Hagen's 404

[NikkiY]

Hi,

I am using the AquaClear power filter now. I am thinking to get a Hagen's 404 canister filter. How good is the 404 as far as keeping the water crystal clear is concerned? I am interested to get a Quick Filter to polish the water, I wonder if I can use the 404 to achieve the same goal. Do you think 404 will do a better job than the AquaClear power filter?

Nikki

 

[little devil]

I can't say my self but my friend as just got one, he say's his water as never been so clear compared to his other tank's.

 

[Small Fry]

I don't know about the performance of the Aquaclear but the 404 isn't the best at mechanical filtration. I tried various mixtures of media to see if I could improve this and either had to do more maintenance because the extra polywool I put in was getting clogged or it just didn't get the water as clear as I wanted.

I bought a separate Magnum HOT (Hang on tank) with a micron filter to polish the water and am very pleased with it - you can get the Wal-Mart version - made in same factory but with the Regent name.

I don't know if this is a limitation of canisters in general but my Filstar XP1 AND XP2 do about the same as the 404 in terms of mechanical cleaning.

 

[NikkiY]

I decided against the 404 for now. For the moment, I have placed an order for a Hagen powerhead and the QuickFilter attachment. According the the spec, this will clean down to 1 micron. I am eager to receive it and see how it truely performs.

Nikki