I like big filters and I can not lie

[Wills]

Aquael for me has to be one of the most exciting brands in our hobby at the moment, everything they are doing just seems to be great - love their new tank ranges.

I came across this one the other day which looks like its not fully launched yet but just looks awesome

https://www.aquael.com/products/aquaristics-us/aquaristics-us/filtr-hypermax-4500/

Its more powerful than a Fluval FX6, its got a pre filter!!! So no more taking the whole thing apart for basic maintenance like an FX and it looks like it has regular hose size pipes which means you can probably upgrade your inlet/outlet to steel without an issue (though I know not everyone is into it).

Does anyone here have any one of their existing external filters? Either the Ultra or the Ultra Max? Would be interested to hear how people find them.

Wills

 

[WhistlingBadger]

Looks like a good brand! Too bad all their literature is in Polish!

 

[Essjay]

They do have a page in English as well. Strangely, selecting EN as the language the info on that filter is in Polish, but selecting the language as US it's in English

 

[WhistlingBadger]

They do have a page in English as well. Strangely, selecting EN as the language the info on that filter is in Polish, but selecting the language as US it's in English

That just goes to show that American English is proper English.

 

[seangee]

I have used their budget low end filters and been very impressed by what I have seen. Looks good if you happen to be into big filters. And yes some of their tanks look really good too.

 

[davros]

Gotta give a "like" for the thread title

 

[Uberhoust]

Read the description and if factual it is the first filter I have seen that has either variable frequency drive or a speed-controlled DC drive. In either case you control the flow by reducing or increasing the speed of the motor, not by restricting the flow and creating additional back pressure at the motor assembly. Most motors for fish keeping are fixed speed AC motors, great if engineered for that speed but not so good when you don't want the maximum flow.

 

[AquaBarb]

Ive got the Ultra max 1500 and 2000 on my South tank.

Quality filters which are up there with the fx series for me. Pre filters are great, one of the reasons why i chose it over the fx's.

 

[10 Tanks]

Hello. Am curious how much you spend on these mechanical filters? I use a couple of large sponge filters in my tanks and they're $10.00 a piece. Of course, I'm a water changing fanatic. So, I don't need heavy filtration, because the filters in my tanks are just filtering water that's already very clean.

10 Tanks (Now 11)

 

[AquaBarb]

Depends on how big your tanks are really and what brand you go for. Ive paid between £100-£200 for mine but you can pay more.

I use Sponge filters in my smaller tanks and think they are great for what they offer but they cant compete with cainsters or sumps when your talking about bigger fish/tanks.

 

[10 Tanks]

Hello. I don't need high end filters anyway. I change most of the tank water weekly, so there's nothing for the filter to do except take in clean water and return the clean water to the tank. A cheap sponge filter will do the same thing. I have a 300 gallon tank that doesn't even have mechanical filters. I change so much water, there's no need of a filter. I just use a large air pump to circulate the tank water.

10 Tanks (Now 11)

 

[Wills]

Its so interesting that so many keepers are turning away from the technological approaches - maybe I've just not noticed it in the past but been really surprised by a couple of members here saying they don't really advocate filtration. Not sure Im 100% there personally, but I get it.

I have used their budget low end filters and been very impressed by what I have seen. Looks good if you happen to be into big filters. And yes some of their tanks look really good too.

Ive got the Ultra max 1500 and 2000 on my South tank.

Quality filters which are up there with the fx series for me. Pre filters are great, one of the reasons why i chose it over the fx's.

Thanks guys these are the kind of endorsements I was looking for! My wife dropped a bit of a bombshell that she quite wants me to get an 8 foot tank so these big filters are something I've been weighing up a lot!

 

[WhistlingBadger]

Its so interesting that so many keepers are turning away from the technological approaches - maybe I've just not noticed it in the past but been really surprised by a couple of members here saying they don't really advocate filtration. Not sure Im 100% there personally, but I get it.

I kind of go back and forth on that, though for me it isn't really "advocating" anything, just what I'm doing a the moment. My 30 gallon paludarium doesn't have a filter as such, but it has a big pile of rocks, sand, and twigs with current pushing through it, and a waterfall running over artificial rocks and real plants, all of which amounts to the same thing. Adding in my canister filter just seemed redundant.

It used to bother me that we have to keep filters in tanks when there aren't filters in nature. Except of course there are filters in nature, when the water runs over the substrate that is full of beneficial bacteria, through plant beds, and so on. Artificial filters are just a more compact version of what is going on in nature all the time. And since we don't have the benefit of gravity, we have to add pumps to move the water around.

My wife dropped a bit of a bombshell that she quite wants me to get an 8 foot tank so these big filters are something I've been weighing up a lot!

Wow, that's the kind of bomb you want! Hold on to that lady! Mrs. Badger has been talking about upgrading my paludarium to a 55 gallon, as she'd like to see some bigger fish. I've casually mentioned that, if we made it a 100 gallon, we could probably get some blue-spotted hill trout...Isn't it nice when everyone wants the same thing?!

 

[Wills]

I kind of go back and forth on that, though for me it isn't really "advocating" anything, just what I'm doing a the moment. My 30 gallon paludarium doesn't have a filter as such, but it has a big pile of rocks, sand, and twigs with current pushing through it, and a waterfall running over artificial rocks and real plants, all of which amounts to the same thing. Adding in my canister filter just seemed redundant.

It used to bother me that we have to keep filters in tanks when there aren't filters in nature. Except of course there are filters in nature, when the water runs over the substrate that is full of beneficial bacteria, through plant beds, and so on. Artificial filters are just a more compact version of what is going on in nature all the time. And since we don't have the benefit of gravity, we have to add pumps to move the water around.

I definitely get it and can see how it works, the benefits of creating an eco system in our glass boxes is definitely the aim but... I do like the reassurance of having a box full of bacteria haha

Wow, that's the kind of bomb you want! Hold on to that lady! Mrs. Badger has been talking about upgrading my paludarium to a 55 gallon, as she'd like to see some bigger fish. I've casually mentioned that, if we made it a 100 gallon, we could probably get some blue-spotted hill trout...Isn't it nice when everyone wants the same thing?!

Definitely! It is early days but has potential, we've been saving up to knock a wall down in a windowless room - to give it natural light - but the costs are so high we can't do it so we're essentially redecorating and reconfiguring what we have. While we've been trying to get the wall organised and at least costed I've obnoxiously been leaving the tank lights on for my currently empty 4 foot tank (next to said wall) and it does a pretty good job of lighting this room with quite a natural looking light so I said I'd quite like an other 4 foot tank next to it and then she said an 8 foot would be better. I need to get the tank and stand costed properly but think I've got a ball park at the moment for tank and equipment and it is pricey but sort of have the funds there because we are not doing the building work - I'm thinking of an 8 foot long, 2 foot deep, 18 inch tall which comes out approx 150 US gallons. Which is a lot of space but not an unmanageable capacity...

 

[WhistlingBadger]

Have you tried those LED sunlight lamps? They work pretty well in our bunker.