Large canisters--Fluval FX5 vs. Eheim 2260

[gm72]

Any opinions on the Fluval FX5 vs. the Eheim 2260?

Fluval has a much larger gph rating (925 vs. Eheim's 634), but the Eheim (on their website) claims a monstrous 23 liter canister volume compared to the Fluval's 5.9 liters. The 2260 is a classic model, which I am interpreting to mean there are no removable baskets, just open volume inside. This is fine since I use a prefilter with all canisters.

Any thoughts? I really need some help on this. Both go for about $300.

[jeffs99dime]

in my opinion, eheim is the best in terms of quality. they are a bit pricey, but well worth the extra cost. i run all eheims myself. i have never had a problem at all with any of my canisters. they are the "high end car" if you will

[cocoa_pleco]

i personally prefer fluvals all the way, never have had any trouble with my fluvals and theyre simple to setup

[gm72]

Well, that's just ducky. One for Eheim and one for Fluval.

I run all Eheim canisters myself as well, have never owned a Fluval. I don't see any "bad" reviews on either one of these beasts.

Anyone else out there with opinions and/or experience?

[Fishguy2727]

That is weird. The FX5 is listed at that small but is literally about the size of a 5 gallon bucket. It is hard to believe there is only 1.6 gallons of media in there. I would have guessed there was that much just in the center.

I have used Fluvals but never plunged into Eheims (never felt it necessary). Personally though I would not use any that did not have media baskets.

My FX5 does a very good job. A review in a fish magazine (Feb maybe) is on the FX5. It cleared up the guy's 250 koi tank which apparently no other filter had yet to do (then why put that many koi in a 250?).

[cocoa_pleco]

ditto with fishguy, i dont want anything without media baskets. ive had almost every brand of canister, fluval, eheim, hydor, resun, etc. and 110% the best are my fluvals, never has one let me down. hagen makes IMO the best HOB's, aquaclears, and they also make the best canisters, fluvals

[Fishguy2727]

If they could only step up the quality on the AquaClear (especially with the intake strainer) and get a different version of the Biowheel so people didn't have to make a DIY hybrid it would be perfect.

[Rue]

I haven't had either...don't like canisters (did have one years ago)...much prefer HOBs...

But I've read far more Eheim praise than Fluval...although both seem to get good ratings...

[cocoa_pleco]

fishguy has a good idea, aquaclears should have biowheels, especially the 110. all of the great of a penguin biowheel without the splashing

if anything i hate HOB's, if the power gets shut off my canisters will start up on their own but when i used to use HOB's most needed manual priming, if i werent home they would burn out

[gm72]

Personally though I would not use any that did not have media baskets.

My FX5 does a very good job. A review in a fish magazine (Feb maybe) is on the FX5. It cleared up the guy's 250 koi tank which apparently no other filter had yet to do (then why put that many koi in a 250?).

I don't like the idea of not having media baskets, but now that I think about it I'm not sure why. I use sponge prefilters on all of my canisters, done with mechanical filtration (mostly). I only open my canisters now when flow drops, once maybe every 8-12 months. I would fill the Eheim fullly with Ehfisynth (or similar media), so to clean it would simply mean dumping it all out into a container, rinsing gently, and refilling. Certainly not a difficult solution.

Thanks for the comment on your personal experience with the FX5. Certainly is a monster as is the Eheim.

As for the koi tank, I wonder how many fish he/she had in there? Yikes.