Hello everyone, after being out of the hobby for several years I just ordered at tank and am now looking for equipment. I was at PetsMart and saw they have this filter on sale for $245 I was wondering if anyone tried it?



https://www.petsmart.com/fish/filter...ml?cgid=300108


The box says engineered by Eheim but it looks like a rebadged Eheim 5e maybe the 700? I know PetsMart has sold rebranded Eheim stuff in the past but was just wondering if anyone has used this.

I would generally stay away from Top Fin over any other major brand, but if it's truly a rebranded Eheim that would be another story. The body looks similar to the Eheim Pro series but I'd want to put my hands on one for sure before making that purchase. Top Fin has had filter recalls for shock hazards, more stories of heaters sticking in the on position than I can recall, and even their gravel is said to not be color fast. I would be curious to see if that one is labeled as made in China or Germany.

For that price I'd probably spend the extra $20 for a Fluval FX4. It has a more powerful pump and the internals would be easier to optimize.

Unless you're like me and your stand wouldn't be able to accommodate the Fluval's girth.

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They actually had the FX4 in the store for $199 but the hose size doesn't seem to be compatible with glass Lilly pipes

That it is not. I don't know of any 1" lily pipes, there are 3/4" lily pipes though.

There's the option of running a separate surface skimmer.

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