[fallprom2012]

Hi everyone, brand new to the forum about 6 months into planted tanks and just upgraded from a 37 gallon to a 75 yesterday. I’m in the process of setting up my new tank in a different area of my house so I can eventually transfer all of my current fish into new tank. I really want a canister filter but am not sure where to start with so many options. Petsmart has fx4 on sale for 200 right now but not sure if that would be too much flow for a heavily planted tank? I do really like fluval and am currently running two aqua clear 70’s with flow turned down on my 37 and it’s been doing well. Would love some advice and opinions. Thanks

 

[CroweRW]

Hi everyone, brand new to the forum about 6 months into planted tanks and just upgraded from a 37 gallon to a 75 yesterday. I’m in the process of setting up my new tank in a different area of my house so I can eventually transfer all of my current fish into new tank. I really want a canister filter but am not sure where to start with so many options. Petsmart has fx4 on sale for 200 right now but not sure if that would be too much flow for a heavily planted tank? I do really like fluval and am currently running two aqua clear 70’s with flow turned down on my 37 and it’s been doing well. Would love some advice and opinions. Thanks

I really like my fx4. It has bin running on my 75 gallon for close to six months now. Flow is adjustable if need be. Easy enough to maintain, Quiet, I am hard of hearing so YMMV. At $200 it's a deal. Check out Imortal1's journal.

Bill

 

[Dreya]

SunSun makes an equivalent canister filter you can get for cheaper than the fluvals. Flow will depend what media you put in it. If you overpack it or use polishing pads, be prepared to change them a lot or have your flow reduced to a trickle. Switched to pot scrubbers and will never go back.
If you are worried about flow you can change out the nozzle for a spray bar (sun sun comes with one of these, but fluval offers one for sale as well), but since you have to discharge at or over the surface of water it really doesnt stir up the tank terribly. I actually had to add a small wavemaker pump to my tall 43G bc it had some dead spots down near the substrate.

I have had 3 fluval fx4 and 1 sunsun. Same noise (little) and ease of maintenance. I like the quick disconnect feature that lets you pull out the canister leaving intake/outflow lines in place without water leakage. If you see a spare gasket, pick it up, its the one consumable part that sometimes needs changing. The impellers are good forever unless you lose the little guide O rings that go over the ends when cleaning.

 

[minorhero]

SunSun makes an equivalent canister filter you can get for cheaper than the fluvals. Flow will depend what media you put in it. If you overpack it or use polishing pads, be prepared to change them a lot or have your flow reduced to a trickle. Switched to pot scrubbers and will never go back.
If you are worried about flow you can change out the nozzle for a spray bar (sun sun comes with one of these, but fluval offers one for sale as well), but since you have to discharge at or over the surface of water it really doesnt stir up the tank terribly. I actually had to add a small wavemaker pump to my tall 43G bc it had some dead spots down near the substrate.

I have had 3 fluval fx4 and 1 sunsun. Same noise (little) and ease of maintenance. I like the quick disconnect feature that lets you pull out the canister leaving intake/outflow lines in place without water leakage. If you see a spare gasket, pick it up, its the one consumable part that sometimes needs changing. The impellers are good forever unless you lose the little guide O rings that go over the ends when cleaning.

I'm in much the same situation as the OP. If you were just buying one and didn't mind the extra money, would you go for sunsun or fluval fx4?

 

[evil8]

I don't have a tank this big yet. Personally I'd go Oase Biomaster 350 or 600. The cost is higher, but the prefilter cleaning option is outstanding The in filter thermostat is a bonus too.

 

[Aaronious]

I got a 75 gallon tank used and it came with a Fluval 406. I like it. I don't know the price. just saying it works well for a 75. I use it at 80-85% valve open.

 

[Miss-shell]

I am getting ready to transfer my 29 gallon into a 75 gallon and purchased the fluval 407. I ordered online and pick up in store at petco and it gave me an additional discount so I paid $150. I wanted to make sure the media had time to cycle so I hooked it up to the 29 gallon and my water has never been so clear. It's my first canister but it's amazing. Would definitely recommend.

 

[sm1ke]

The next time I set up a tank with a canister filter, I plan to fill it halfway with the included media/pot scrubbers. Then just buy one of those sponges that go over the intake pipe. Squeeze out the intake sponge every water change and that's it.

FX4 for 200 seems like a good deal, I'd go for that and just turn down the flow if necessary.

 

[fallprom2012]

I really like my fx4. It has bin running on my 75 gallon for close to six months now. Flow is adjustable if need be. Easy enough to maintain, Quiet, I am hard of hearing so YMMV. At $200 it's a deal. Check out Imortal1's journal.

Bill

Thanks for your input, I just picked up the fx4 for 200 today after work! I couldn’t turn down the deal and I trust the quality. It fit perfectly in the compartment under the stand which was my only real concern. Im excited to get to cycling! Now just need some good substrate and heater!

SunSun makes an equivalent canister filter you can get for cheaper than the fluvals. Flow will depend what media you put in it. If you overpack it or use polishing pads, be prepared to change them a lot or have your flow reduced to a trickle. Switched to pot scrubbers and will never go back.
If you are worried about flow you can change out the nozzle for a spray bar (sun sun comes with one of these, but fluval offers one for sale as well), but since you have to discharge at or over the surface of water it really doesnt stir up the tank terribly. I actually had to add a small wavemaker pump to my tall 43G bc it had some dead spots down near the substrate.

I have had 3 fluval fx4 and 1 sunsun. Same noise (little) and ease of maintenance. I like the quick disconnect feature that lets you pull out the canister leaving intake/outflow lines in place without water leakage. If you see a spare gasket, pick it up, its the one consumable part that sometimes needs changing. The impellers are good forever unless you lose the little guide O rings that go over the ends when cleaning.

thanks for the input! I went ahead and pulled the trigger on the fx4. I trust the fluval quality and with my aqua clears I broke a intake tube and was immediately able to purchase a new one on Amazon which makes me confident in finding spare fluval parts if needed. It was on sale for 199 so I didn’t want to hesitate and miss out! Thanks

I'm in much the same situation as the OP. If you were just buying one and didn't mind the extra money, would you go for sunsun or fluval fx4?

i went ahead and pulled the trigger on the fx4. Only have experience with marineland and fluval hobs so far and I have had much better experience with fluval and finding spare parts for fluval! Fx4 $199 at petsmart

I don't have a tank this big yet. Personally I'd go Oase Biomaster 350 or 600. The cost is higher, but the prefilter cleaning option is outstanding The in filter thermostat is a bonus too.

I had never heard of oase before so I did some research and they do seem like the best. However I paid 350 for the marineland 75 with the gray stand with barn doors from petsmart which after doing some running around and comparing prices from different places was the absolute best deal I could find. So 350 for tank and stand plus 200 for fx4 puts me at 550 and I think that’s a prettygood setup for a good price. I’m confident I can set this up to be an efficient tank. However if money was no object I would have definitely chosen the oase. Once I get my current fish out of that tiny 37 and into this 75 it will free up my living roomspace where I plan on a massive tank 180 or over. That’s the tank I plan to do the slow build on and spend the extra money over the course of a year or so and get exactly what I want. But right now I just have to get my fish in a bigger tank! Thanks

 

[Immortal1]

Thanks for your input, I just picked up the fx4 for 200 today after work! I couldn’t turn down the deal and I trust the quality. It fit perfectly in the compartment under the stand which was my only real concern. Im excited to get to cycling! Now just need some good substrate and heater!

My journal is listed below. Unfortunately most of the pictures were lost with the site changeover. If you need any input regarding using different hoses let me know.

 

[fallprom2012]

I got a 75 gallon tank used and it came with a Fluval 406. I like it. I don't know the price. just saying it works well for a 75. I use it at 80-85% valve open.

I thought aboutthe 406 but with the sale the fx4 was the same price so I couldn’t resist! Thanks for input! It’s all valuable to me!

I am getting ready to transfer my 29 gallon into a 75 gallon and purchased the fluval 407. I ordered online and pick up in store at petco and it gave me an additional discount so I paid $150. I wanted to make sure the media had time to cycle so I hooked it up to the 29 gallon and my water has never been so clear. It's my first canister but it's amazing. Would definitely recommend.

with the best deal I could find the fx4 199 and 407 199 so I went with the better deal. Hopefully the fx4 lives up to the 407! Thanks!

My journal is listed below. Unfortunately most of the pictures were lost with the site changeover. If you need any input regarding using different hoses let me know.

will do thank you so much!

 

[Aaronious]

I thought aboutthe 406 but with the sale the fx4 was the same price so I couldn’t resist! Thanks for input! It’s all valuable to me!

Don't blame you. Everything I have seen supports that the FX models are better. If I were buy new I would do the same if I had those options. I believe it does have a larger foot print. so there's that, but I don't know by how much.

 

[fallprom2012]

The next time I set up a tank with a canister filter, I plan to fill it halfway with the included media/pot scrubbers. Then just buy one of those sponges that go over the intake pipe. Squeeze out the intake sponge every water change and that's it.

FX4 for 200 seems like a good deal, I'd go for that and just turn down the flow if necessary.

Don't blame you. Everything I have seen supports that the FX models are better. If I were buy new I would do the same if I had those options. I believe it does have a larger foot print. so there's that, but I don't know by how much.

Well I was worried about that but it fits like a glove so I’m very excited

 

[Dreya]

I'm in much the same situation as the OP. If you were just buying one and didn't mind the extra money, would you go for sunsun or fluval fx4?

Sunsun because not only do you get a variety of output pieces but many models also come with a UV lamp. And its cheaper. And I dont use any of the factory media, so the shape of baskets doesnt matter to me (I.E. not wasting extra filter pads I already got for the previous filter). It also has a better motto.

Touch the perfection!

But I do still have a FX4 running on the 36G shrimp, so Im not pooping on fluval.

 

[minorhero]

Sunsun because not only do you get a variety of output pieces but many models also come with a UV lamp. And its cheaper. And I dont use any of the factory media, so the shape of baskets doesnt matter to me (I.E. not wasting extra filter pads I already got for the previous filter). It also has a better motto.

Touch the perfection!

But I do still have a FX4 running on the 36G shrimp, so Im not pooping on fluval.

You using the hw-3000

 

[Dreya]

You using the hw-3000

This one $94
SunSun Hw303B

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00MH2NRIQ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[sm1ke]

This one $94
SunSun Hw303B

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00MH2NRIQ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I had a couple of those (GRECH HW-303B) on a 130g cichlid tank for years. They worked great for the most part. Well worth the money. I think I sold them for close to what I paid for them. UV replacement bulbs are available, but they need to be imported.

 

[xrayguy]

I'm in much the same situation as the OP. If you were just buying one and didn't mind the extra money, would you go for sunsun or fluval fx4?

I own a sun sun 703b, and fx4. The fx4 is only a couple months old i think. The sound between the two is very different. The fx4 is much quieter. The sun sun contstantly rattles, and is a pain in the arse to restart. Even my wife is thinking I should replace it now that she's seen how much easier my life can be. I run my co2 reactor off my sun sun, and everything else off the fx4.