Fluval 405

[chrisrm]

hi
at the moment i have 2 fluval u4 filters running in my 350l tank.

i was thinking about getting a fluval 405 as i had seen it on offer at £90.

does anyone think i should bother or just leave it as it is? ANY views would be much appreicated

 

[rdd1952]

I personally feel that 2 filters are better than 1 on larger tanks. It provides better circulation and if 1 filter happens to stop working, there is at least 1 still processing water.

 

[chrisrm]

I personally feel that 2 filters are better than 1 on larger tanks. It provides better circulation and if 1 filter happens to stop working, there is at least 1 still processing water.

i thought maybe an external filter was better? or is it just personal preferance?

 

[rdd1952]

I've never used internal but would think the biggest advantage of externals would be in cleaning and that they have more room for different types of media. But as long as the move the necessary amount of water, I don't know that one is any better than the other.

 

[star4]

I have a 405, personally I really like this filter, its so quick and easy to clean out and not too heavy. The filtration is great with the sponges and plenty of baskets for other media. The priming can be a bit of a pain sometimes though.

 

[chrisrm]

also do you get less flow(current) with an external?

 

[rabbut]

The only brand of externals that I don't prefer to internals are Fluval canisters. IME, they are difficult and time consuming to work (compared to the competition), noisy and un-reliable. You would have to pay me to run a Fluval canister, and even then you'd have to pay a lot...

Good external filter manufacturers would be Eheim, Rena and Tetratec. Those three brands all make good solid and reliable filters that run quietly The exception would be Eheim's Ecco and Thermo ranges...

If your only option is to run the internals or a Fluval 405, I'd advise you to keep the internals. If you are willing to look at the other brands, look at;

Tetratec EX1200 and an internal
Rena XP3
Eheim 2028 and an internal
Eheim Classic 2217 and an internal

Out of those, the Classic is hardest to work, but the rest should be about the same

HTH
Rabbut