Should i upgrade to a Fluval 407

[Country joe]

Hi, I'm noticing when I clean my Fluval 307 out monthly the sponges are really dirty, would it be beneficial to upgrade to a Fluval 407, or would this filter be too powerful for my 200 litre aquarium.

 

[Uberhoust]

I use a 407 in my 75. I have to deflect the flow to reduce it for the Angels, I use Jungle vals for this by directing the flow over the blades. It might be too much for a smaller tank but with enough flow diffusion it should be ok. I have nine angels in my 407 and even after 6 months without cleaning the filter the flow had not reduced noticeably. I do use a prefilter made out of a 1.5" pvc pipe with a filter bag over the pipe, this traps uneaten food before it gets sucked into the filter so it reduces the amount of material going into the filter. The fish and snails feed off the pre filter so it seems to stay clear as well. After 6 months the filter does require cleaning.

I think you can make the 407 work well but you might also want to look at your feeding and whether you want to use some type of prefilter before changing your filter. Given the 407s performance I would think a 307 would be ok for a 200 litre tank, but the 407 would work as well in my opinion. I think the final decision would be based on the type and number of fish you have.

 

[BigDog]

Have you thought of other kinds of filters that are out there ?

I know a lot of people like the Fx5 filter. Which cost a lot

Takes a little while to break down to clean it

I love using the aqua clear filters

They don’t cost a lot of money to start with

There filters are easy and fast to change

You can add what ever aquarium media to the filter with out having a problem with it

 

[seangee]

I had a 406 in my 200l and that was too powerful for my fish without diffusing the flow. But as @Uberhoust suggests look at your feeding and consider a prefilter (although this should not be neccessary).

 

[Country joe]

Have you thought of other kinds of filters that are out there ?

I know a lot of people like the Fx5 filter. Which cost a lot

Takes a little while to break down to clean it

I love using the aqua clear filters

They don’t cost a lot of money to start with

There filters are easy and fast to change

You can add what ever aquarium media to the filter with out having a problem with it

I have looked at aqua clear. And a pre filter would be easier for me to clean the tank And yes I will have to watch my feeding, what size aqua clear would you recommend for a 200 litrs

 

[MaloK]

You sound like there is something you don't like about your 307...

I mean honestly the Fluval 307 is pretty luxurious compared to an Aquaclear...

But if it for the ease of maintenance for your tank size I would go with an Aquaclear 70 model A615 good for 40 to 70 gallons.

 

[Country joe]

No I like my fluvals,that's why I was going to replace with the 407, maybe I should watch my feeding, I find it okay with the top and middle feeders, but it's the Gourami he's my biggest fish and I put a small pile of bug bites on the bottom for him, then I have the 4 ottos and six panda corys, so maybe I'm feeding too much, I will just have to make sure I give the sponges a good clean monthly in tank water, and see if things improve., so, might as well stick with the 307.

 

[MaloK]

In Aquarium that have a good water movement it's sometime difficult to feed properly the fishes without also feeding the filter too.

I hate to do that, because of the risk of forgetting every time...

But, try cutting off the filtration during feeding time, let the fish have a good part of the lunch before turning it back on.

And yes your 307 is plenty good, besides a larger filter compartment the water flow of a 407 is not that more compared. So it might not worth it, paying for a new filter and ending cleaning it up every month anyway.

But if you can add a coarse prefilter on your intake to prevent larger bit to get trough, it will also contribute keeping your filter internals cleaner.

 

[Country joe]

In Aquarium that have a good water movement it's sometime difficult to feed properly the fishes without also feeding the filter too.

I hate to do that, because of the risk of forgetting every time...

But, try cutting off the filtration during feeding time, let the fish have a good part of the lunch before turning it back on.

And yes your 307 is plenty good, besides a larger filter compartment the water flow of a 407 is not that more compared. So it might not worth it, paying for a new filter and ending cleaning it up every month anyway.

But if you can add a coarse prefilter on your intake to prevent larger bit to get trough, it will also contribute keeping your filter internals cleaner.

Thanks for that, do you mean sticking a piece of course sponge into the intake strainer?

 

[MaloK]

Thanks for that, do you mean sticking a piece of course sponge into the intake strainer?

Not stuffing "into" but "out to" it must cover all the outside and have a sufficient thickness to prevent particles that are too big to pass while giving a greater area to the water, without restraining flow too much.

Something like:

The most difficult part is finding a sponge that has a 20-30 ppi (very coarse) so you wont be rinsing it every 2 days.

 

[Country joe]

Not stuffing "into" but "out to" it must cover all the outside and have a sufficient thickness to prevent particles that are too big to pass while giving a greater area to the water, without restraining flow too much.

Something like:

The most difficult part is finding a sponge that has a 20-30 ppi (very coarse) so you wont be rinsing it every 2 days.

Thank you, will have a look

 

[anewbie]

I will ask why you need to clean it out montly - i typically clean out my canister filters once every 2 or 3 years.

 

[MaloK]

Thank you, will have a look

Honestly. With this mod on an Aquaclear 30. I went from 1 maintenance a week to 8 months. And counting.

 

[Country joe]

I will ask why you need to clean it out montly - i typically clean out my canister filters once every 2 or 3 years.

Because it's dirty

 

[Country joe]

Thank you, will have a look