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Sera 130

Joined
17 Mar 2012
Messages
2,003
Location
Dorset
Just received this from Amazon and pleasantly surprised that it came with not only coarse and fine sponges but a bag of their very nice Siporax and a bottle of “filter starter”.

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I like the look of these, but would probably opt for the Boyu version as it's a re-brand and Sera take quite a cut for the media/bacteria.
 
I’m mindful of being able to get spares like impellers and shafts etc. I’ve seen these offered for all the German filters but not for the Far East brands. I suppose they are available but I couldn’t see any when I last looked a few years back.

This filter is very similar to the TetraTec 400 I bought some years ago which has been very good.
 
I’m mindful of being able to get spares like impellers and shafts etc. I’ve seen these offered for all the German filters but not for the Far East brands. I suppose they are available but I couldn’t see any when I last looked a few years back.

This filter is very similar to the TetraTec 400 I bought some years ago which has been very good.

Well if you got a Boyu, you could still use the Sera parts as they're the same filter.

Same with Sunsuns which All Pond Solutions rebrand.
 
I’ve not wet tested it yet but I’m happy with my purchase. Bought from Amazon with next day delivery I know if there’s any problem with it for the next year it will be replaced or refunded without quibble. Also having access to PDF documents and a full spares service from Sera is nice.
 
Hi @Aqua sobriquet

I will watch this thread with interest. I gave serious consideration to this very filter a couple of years ago. I like the idea of the integral UV lamp. In the end, I chose the Eheim Ecco Pro 130 with an external Aqua Medic UV-C sterilizer. But, it was 50/50. So, I metaphorically tossed a coin!

JPC
 
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To be honest I looked at the Sera 130 over 7 years ago but couldn’t find a UK stockist at the time and postage from Germany was expensive. Things have changed though and they seem to be a more commonly available. I was in two minds whether to get the UV model or not but the one without wasn’t available from Amazon Prime so I was wondering if it was fate and clicked the buy button! I had, at one point years ago been looking at inline UV lamps anyway.
 
I’ve just been looking at some of the bits I need to start setting up and I’ve come across a small issue. Whilst my very similar looking TetraTec EX400 came with taps built into the manifold the Sera 130 doesn’t. This isn’t an issue for me as I already have a set of unused Eheim 12/16 double taps. The problem is that the supplied Sera hose is actually 14/18 which is an unusual size for aquarium use as far as I know? The hose fits the filter very well but is too loose on the taps. Luckily I have some other hose and 12/16 can be fitted to the filter if softened in hot water. This means I can now use the double taps but not the Sera hose and inlet/outlet pipes. Again not an issue for me as such because I have some more hose and plan to use stainless steel 12/16 inlet outlet when I can get them. Without using taps all the supplied fittings are fine of course.

Just for info these are sections of some of the hoses I have for comparison. From L/R Eheim, Tetra, JBL grey and Sera.

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Double taps fitted.

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That's really odd, never knew 14/18 hose existed.

Is 16/22 too big? I'd be concerned about restricting the flow with 12/16 hoses.
 
Yes, and it wouldn’t fit anything else I have. My other two filters are also 300 LPH and have the standard 12/16 hose so I’m not concerned about flow. I also don’t want a 16mm inlet/outlet in a 60L Nano.

Small update in case it’s of interest. It occurred to me that as the manifold is easily detached at cleaning time I don’t actually need double taps, singles would do. I wondered if 16mm Eheim taps might fit and look a bit neater and also allow a bit more room in the cabinet so I ordered a couple. They arrived this morning and fitting the 14/18 hoses to them proved to be difficult. I then remembered I have some silicone grease for tricky things like this. I put a tiny amount on the tap and then wiped off as much as I could with my fingers and the hose slipped on easily. It’s a tight fit but the clamp rings on the tap don’t grip the hose so I’ll put a couple of cable ties on to be doubly sure.
 
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