I have two APS 2000 externals and never had much of a problem. One running in my 215 litre tank.They are supplied with a lot of media but I just use the fourth basket with floss and purigen and the flow seems brilliant ,if anything a bit too severe.The first ones been running continously for probably going into 4 years now, only ever having the impellor changed once, that was a precaution not a wear and tear issue. The APS Site as brilliant spare part section with free postage so if you go ahead I would get a spare o ring and impellor but eh at the filters price not a problem. The only downside is ,and I dont know if it applies to expensive filters? you get a bit of background noise but not bad. Care is needed when replacing the motor head after maintainence once or twice I rushed it and got the annoying trickle, you need to ensure its really correctly aligned. I use both with a small APS powerhead alongside.