Eheim Pro 3, Eheim Classic 2250, Or Fluval Fx5

[ibbledibble]

my boyfriends tank is a 5ft 110gal with two oscars, two convict pairs, several convict babies, a rusty plec and a common plec we are fish-sitting for a friend.
its currently filtered with a fluval 404 and 2 stingray filters and receives weekly 25% water changes. but we would like to improve the filtration on it and i have come up with the aforementioned 3 filters.
we're currently leaning towards the ehiem classic or the fluval as the pro 3 is so expensive. but would like to hear from some people who have used the filters and can say how good they are.
the only one i have actually seen in person was a fluval fx5 in LFS. but it seemed quite flimsy and looked like there could be a lot of bypass. i could be completely wrong of course and as i say haven't seen the others so they may not look any better.
anyway i'm starting to ramble a little now, so any advice welcome

 

[adamgreen240]

the fx5 is amazing

gets my vote

 

[DarkEntity]

Stick with the Ehiems, they will last you forever.

 

[CFC]

If you have Pro 3 money then get the Pro 3, the feed back on them has been faultless and being an Eheim they will as Dark Entity said last forever, but they are a lot of money and unless you are either filthy rich or a equipment freak that has to have a filter with bells and whistles they actually do the same job as a cheaper filter, they just have more fancy gadgets on them.

The Eheim classics are timeless and have a more realistic price tag, these are my choice of canister filter. They are very basic without even a self priming mechanism but loaded with the right media they give great filtration, they have low power consumption and they litterally run forever and ever, when you hear of people who have Eheims that are over 20 years old its almost certainly an Eheim classic.

Fluvals i dont recommend, i've not tried the FX5 but from past experiences with the 303 and 304 models i would rather filter my tanks with a margarine tub filled with gravel and an air stone than fit a Fluval to my tanks.

 

[DarkEntity]

On a side note ive just replaced my Ecco2236 with a Pro2 and it is rather nice

 

[littleT]

Hello ibbledibble
You can never go wrong with a Eheim. I have the Eheim pro 2226 and I love it I have had no problem out of it and I have had it for about 7 yrs I think a long time anyway. I just recently bought a rena filstar xp2 also and it is great as well. I have never owned a fluval but I have heard a lot of people say they have had trouble with them but they are still some people that get them and love them. But I passed on trying them myself. I hope you end up getting a filter you like. Good luck. Let us know

 

[Lateral Line]

I use only Eheim. Almost all of mine are "Classics" and some are real classics, like 20 years old! I don't need the Pro gear, but they are good stuff.

I've never had a Fluval that didn't leak. Not a big leak, enough to put 5mm in it's bucket per week type of leak. They are supposed to be better now, but I wouldn't bother anymore.

 

[bigstevo]

I also use eheim on my 600ltr tank, 1 pro2 2028 and 1 wet&dry thermo 2329..... they keep the tank superb, as people have said they are expensive and do last forever so i guess you get what you pay for