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Which filter? New to externals.

B

Barry Wang

Seedling
Joined
20 Dec 2009
Messages
16
Location
Leeds
Hi all
Just after some input on an external filter. I have been searching the web but there are so many.
I have a juwel rio 180 and currently just use the internal filter that came with the tank, i have never owned an external filter before.
The tank is well planted with a koralia 1 to help with flow.

a few things im looking for.
Heater in the filter
Must be quite (the misses gets annoyed with the slight humming coming from my internal filter)
Price not too important, but the cheaper the better.
Could do with it being as small as possible, to fit in my cabinet.

Are there any makes i should avoid?
Hope someone can point me in the right direction.
Thanks in advance
 
Go with something from the Eheim range after having several different makes, my pair of 2078 electronics are silent and mega quality in build. Buy the best and most powerful you can afford remebering the 10x turnover rule as a minimum or you will have to start buying more kit messing up the tank space if you find a shortfall in circulation which is all important regards Colin.
 
Typically we planted people would be looking for 10x the tank turn over per hour, so in your case a filter rated at 1800lph or more. That's going to be tricky to be honest, especially if you want it silent. If you have space to have two filters, then two tetratex ex1200's would be good which gives you 2400lph (the more the better really).

The new aqua-one filters, which are Maidenhead Aquatics branded have the largest filter rated at 2200lpg, but Ive no idea how noisy that would be.

http://www.fishkeeper.co.uk/Prodshowroo ... spx?id=258

Google any ones you like the look of as I've found guides/reviews for most filters over the years :)

Sam
 
Hi Barry,

If you want the heater out of the tank then Hydor do an inline heater (ETH 200) which would suit your tank and widen your choice of filters to use.

Eheim filters are generally regarded as the best but come with a price tag to match. I use the Tetratech EX1200's (expect to pay £80 or so if you shop around) of which I have two on my 250L planted tank and they are very quite, adaptable (4 filter trays) and easy to use/clean. At about half the cost of a similarly rated Eheim they do IMO offer good value for money.

The guideline of having a 10x flow rating on your planted tank hasn't got to be all filtration. It can and is by many of us supplimented by circulation pumps and I can see from your OP that you already do this.

Regards, Chris.
 
Thanks guys

I was thinking of the eheim 2075 with a Hydor inline heater
Ive read about the Tetratec EX1200 seems like alot of people use them, but there seems to be issuse with them leaking which i cant afford (i live in a second floor rented appartment)
The AquaManta seems good for the money, but i can't seem to find any reviews.

Im going to the PATS show in harogate next week so maybe get to see a few thing there.

Cheers, Barry.
 
Barry, where in leeds are you?
I've read that aquamanta's are made by tetra or designed by the same man who is resposible for the ex series. The issue with the ex1200's leaking is a very minor thing, even ehiems will leak time to time. For the same money you could get the JBL, e1500, I have both and you're more than welcome to pop by to compare the two.
 
JBL e1500 :text-+1: :text-+1:

However I noticed that the price has gone up alot since I got mine 3-4 months ago. I paid under £80 for mine :)
 
Yeah I paid £70 something for mine too. It's because the euro is strong against the pound, prices reflect that accross the board, I remember ex1200's going for about £60!
 
That is a massive price increase! I was going to buy one this week expecting to pay £89.95!

Back to the drawing board... need a big filter that will fit in a Rio 180 cabinet?
 
The biggest of the aquamantas is quite noisy but as they are moving so much water a certain amount of noise has to be expected. If you need extra hose for it don't trust what it says in the book. It uses an odd size hose that MA don't stock o_O so if you need extra hose you may have an interesting time. Hose is too big for inline heaters and diffusers too.

Cheap and powerful though
 
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