From: dwilliam@pizza.ess.harris.com (Dave Williams)
Subject: Re: Fluval 303, a good filter?
Organization: Harris Corporation - ISD
Date: Tue, 12 Jan 1993 00:33:04 GMT

In <1iq6vbINNb1e@gap.caltech.edu> atiya@cco.caltech.edu (Atiya Y. Hakeem) writes:

>scr2275@hertz.njit.edu (Samuel C. Ramac) writes:

[Deleted original question about Fluval 303 - (is this a good filter?)]

>>-Sam-  

>I have a similar question to the one above.  I have a 60 gallon tank
>which currently contains one 8 inch oscar.  It is being filtered by
>an Aquaclear 300 power filter and a powerhead-driven UGF.  I want to
>take out the UGF, mainly because the fish has started amusing himself
>by knocking the powerheads off the lift tubes.

[insert wild laughter - He does WHAT?]

>I was wondering if a cannister filter would be a good replacement
>for the UGF, and, if so, what a good size and brand would be.
>I noticed that the FAQ has a good brand comparison for power filters,
>but nothing like that for the cannisters (last time I noticed, at least).
>I need something fairly quiet and preferably easy to maintain.
>What brands have people had good experiences with?

   Well, Here's my experience - I've got two tanks running with Fluval 
203's.  The 303 is practically identical to the 303, only the 303 has
two to three times the capacity of the 203.  One of my tanks is a 40L, 
which has been running for around six months now.  In this time, I've 
cleaned the filter twice, although it didn't really need it.  (I had to
pull the carbon during a treatment of a bad case of ick)  The water in
this tank runs ridiculously clear.  It's one of those wierd situations 
in this tank where the water (and the glass, thanks to a pair of Pl*cos)
is so clear, you can't really tell where the glass/water is.  The fish
look like they're just floating in front of you!  Needless to say, I
love Fluval filters.  The second tank is a 27 gal hex, which has only been
running for three months.  Seems to be fine, though.

   My fluvals have to be the quietest thing I've ever seen.  They are 
so quiet that the only way to tell they are running is to either look
for signs of current flowing in the tank, or put your hand on the canister
to feel the vibrations.  These things are s-i-l-e-n-t!

   The 203 packs a pretty heavy media load.  It's internal baskets stack
up in three layers - the bottom basket holds a handful of ceramic rings, 
good for initial filtering/biological surface area.  The second basket 
holds activated carbon.  I usually put a thin layer of filter floss under
the carbon when I pack the filter to help keep really fine carbon from 
"leaking" out through the basket holes.  The top basket is a sponge, which
is great for fine filtration.  Each of these baskets is about four inches
in diameter, and about three inches tall.  (Feel free to flame me if I've
got the dimensions wrong - I'm at work...)  

   I feel that the 203 is a little large for the tank I've got it on, but
it dosen't hurt to have a huge pile of activated carbon working for you.

   BTW, if you are looking at Fluval filters, ignore the 103.  It's 
practically the same filter as the 203, and you don't get a very good
price break for buying a smaller filter.  

--
Dave Williams                                   | "What time is it?" "9:00AM"
 dwilliam@jabba.ess.harris.com                  | "What day?"        "Monday"
  "Huh?  What?  Could you repeat the question?" | "Go away.  Try me Tuesday"
    <mumble mumble> opinions <mumble mumble> mine <mumble mumble mumble>
Newsgroups: rec.aquaria,alt.aquaria