Jump to content

Waaaaaaah - My New Fluval 404 turned up today


Tanksman

Recommended Posts

Well it finally arrived - This so called leading brand Fluval 404 canister filter - Oooh exciting - Spent an hour or so setting it up using the poor instructions it comes with - And SHOCK HORROR - missing critical parts - :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil: -grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr - - Gee I'm glad I bought quality

And surprise surprise won't be able to contact supplier til Monday - Thank goodness I'll have had a chance to mull by then :x:o :evil:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks Shae :roll:

After 24 hours to lick my wounds I'm glad I bought it and it will be working soon enough. Night shift sends me toward the abyss... Just annoying that the three cheapo aqua one cf700's I have, have all turned up fully operational from day one - I guess the italians that put mine in the box were in a hurry for a siesta :x Might have to buy chinese made instead of italian :o

Link to comment
Share on other sites

i have lots of fluvals and they all work very well.also have a few chinese ones that work just as well(in canister filters)the internal fluval is the best.

the only problem i have ever had was with a eheim,missing bends in the pipes and stoped working after 4 years(bloody expensive filters)

what parts are missing?

jebao are cheep 1200lts/hr for about $130.00

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have actually rigged it now and its busily working away being cultured in my established 4 foot community - they getting a bit blown away by the flow tho :lol: I've had to restrict the flow a bit so thats good - cause it not staying there. It looks like a powerful filter unlike the aquaones which are good but a little more sedate.

And upon reflection I would have loved to buy it local however it would mean paying twice as much as from the Auckland supplier - Hamilton pet shops certainly know how to use a pricing gun - and as I already have to support the government I cannot afford to keep the retailer decked out like the governement is :wink: The best place to get them at the moment is Tropical Blues in Tirau - and that is awhile away too especially now we are supporting the opec arabs as well as the government. I would have paid an extra $50 to get it local but not $300 -

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I only use Fluvals.

3 x 404

1 x 403

1 x 303.

and they have all been working well for the past 8 years... that is the 03 series.

Went to Jansens in North Shore today and saw that all of the 04 model of Fluvals are 1/2 price while stocks last. (reason being the 05 model is coming out)

So if anyone is in need of a new filter better go to Jansens PRONTO :bounce:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Well I have got the ommited bits now and with some vaseline have managed to finally get this running without air leaks. Fortunately I was lucky enough to source another one from Jansens for a discounted rate. Unfortunately I now see the same shop I bought the first 404 in early January selling the 405 at the same price they sold me the obsolete 404 for.

Some might say well why am I still cranky then, I have a good filter -

Well even the Hagen website currently makes no mention of the 405 at all and is still refering to the obsolete stock - It is absurd that hobbyists will be unwittingly scimping to get a "quality" filter only to shortly later find out that for the same price they could have got this years improvements. Imagine the purchase dissonance if you had paid $550 for one of these that a LFS here in Hamilton wants for one - DAYLIGHT ROBBERY :evil: - Fortunately I havn't but I still paid more than I needed to -

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The 05s are up on hagens UK site, not the US one because they are not released there yet. - http://www.hagen.com/uk/aquatic/addinfo/fluval_05.html

I looked at the 05, and couldnt really see any improvement over the 04s that would make it worth getting, I have a 404 and a 204 on tanks here and they are faultless as far as I am concerned, and I would not hesitate to get one again. The only usefull change I can see is the intake strainer, and thats easy enough to change for something of your choosing anyway.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

And they include an instructional DVD with the 05s. I use a 204 and 404 on my 500l discus tank and aside from the occasional air leak (will try vaseline) they're smooth-as. I even got an old 403 sitting here ready to go if I can ever find an O-ring for it. Fluvals aren't as quiet as other brands, but still rank WAY up there over some of the cheap canister filters I've come across lately.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...
Fluvals aren't as quiet as other brands, but still rank WAY up there over some of the cheap canister filters I've come across lately.

What brands might they be. I agree Fluval's are not that quiet.

Anyway the cr$p gets deeper with the FLUVAL 404 by Hagen. I am trying to get the first one going without leaking air. It has been leaking air and with the great help of the retailer (Petplanet I can highly recommend) we are going through the process of replacing the parts that did come in the box. I put in some replacement seals today and we'll see how that goes. (to replace the brand new ones :o )

And after I did this I cleaned and tested the flow on a couple of Aqua one cf700's I have here. they are fine.

I next decided it's time to crack open the second "NEW" fluval 404 I bought on sale at Jansens. And blow me down - This piece of s#it is missing vital parts out of the box to. And this one won't be able to be rigged to get it going while I wait for parts OH MY GIDDY AUNT :evil: I suppose when I get parts for this pita it will leak air as well.

IF YOU ARE GOING TO BUY A FILTER DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY ON FLUVAL. ESPECIALLY NOT THE 04 SERIES. ALTHOUGH AS STATED ABOVE BY OTHERS THE 05 SERIES LOOKS THE SAME. :evil:

.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'd be having a chat with Jansens about the missing parts, not blaming fluvals. All mine work pretty much perfectly and MUCH better than my POS eheims.

Except the one with the impeller that's busted and I haven't gotten around to buying a new one.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

"Give it a shake" LOL

My 2213 (have 3 of these) i just suck on the outlet, let it syphon fill, when the water comes up the outlet pipe plug it in and off they go. One of them is 5 yrs old and only ever replace the filter wool twice a year.

I have heard of a few problems with the wet & dry Eheims but never heard a bad thing about the classic range.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...