Fluval 305

[tenohfive]

I'm slowly expanding all of my tanks and have only used Eheim externals and Fluval internals - never Fluval externals. I might be able to get hold of a 305 cheaply, are they reasonably reliable?

 

[Squidward]

I have a 305, and find it fantastic.
Highly recommended.

 

[elisew]

I`ve used the fluvals and now have the FX5, never had any trouble with any of them except for the seal that had to be replaced on the 305, mind you it was second hand when I bought it.

I guess there are going to be opinions for and against but I personally have stuck with Fluvals for quite some time now and find them to be good filters

 

[tenohfive]

Which seal is it that went? I've heard reference to the same elsewhere, I'll order a spare just in case if it's cheap.

 

[tribalbrit]

I have had fluvals for 20+ years and never had a problem 2 405 at present

 

[elisew]

Which seal is it that went? I've heard reference to the same elsewhere, I'll order a spare just in case if it's cheap.

It was the main seal where the top fits to the cannister, they`re cheap and easy enough to get hold of

 

[tenohfive]

Cheers, have put an offer in and am waiting to see if it's accepted.

 

[doresy]

Been running one for a couple of years now without incident. Perfect stats constantly so gets the from me!

 

[Skins]

I currently use the 405 and 305 and have had no problems, regarding the main seal if you lubricate it when you perform your filter maintnance it will last for ages. This just stops it from drying out and cracking.

Keith.

 

[Tizer]

i've got a 2 month old one for my 240 litre, very quiet and seems to do the job, the one that came with the tank was broken and i found it was pretty much cheaper to buy a new one than replace the parts. A new impeller was about £12, the cermaic stick it spins on was stupidly priced (for something that looks like a lolly stick) and the impeller cap was also quite pricey, i think i got up to about £45 for parts and a new one was £80 from Maidenhead Aquatics. so basically, if it breaks the parts can be expensive. Just do regular cleans and i would think any filter will last years.

 

[markspark]

what media do you have in the 305 baskets

 

[Socks]

I have had a 305 for four years.It broke the ceramic shaft for the impeller just recently.Only issue I've ever had.Cost $7 for the part,not bad at all,highly recommend.
I have those little hallow ceramic-type cylinders as bio media in the bottom basket,sponges on the bottom with filter floss on top for the second basket,and fine grade filter floss in the top basket.Works great.

 

[markspark]

Ive had the 304 for years and years with no problems at all in the bottom 2 baskets i have ceramic tubes,in the middle baskets i have lava rock and in the top i have filter wool to be honest ive never had any problems with this set up in this way. But i have now got a 2nd hand 5 foot tank running 2 305's and there is only ceramic tubes in there so i was wondering what else is best to buy fo the middle section is lava rock about the best to put in there, what do you use ???

 

[Tizer]

i have ceramic media in all 6 compartments.

 

[tenohfive]

I managed to pick the 305 up (£10 with a broken valve/switch thing which doesn't affect it's function) and have just set it up. I've only filled half the baskets and used Eheim bioballs as that's all I had knocking about.

Seems to work okay but it's making a noticeable noise - not like somethings wrong, just noticeable background noise. That's compared to my Eheims which (when clean) are silent. Will see if it persists.

Any recommendations for some cheap media to supplement the bioballs? It'll never be running on a tank on it's own but something for mechanical filtration and some bio media would be ideal.