shane Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waruna Posted October 18, 2006 Author Share Posted October 18, 2006 Hi Daniel, interesting read but I still would have bought the FX5 just because it pumps more water than the Eheim. My tank is a 450L tank and I have two 2000L Project filters as well. I am a big fan of Eheims but I do think the FX5 is a very good filter specially for the price. I will be getting a Pro 3 but I don't have a tank to hook it up, may be my 4*2*2.......... In recent posts on filtration, flow rates, types of filtration and media can be discussed to the end, but another critical factor in good tank/ filtration design is where your inlets/outlets are placed in the tank and their design is critical to provide the straightest path from pump to tank to maximise flow rates. In order to achieve maximum efficiency water movement/ circulation is another consideration G' Day Benjamin, I agree, no matter how good the unit is, if it is not moving water it is not going to do a good job. Does the outlet go to a spray bar or is it some other type of setup? Hi Shane, it looks like this mate Cheers, Waruna Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kilroy Posted October 18, 2006 Share Posted October 18, 2006 Thanks mate, looks like a couple of PA speakers. Still gonna get one though!! Cheers Shane Thanks mate, looks like a couple of PA speakers. Still gonna get one though!! Cheers Shane Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Satanoperca Posted October 21, 2006 Share Posted October 21, 2006 In order to understand how flow rates are affected in cannister filters I have been doing some experiments. I setup my DIY pressurised cannister filter with no media and performed a series of tests based on the volume that it could fill in a bucket in 1 minute. The cannister had a 19mm outlet hose and two (2) 19mm inlet hoses - all with taps. 1. No cannister, just pump - 34ltrs 2. Cannister with one inlet on - 18ltrs 3. Cannister with two inlets on - 24 ltrs From the above, it seems that the diameter of the hoses connected to the cannister and it's flow rates can be dramatically affected - this is why the 1" hose on the FX5. I further connected up a series of different spray bars - in nearly all cases the flow rate was only reduced by 10% of that without the spray bar connected. This was also the case of the FX5 outlet attachment shown in previous post. This also included putting elbows at the ends of the outlets. The flow rate will then even be further reduced with slow flowing filter materials. Benjamin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waruna Posted October 24, 2006 Author Share Posted October 24, 2006 You are welcome Shane Thanks for the input Benjamin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CThompson Posted October 30, 2006 Share Posted October 30, 2006 You can get the Eheim Pro 3 for under $600. Instead of using the Eheim media, just buy some cheap noodles ($20 to $30) and use lava racks as biological media. That's essentially what Ehfisubstrat, Bio Strate, matrix etc are anyway. Just give it a very good rinse before you use it. Will cost you $10 for a 20 kg bag from your nursery. I don’t agree with that. Sure lava rocks have a surface area (internal and external), but it is grossly limited compared to specially produced bio media made for our tanks. Using lava rocks in areas with a limited size (such as in a canister filter), is very poor economy as efisubstate or matrix will out compete lava rocks easily when it comes to surface are, so comparing purchase prices doesn’t really cut it. Haven’t got the specks in front of me for efisubstate or matrix (someone else can look them up if they like), but lava rock has a “surface area of 16 cu.ft”. Nylon pot scrubbers do better than that with a “surface area of 370 cu.ft.” Also, I have been informed when larva rock is used in for example an open bio section in a pond for example, the individual pieces of rock bond together, and given long enough will form one large piece. Can’t even shovel it out . Craig Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CThompson Posted October 30, 2006 Share Posted October 30, 2006 I read through this post, it was an interesting read, even followed the links one of which eventually led to that comparison between the two filters (good read). At the end of the day, subjectivity will come into the choice of filter you make. But for what it’s worth, my take on choices faced with deciding what filter to purchase are in order; 1) Reliability (doesn’t matter how cheap or expensive the filter is if it can’t be relied on 24/7) 2) Effectiveness (has to work well, otherwise is false economy) 3) Noise level (I HATE a noisy filter, I wonder if this shouldn’t be at No. 2 for me?) 4) Wattage (will determine how much your “effective” final price/cost is) 5) Purchase price It is very easy to put the purchase price as No.1, as after all this is the bottom line. I can understand those who make a choice with this as their first decision maker, it is often the only choice you can choose from when money is so tight. What is interesting though, if you can remove the “cost” of such a decision, they are actually on the bottom of the list. Which leaves Eheim the clear winner. It is disappointing that Eheim decide to price themselves this way, but I guess they see the above list as how a filter should be chosen also. Craig Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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