My Review: Odyssea CFS 500 Filter

OverStocked · 09-29-2010, 02:26 AM

UPDATE:
I'm going to scrap my Odyssea for a FX5. I will still stand by recommending SunSun filters day and night. But I'm done with this pos.
Three days ago after cleaning, no apparent leaks. Left and came home to about 8 gallons of water in my carpet. Took hours of trouble shooting to fix. In process I snapped off one of the intake ports. It is superglued in place, sitting in a 10 gallon tub. Waiting for my fx5 to come in and then I will be done with this thing.

I love the price, but at this point it isn't worth the risk. A filter shouldn't be this much work and I don't care anymore. I've not been impressed iwth water clarity, anyways. It lasted a year, so that is great. But it was almost to the day a year later that it failed in several ways. Having to drain my tank down, move my stand, use the rug doctor to dry up carpet, run fans and dehumidifier for 12 hours and then move it all back is not my idea of fun.

I won't even give this filter to someone for free at this point. It is going to be trashed.
Original.

I am almost infamous for my review of the SunSun HW-302. I think SunSun owes me some serious bank for the number of filters sold because I took the plunge on their filter. It was a huge "risk" some would say, but I have loved every second of it.

Because I am setting up a turtle tank that I wanted a filter for, I started looking for new filter options. I was never impressed with the options that 40 bucks got me, so I considered a new option... buy a new filter for the 75g tank and put the sunsun on my turtle tank(lol... the 302 will be filtering about 7 gallons....). I have seen the Odyssea CFS 500 on ebay a few times and I was very tempted. It is very FX5ish in design, but not necessarily function.

So... I took the plunge. I sucked it up and bought the Odyssea CFS 500, 500gph filter from Topdawdsellers on ebay. 58.95 shipped via UPS to my door(took 4 business days to get here). It arrived in the retail box, though no damage was done to it.

I opened it up and saw this...

Unpacked to find this:

Those hoses are HUGE. They are 1 inch in diameter...

Here it is setup under my stand

This is the output:

Also big...

The media includes a bonded blue pad, a fine white foam pad, and a coarse black sponge. I added ceramic rings in the bottom. It works from top to center... Not top to bottom. The intake is in the middle with the pump on the bottom and a strainer up to the middle. It seems to have a TON of flow. Tests from others say 480 gph, which is amazing WITH media.

It is dead silent. Self priming--put water in and go. This is my first day So I will report back!

Capsaicin_MFK · 09-29-2010, 02:33 AM

Any pics of the inside of the filter?

OverStocked · 09-29-2010, 02:38 AM

I will have to take some next time around when I clean it.

here is a pic of a clear version, it is layed out just like this, but does not have UV in it.

Sharkfood · 09-29-2010, 02:48 AM

Im very interested to see how this works out for you. If it's at all decent for $60, I'd say the value is unbeatable. At 480 gph there's plenty of flow to run a split outflow, even if there was a reactor on each line. I was considering replacing my fluval 405 with an FX5 for that reason, but if this filter ends up performing well for you, well, I could save hundreds of dollars. As long as it's reliable, and doesn't have much bypass, I'm sold.

OverStocked · 09-29-2010, 02:57 AM

It can't have "bypass" by design. water enters the top, goes into the white sponge then towards the bottom or towards the intake. The black sponge really is mainly a space filler... It can obviously harbor some bio.

Another nice feature is the cord disconnects from the housing so it can be transported easily.

The hoses have on/offs and a quick disconnect. Did I mention the hoses are HUGE?

GitMoe · 09-29-2010, 03:56 AM

Does it have flow control? If I wanted to run this on a smaller tank like maybe a 55g or lets get crazy and say even smaller almost 500GPH might be a little crazy...

TeamTeal · 09-29-2010, 04:09 AM

gonna test out any other ebay product?

hbosman · 09-29-2010, 05:48 PM

Since it filters from top to middle, you might be able to inject CO2 into the input hose. I wonder if it would make a good reactor as well as a filter. If so, that would really be awesome "bang for the buck".

Looking at it again, if it filters top to bottom shouldn't the course material be on top and fine material near bottom?

OverStocked · 09-29-2010, 08:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GitMoe

Does it have flow control? If I wanted to run this on a smaller tank like maybe a 55g or lets get crazy and say even smaller almost 500GPH might be a little crazy...

While it does have flow control, in a way(there are on offs on each input/output, I do not think this would be too much flow for a 55. It'd be perfect.

OverStocked · 09-29-2010, 08:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hbosman

Since it filters from top to middle, you might be able to inject CO2 into the input hose. I wonder if it would make a good reactor as well as a filter. If so, that would really be awesome "bang for the buck".

Looking at it again, if it filters top to bottom shouldn't the course material be on top and fine material near bottom?

Blue is a prefilter media that can be rinsed much easier than sponges.

I was tempted to try it as a reactor, but had already built a cerges reactor. Though I just cracked another fitting for it so I have to go pick one up.

OverStocked · 09-29-2010, 08:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TeamTeal

gonna test out any other ebay product?

I have been running an odyssea 2x54 watt t5ho for over a year. Love it. Also had a inline co2 atomizer for several months. I'm a sucker for a bargain.

GitMoe · 09-29-2010, 08:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by over_stocked

While it does have flow control, in a way(there are on offs on each input/output, I do not think this would be too much flow for a 55. It'd be perfect.

I'll be ordering one of these I guess. I'll throw some un-needed stuff I have on Craigslist and Ebay to cover it. Can't be out of pocket anymore money. Need to remedy a filter issue Im having. See my recent threads... Ugh.

OverStocked · 09-29-2010, 08:47 PM

The pic in the first post shows clearly the dimensions, The hoses attached only add an inch in vertical height as they go at an angle.

GitMoe · 09-29-2010, 09:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by over_stocked

The pic in the first post shows clearly the dimensions, The hoses attached only add an inch in vertical height as they go at an angle.

Watching your threads like a hawk! lol. I saw the diagram right after I posted my dimensions question and edited my post to remove the Q but you replied too quickly... Sorry.

RipariumGuy · 09-29-2010, 09:42 PM

Very interesting... Now someone has to review the light fixtures!

09-29-2010, 02:26 AM	#1
OverStocked Planted Tank Guru (View User Tanks) PTrader: (76/94%) Join Date: May 2007 Location: SoDak Posts: 10,732	My Review: Odyssea CFS 500 Filter UPDATE: I'm going to scrap my Odyssea for a FX5. I will still stand by recommending SunSun filters day and night. But I'm done with this pos. Three days ago after cleaning, no apparent leaks. Left and came home to about 8 gallons of water in my carpet. Took hours of trouble shooting to fix. In process I snapped off one of the intake ports. It is superglued in place, sitting in a 10 gallon tub. Waiting for my fx5 to come in and then I will be done with this thing. I love the price, but at this point it isn't worth the risk. A filter shouldn't be this much work and I don't care anymore. I've not been impressed iwth water clarity, anyways. It lasted a year, so that is great. But it was almost to the day a year later that it failed in several ways. Having to drain my tank down, move my stand, use the rug doctor to dry up carpet, run fans and dehumidifier for 12 hours and then move it all back is not my idea of fun. I won't even give this filter to someone for free at this point. It is going to be trashed. Original. I am almost infamous for my review of the SunSun HW-302. I think SunSun owes me some serious bank for the number of filters sold because I took the plunge on their filter. It was a huge "risk" some would say, but I have loved every second of it. Because I am setting up a turtle tank that I wanted a filter for, I started looking for new filter options. I was never impressed with the options that 40 bucks got me, so I considered a new option... buy a new filter for the 75g tank and put the sunsun on my turtle tank(lol... the 302 will be filtering about 7 gallons....). I have seen the Odyssea CFS 500 on ebay a few times and I was very tempted. It is very FX5ish in design, but not necessarily function. So... I took the plunge. I sucked it up and bought the Odyssea CFS 500, 500gph filter from Topdawdsellers on ebay. 58.95 shipped via UPS to my door(took 4 business days to get here). It arrived in the retail box, though no damage was done to it. I opened it up and saw this... Unpacked to find this: Those hoses are HUGE. They are 1 inch in diameter... Here it is setup under my stand This is the output: Also big... The media includes a bonded blue pad, a fine white foam pad, and a coarse black sponge. I added ceramic rings in the bottom. It works from top to center... Not top to bottom. The intake is in the middle with the pump on the bottom and a strainer up to the middle. It seems to have a TON of flow. Tests from others say 480 gph, which is amazing WITH media. It is dead silent. Self priming--put water in and go. This is my first day So I will report back! Attached Images

09-29-2010, 02:33 AM	#2
Capsaicin_MFK Planted Tank Enthusiast (View User Tanks) PTrader: (16/100%) Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Minnesota Posts: 757	Any pics of the inside of the filter? __________________ 100g Dutch inspired KDR: 2.45

09-29-2010, 04:09 AM	#7
TeamTeal Planted Tank Enthusiast (View User Tanks) PTrader: (0/0%) Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Bay Area Posts: 882	gonna test out any other ebay product? __________________ -SF Giants WS champs- Haters gonna Hate

09-29-2010, 09:42 PM	#15
RipariumGuy Planted Tank Guru (View User Tanks) PTrader: (10/100%) Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Green Bay, Wisconsin Posts: 3,614	Very interesting... Now someone has to review the light fixtures! __________________ "My next hobby is going to be tearing up $100 bills while simultaneously banging my head against a wall and flooding my basement." "Ask not what the hobby can do for you, but what you can do the the hobby" - ScapeFu The Jake-arium Wabi-Kusa Pimp #3

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09-29-2010, 02:38 AM	#3
OverStocked Planted Tank Guru (View User Tanks) PTrader: (76/94%) Join Date: May 2007 Location: SoDak Posts: 10,732	I will have to take some next time around when I clean it. here is a pic of a clear version, it is layed out just like this, but does not have UV in it.

09-29-2010, 02:48 AM	#4
Sharkfood Planted Tank Guru (View User Tanks) PTrader: (2/100%) Join Date: May 2010 Location: Pittsburgh, Pa Posts: 2,536	Im very interested to see how this works out for you. If it's at all decent for $60, I'd say the value is unbeatable. At 480 gph there's plenty of flow to run a split outflow, even if there was a reactor on each line. I was considering replacing my fluval 405 with an FX5 for that reason, but if this filter ends up performing well for you, well, I could save hundreds of dollars. As long as it's reliable, and doesn't have much bypass, I'm sold.

09-29-2010, 02:57 AM	#5
OverStocked Planted Tank Guru (View User Tanks) PTrader: (76/94%) Join Date: May 2007 Location: SoDak Posts: 10,732	It can't have "bypass" by design. water enters the top, goes into the white sponge then towards the bottom or towards the intake. The black sponge really is mainly a space filler... It can obviously harbor some bio. Another nice feature is the cord disconnects from the housing so it can be transported easily. The hoses have on/offs and a quick disconnect. Did I mention the hoses are HUGE?

09-29-2010, 03:56 AM	#6
GitMoe Wannabe Guru (View User Tanks) PTrader: (38/100%) Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Philadelphia, PA Posts: 1,536	Does it have flow control? If I wanted to run this on a smaller tank like maybe a 55g or lets get crazy and say even smaller almost 500GPH might be a little crazy...

09-29-2010, 05:48 PM	#8
hbosman Wannabe Guru (View User Tanks) PTrader: (1/100%) Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Leesburg Virginia Posts: 1,584	Since it filters from top to middle, you might be able to inject CO2 into the input hose. I wonder if it would make a good reactor as well as a filter. If so, that would really be awesome "bang for the buck". Looking at it again, if it filters top to bottom shouldn't the course material be on top and fine material near bottom?

09-29-2010, 08:47 PM	#13
OverStocked Planted Tank Guru (View User Tanks) PTrader: (76/94%) Join Date: May 2007 Location: SoDak Posts: 10,732	The pic in the first post shows clearly the dimensions, The hoses attached only add an inch in vertical height as they go at an angle.