What Makes A Filter Good?

[rdd1952]

This has gotten off topic and basically turned into a Fluval commercial. But in all the praise of Fluval, I think it also says a lot about what does make a good filter and that is reliability. Everyone is praising their Fluvals because they have been trouble free.

 

[raptorrex]

This has gotten off topic and basically turned into a Fluval commercial. But in all the praise of Fluval, I think it also says a lot about what does make a good filter and that is reliability. Everyone is praising their Fluvals because they have been trouble free.

however, those who have had problems will a have changed the make they use. so its "logical" that, that those who have not, will think they are fine and, totally, reliable.
of late, it has been impossible, well nearly, to post the word "Eheim", without howls of "here come the Eheim mob again". as a result, i have noticed, threads like this have been devoid, or almost, of comments by Eheim users. its just not worth the negative reaction. (which is often no help to the OP anyway)

what makes a good filter?

1, flow rate, not the one on the box, the real one!
2, dwell time (the time the water spends in contact with the media)
3, large bio media area (connected to the above) with a good choice of media types to choose from.
4, good mechanical filtration, with a good choice of media types to choose from.
5, reliability.
6, ease of maintenance.
7, cost. (no point being the "best" if nobody can afford one)
if you find a filter with all this, it matters little who makes it. its just, often,(though not always) when you do find a filter like the above, its made by Müller & Pflege!

in the end, i don't think it matters. you buy your filter and if you are not happy with it you will change.( only experience will really give you information). but by buying "some" brands, you may well have to change less often.

 

[Spishkey]

i am also a fan of the juwel filters, they keep my water in tip top condition. but the only fault i find is the humming noise it creates vibrating the lid

for smaller tanks (25L +/-) you just cannot beat the micro jet filters. i highly rate them!

 

[raptorrex]

i am also a fan of the juwel filters, they keep my water in tip top condition. but the only fault i find is the humming noise it creates vibrating the lid

for smaller tanks (25L +/-) you just cannot beat the micro jet filters. i highly rate them!

the only other, possible, problem with juwel filters. is they have no mechanical filtration. they are, in effect, a power head driven sponge bio filter. i guess it must be down to how you keep your tank, as to, how important mechanical is. they do have a big bio area, even so, all the equivalent cannisters offer larger.

 

[three-fingers]

This has gotten off topic and basically turned into a Fluval commercial. But in all the praise of Fluval, I think it also says a lot about what does make a good filter and that is reliability. Everyone is praising their Fluvals because they have been trouble free.

Yeah your right, I just jumped on the bandwagon for the sheer novelty of so many people praising fluval at once (without the "Eheim mob" ) .

Generally speaking, what I've seen is that most of the time if you get any filter from a large recognisable manufacturer and look after it properly (lubricate gaskets and clean impeller every now and then) then it will serve you for years.

Just generally avoid things like Resun, Jebo or Atman filters unless you are on a tight budget and are fully prepared to deal with any problems.

So my recommendation to the OP would be to go with whatever makes the most sense price-wise at the time and just look after the filter.

 

[raptorrex]

This has gotten off topic and basically turned into a Fluval commercial. But in all the praise of Fluval, I think it also says a lot about what does make a good filter and that is reliability. Everyone is praising their Fluvals because they have been trouble free.

Yeah your right, I just jumped on the bandwagon for the sheer novelty of so many people praising fluval at once (without the "Eheim mob" ) .

Generally speaking, what I've seen is that most of the time if you get any filter from a large recognisable manufacturer and look after it properly (lubricate gaskets and clean impeller every now and then) then it will serve you for years.

Just generally avoid things like Resun, Jebo or Atman filters unless you are on a tight budget and are fully prepared to deal with any problems.

So my recommendation to the OP would be to go with whatever makes the most sense price-wise at the time and just look after the filter.

lol, true words. i have a hydor prime 30, not a filter that is the top of peoples lists! its a pig to clean and service. and has very fragile attachments. but if asked, hand on heart, i could not fault its operation as a filter. mind you the eheim 2224 has none of the listed faults, and works just as well. going out with the money now, i would buy 2 Eheims for my tank. however if money were a, real, issue. i would not hesitate to get another hydor prime.