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Allpondsolutions 1400ef+

Can you let me know what the major issues are? Whilst I have a 1400 now I am only a week or two into ownership and haven't done any filter maintenance yet so not been exposed to any issues.

Flow wise I removed all but last piece of white padding and flow was much improved.
It is just a cheap low quality fiter in my opinion. The baskets are a pain in the blahblahblahblah to get out sometimes, the pipe kinks easily, definatly not anywhere near 2000 lph, the intake pipe lets air in (just randomly started filling up with air and stopped the filter dead).The way I see it while it may cheap, I know it won't last half as long as my Eheim and JBL filters.
 
Hmmm I'm using eheim install set so that won't be the issue, I have a feeling air is getting through the head unit somehow....
If you can see air bubbles in the intake tubing you know its the installation set, if not contact all pond solutions and tell them whats the matter and they should send new seals or a new head altogether. It may be worth taking the filter apart and putting the head back on first thought see if that fixes it.
 
It is just a cheap low quality fiter in my opinion. The baskets are a pain in the blahblahblahblah to get out sometimes, the pipe kinks easily, definatly not anywhere near 2000 lph, the intake pipe lets air in (just randomly started filling up with air and stopped the filter dead).The way I see it while it may cheap, I know it won't last half as long as my Eheim and JBL filters.

Understand, clearly some frustrations coming out there ;) I needed a cheap filter given 2 eheim's nearly flooded me out. I have eye on new tank in next 12 months and that may mean fx5 so cheap 12-15 month solution.
 
Understand, clearly some frustrations coming out there ;) I needed a cheap filter given 2 eheim's nearly flooded me out. I have eye on new tank in next 12 months and that may mean fx5 so cheap 12-15 month solution.
Yeah quite a lot of fustration, up until the air problems I was ok with it :) They're not that bad I suppose ...
 
If you can see air bubbles in the intake tubing you know its the installation set, if not contact all pond solutions and tell them whats the matter and they should send new seals or a new head altogether. It may be worth taking the filter apart and putting the head back on first thought see if that fixes it.
Hmmm I have seen bubbles in the inlet. Just changed my inlet strainer this evening, will keep an eye on it.....thanks for help.
 
You'll get bad examples in all filters - I've had issues with Ehiems - but you'd hope more expensive filters would have better quality control as well as maybe a better build quality.

My APS 2000 is great if you don't expect it to perform like a filter 5 times it's price. It's as quiet as my Ehiem (and they are running next to each other on my 750l tank), it has a larger capacity (though I leave it half empty to improve the flow rate) and it's easy to clean with strong, positive clips (better then my Ehiem 2128 IMO).
Downsides - the plastic used for baskets and inlet/outlets is very cheap and brittle, the inlets aren't air tight and don't fit well, the outlets are too narrow and would restrict the flow too much (so I use the 45 degree bits of pipe from a Juwel filter as they are the right diameter) and it can be a pain to get all the air out after cleaning. Overall I'm happy with the balance between ups and downs and will enjoy using mine. And if it gives up in a couple of years I can get another for £60!
 
It is just a cheap low quality fiter in my opinion. The baskets are a pain in the blahblahblahblah to get out sometimes, the pipe kinks easily, definatly not anywhere near 2000 lph, the intake pipe lets air in (just randomly started filling up with air and stopped the filter dead).The way I see it while it may cheap, I know it won't last half as long as my Eheim and JBL filters.

and it can be a pain to get all the air out after cleaning.

I've been using an APS 2000 for over a year now. Totally no problems. It has never stopped unless I turned it off. I haven't had trapped air in it at any stage and I am using the original pipes/hoses. I've replaced the floss with 2 coarse and 2 fine sponges on top of the other bio noodles/balls and extra bio balls, all 4 baskets are filled to the top and I have never had flow reduction or issues and I don't go mad cleaning filters that often either.
I don't really understand what the issues with the baskets are. I find them totally fine and can take them out as easy as I like. I don't use the spraybar at all. I think it does reduce the flow. I don't know whether it's due to the narrower section of the outlet connection. It's possible that replacing with the right size 18mm ID spraybar it may work better. I don't know what one means by the pipes kinking easily. Neither the hose or the pipes kink easily.

There's no problem priming it or taking the air out after cleaning. In fact, it's a breeze compared to 2nd hand Eheim I have which I am dreading opening again. And I totally dislike the Eheim green pipes so had to replace these. The APS filter should never be filled with water to the top, just a bit below the top basket. It takes one or two pushes down, plug it in and it primes itself then as long as you haven't filled it to the top which is the reason some people have problems priming these. It may take slightly more pushes the first ever time, but never afterwards.

So this is my opinion, totally different than most others but the same applies to other brand filters users.

I bought a second APS 2000 a month ago for another tank and I can tell they've improved the fit of the inlet and outlet pipes because it took a bit to push them together, so they aren't as flimsy anymore but that has never made a problem with the first filter. From what I've found out by researching, initially the APS's had some major design fault which was soon corrected, but some of the old batch was still being sold around by 3rd party to unsuspecting customers.

You can have issues with any filter or brand you buy. Eheim filters are just better marketed than others and people get convinced they are the best, but if you research more you'll find out numerous "known" issues with leakng and Eheim, even the "new" ones. Tetratecs the same, especially common with the x1200. Both manufacturers produced improved parts in the later production, sending replacement parts free of charge to complaining customers, etc.. The JBL are getting a reputation of reducing the flow a lot after a few months as well. So it's a hard and personal choice what to get.
 
I've been using an APS 2000 for over a year now. Totally no problems. It has never stopped unless I turned it off. I haven't had trapped air in it at any stage and I am using the original pipes/hoses. I've replaced the floss with 2 coarse and 2 fine sponges on top of the other bio noodles/balls and extra bio balls, all 4 baskets are filled to the top and I have never had flow reduction or issues and I don't go mad cleaning filters that often either.
I don't really understand what the issues with the baskets are. I find them totally fine and can take them out as easy as I like. I don't use the spraybar at all. I think it does reduce the flow. I don't know whether it's due to the narrower section of the outlet connection. It's possible that replacing with the right size 18mm ID spraybar it may work better. I don't know what one means by the pipes kinking easily. Neither the hose or the pipes kink easily.

There's no problem priming it or taking the air out after cleaning. In fact, it's a breeze compared to 2nd hand Eheim I have which I am dreading opening again. And I totally dislike the Eheim green pipes so had to replace these. The APS filter should never be filled with water to the top, just a bit below the top basket. It takes one or two pushes down, plug it in and it primes itself then as long as you haven't filled it to the top which is the reason some people have problems priming these. It may take slightly more pushes the first ever time, but never afterwards.

So this is my opinion, totally different than most others but the same applies to other brand filters users.

I bought a second APS 2000 a month ago for another tank and I can tell they've improved the fit of the inlet and outlet pipes because it took a bit to push them together, so they aren't as flimsy anymore but that has never made a problem with the first filter. From what I've found out by researching, initially the APS's had some major design fault which was soon corrected, but some of the old batch was still being sold around by 3rd party to unsuspecting customers.

You can have issues with any filter or brand you buy. Eheim filters are just better marketed than others and people get convinced they are the best, but if you research more you'll find out numerous "known" issues with leakng and Eheim, even the "new" ones. Tetratecs the same, especially common with the x1200. Both manufacturers produced improved parts in the later production, sending replacement parts free of charge to complaining customers, etc.. The JBL are getting a reputation of reducing the flow a lot after a few months as well. So it's a hard and personal choice what to get.

You may have not have experience these problems with this filter but I, and many, many others have, I would show you what I mean about the pipes kinking, sucking in air, low flow rate and priming issues but there is no point.
I do not agree with you that ''Eheim filters are just better marketed than others and people get convinced they are the best'' , Eheim filters are workhorses and are a quality well made filter IMO, I have a 20+ year old 2213 which still works perfectly now.
I also love JBL filters, not just eheim and I consider JBL filters, performance and quality wise level with eheim. But with eheim I know I will easily be able to get spares if I break anything in 10 years time.
Just a heads up as well on the same tank as the 2000lph APS I am running a JBL E700 with a 300w hydor ETH inline, the APS drops in flow a lot faster than the JBL (which I could clean every 3-4 months with no significant drop in flow) to the point where it is almost the same flow rate as a freshly cleaned JBL E700.
I honestly hand on heart think anyone would be better off with 2 E700's than 1 APS 2000lph, but obviously a used Eheim 2262 would win hands down:)
So yeah, I got it because I wanted a powerful filter to give a decent flow through a 240l tank and ended up having to use a JBL as well, I should have just went with a decent brand from the start.
 
You may have not have experience these problems with this filter but I, and many, many others have, I would show you what I mean about the pipes kinking, sucking in air, low flow rate and priming issues but there is no point.

I can't speak from "many many others" point of view but I can speak from my own point of view and I can also show you if you like how fast the filter can be primed and that the pipes don't kink at all. They are quite tough, especially compared to the JBL ones for example which are horrible and do kink a lot. And one can change the pipes if they like. I've no idea what you mean by the filter sucking in air as I haven't experienced that. I hadn't cleaned the filter in 6 months after setup so I know it doesn't drop the flow. I know a person who has to clean a JBL in an undersocked tank fairly often because the flow goes to non-existent, so again different opinion and experience.
You don't mention what type of media each filter you've tried had as this is signifficant as well considering they all come with their "own brand" or people put their own thing inside, including putting the wrong stuff in the wrong tray, the wrong amount, which would affect the flow. The lenght of the pipes also matters. You mentioned yours kinked somehow so I guess that was another problem causing reduction in flow. If you used it with the spraybar, the flow is considerably lower I agree. Also, how would the pipes suck air I wonder, unless you had the tank half empty or similar. Also, when you have a multiple filter setup, the one with higher flow rate will be filtering more water, hence it will be taking in more debris at certain given time, so logically it will need maintenance more often and the flow can be affected faster if the tank is too dirty.

Eheim or any other filter aren't fail proof at all. I'd never rely on a 10 years of age filter regardless of the parts availability. By the way, where I live they aren't available at all, hardly even online all the parts can be ordered and the prices are steep for an old filter. I had to fix my 2nd hand Eheim recently and I did it just to try if I made the right diagnose, not that it was worth paying for the parts and delivery here.
 
Also, when you have a multiple filter setup, the one with higher flow rate will be filtering more water, hence it will be taking in more debris at certain given time, so logically it will need maintenance more often and the flow can be affected faster if the tank is too dirty.
I disagree, yes the APS 2000 will have more water pass through it per hour, and yes it should take in more debris but the filter is much bigger, the debris should be alot more diluted in the filter due to its larger capacity.
I run the APS 2000 half full of the media they supplied, had to remove the filter pads as they reduce the flow too much. The pipes get kinked easily so I have to move them around a lot to stop the flow getting even lower. I don't use a spraybar or any of the elbows as I can't let the flow get any worse IMO.
 
Just out of curiousity as obviously we've got different experience, but is the flow from the filter coming out strong, like horizontal from the outlet if you've tested, or is yours slow and falling straight down? As for the kinking pipes, the JBL ones I've got on another filter are way worse so that's just not a measure of how the filter performs as long as you manage not to kink them which I can with no problem. I am using even the entire lengh of the supplied hose.
 
I'll try to take a video when I do a water change in the next few days. It would be interesting if you can do one on yours just to compare.
Mine has 2 coarse and 2 fine sponges on the 4 trays respectively. Additionally it has at the bottom a layer of bio noodles that came with the tank, then the black plastic bio balls that also came with the tank, then a layer of some JBL balls I got to replace the carbon tray, full to the brim, then the top is just one fine sponge with purigen on top.
 
I done a water change and cleaned it out this weekend, its not quite as powerful as yours though but its not a million miles off. I will get an actual flow rate tomorrow or sometime this week.
 
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