Aqua One CF500 vrs Fluval 105 - which one?

[Eddieb]

Any recommendations?

I'm wanting to put one of these canister filters on an 85 litre 3 foot tank.

Aqua One CF500

up to 125 litres

~$110

Fluval 105

up to 100 litres

~$170

I've found lots of negative comments about Fluvals generally here but can't find much about Aqua One.

Thanks

[henward]

before i would say

get the knock off

cheap and value

aqua one is good, but fluval is exceptional

i found out why

when they make the plastic moulds, the fluvals have exact fit! meaning less leak and pressure loss so water is directed where you want it

also means when its clogged, it still filters but lets you kow by the outlet having a weak stream

the aqua ones and cheaper stuff, it doesnt have weaker streams untill its exccesively clogged, becaues it has gaps between trays and the fittings meaning that water still goes through, so the filtration isnt as good.

i would spend the 60 extra, the end of the day, you could potentially lose more in one bad day if you dont get a good filter.

but, 170, if you spend an extra little bit, you can upgrade to 205 which is far better and will future proof you.

if not, then 105 is definately the superiod product

i bought a knock off.... the shit oin it snapped

i have had my fluval for 9 years, no problems ever

[Discusguru]

I would say Aqua one is better. Bigger tray to put heaps of media.

I have more than a dozen Aqua one running in my fishroom. No broken parts and no dead fish either. Don't understand why you blame the filter when you have dead fish. I would put it down to poor fish keeper, inexperience and poor quality fish instead of bad filtration.

Just my opinion,

ron

[Adrienne]

I would go aqua one but a 700 instead of a cf500, i have all the range and they are great. I think they are about $80-90 up here but not sure of shipping.

[Silvia-15]

it depends on where you look, i realised that te aqua one range dont cost tat much (after i got my cf500 ten i realised that the cf1000 was only like 30 bux more).

so far no problems. i have cf500 running carbon only

[henward]

thats true

i agree

dead fish doesnt always mean bad filter

all im saying, that after looking into it - actually my friend did, he is an engineer that designes plastics and medical equiptment, he looked at it and said the following i just said.

that flow is good but if you have little tiny gaps, that always canabilises your filtration cos water bypasses your actual media

but, aqua one is good, i would say its very good, i have one too.

i bought cheaper knock offs and they were bad.

hence why most of lfs dont supply those cheaper ones anymore only aqua ones as the cheapest chinese knock off.

in saying that, if you have a fish room, it would suggest you have a breeding programme or really really into your fish, like me, who do regular water changes, probably minimum once or twice a week. if you are a discus breeder then probably more, i have heard discus breeders do daily water changes or the auto drip systems and stuff - not sure.

i would sitll go for fluval, its only 60 bux.

i guess, i just have a new found respect for fluvals and the quality of the craftsmanship and finish and everything, how they fit perfectly together making sure everything is water tight and that the trays all are really micro designed so water flow is directed into the media

[jim r]

Why not buy a bigger filter off trademe for $50- $70 and put a new impeller in ( that is about all that goes wrong)

[cichlid7]

Why not buy a bigger filter off trademe for $50- $70 and put a new impeller in ( that is about all that goes wrong)

any examples i can not see any :-?

[smidey]

i have a cf1000 & cf1200 & if was buying another filter would be getting another aqua one. pet planet is the best price & he ships.

[jim r]

Example: I bought a fluval 404 for $46 and paid $28 for an impeller so for $78 I got a very good filter.

[jim r]

$74, my mistake.

[Adrienne]

I also have just picked up a fluval 404 off tm for $40 buy now. $27 to get it up from ChCh to Auckland. Its nearly new, so good deals for other than cf filters do happen, just need to be patient which is okay if you don't have to have one straight away. I'm lucky though as occassionally I pop on tm during work hours which is when some of the best deals are listed.

Although, in saying this, as I have said above I'm more than happy with the cf filters.

[Lucid]

Aqua One CF500 vrs Fluval 105 - which one?

I personally ran a Jebo 815 on my 3 foot and since moving to larger tanks have upgraded to the Jebo 819's. We have had no probs at all with them, and they are a breeze to get started, easy to clean, and work very well indeed.

I would go with a Jebo over the others any day. Personal preference tho, as to which one you go with, but there are a few on here that use the jebo's and all have good things to say about them.

[ryanjury]

To be honest I don't like my 404 at all! It doesn't seem to actually pull much crap out of the water, yes it seems to be well built and flows alot of water, but I would go for a cf1200 or jebo 819 anyday taking into account price vs performance.. I do like my FX5 though

Out of all my externals (404 eheim 2213, several aqua ones and a jebo 819) I would say the best bang for your buck is the 819.

If your tank is only 85L why not use a hang on the back, internal or sponge filter? I only use externals on my larger 3ft's 150L+ or 4ft's etc..

[Caryl]

I got fed up with my Fluval 404 too and got a Jebo 819. Love it :lol:

[matthewY]

I ended up getting a Jebao 304 for my tank. Was a bit on teh high end for a cheap knock off but it was a good looking knock off (lookes just like teh ehiem ones). it also managed to steal some of teh features like push to prime. Theres a few guys selling it for $140 new, if you can get 2nd hand then that prob works well.

I think next time I open it up, I'm going to look at teh trays and see how well they fit. If i remembr right, they had a rubber "seal" around one of the trays to make it a close fit but maybe that just emans that it wasnt a good fit to begin with :-(

dotn have any otehr filters so cant compare but def push to prime is a useful thing to have.

[matthewY]

I ended up getting a Jebao 304 for my tank. Was a bit on teh high end for a cheap knock off but it was a good looking knock off (lookes just like teh ehiem ones). it also managed to steal some of teh features like push to prime. Theres a few guys selling it for $140 new, if you can get 2nd hand then that prob works well.

I think next time I open it up, I'm going to look at teh trays and see how well they fit. If i remembr right, they had a rubber "seal" around one of the trays to make it a close fit but maybe that just emans that it wasnt a good fit to begin with :-(

dotn have any otehr filters so cant compare but def push to prime is a useful thing to have.

[danilada]

I like Fluvals

[Eddieb]

If your tank is only 85L why not use a hang on the back, internal or sponge filter? I only use externals on my larger 3ft's 150L+ or 4ft's etc..

I have a hang on back at present (Aquaclear 50), it's working ok except when I had a moment last week when it packed it in cause the motor was full of poo, a good clean and it was away again. Otherwise it's been good, the water is clear and the fish appear happy & healthy.

However one thing I don't like is it barely disturbs the water as the pour back in is very smooth, there is no current in the tank so I have huge dead spots each end of the tank, basically 2/3'ds of the tank is still. The water just gets sucked into the filter and poured back in directly above the filter inlet again.

On top of that I'm about to start stocking my tank up and want something that will handle it without issue and intensive maintenance. I'd like to have something that has an inlet at one end of the tank and the outlet at the other to create a current down the tank.