I am looking at buying one of these and was wondering if anyone has any feedback regarding them (good or bad)
Thanks!

I have a couple of the fluvals. Only real complaint from me is the unavailability of parts. Their O-rings tend to need replacement from time to time and I had a heck of a time finding an O-ring. For my money, the Rena Filstar line of Xp1-XP4 is a bit better, in terms of reliability, cost and most importantly, ease of use. I just got one of the pen plax cascades and have to say that I also like that filter a lot, and it's just as easy as the filtstars to work with.
regards
mike

I use a Fluval 404. Only had it about 9 months. Love it so far. Water is crystal clear. Also looking to buying a Fluval FX5 very soon to help polish water

I've often thought of getting an external Fluval for the Discus tank. I don't know a bunch about the technical aspects of externals, but I've heard good things about Fluvals. Not knowing a ton about it, I'm kind of torn.

For the cost involved, I'm wondering if I don't already have better or at least as good filtration.

I have two whisper 60's, so I'm getting WELL over 300 GPH turnover...and when you consider I change the filter media about twice a week, it stays pretty fresh. The upside is that if I went external, I could have less flow or current in the tank - a plus with Discus.

So - for those with external filter experience...what do you think? would it be worth it to invest in an external - or let it be?

Gary,
for my larger tanks (bigger than 50) I only have one 55 that is not run without an external filter. That one has a big hydro 5 sponge, and two of the larger double filters (looks like the emperor 400). The 50 has a fluval 404, the other 55 an XP2, the 65 a Mag 350, the 75 an XP2, the 125 an XP2 and a pentair lifeguard, the 180 a sump & pen plax cascade 1000 and a Mag 350. They all have their individual ups and downs but on a price to performance basis, the Mag 350's are hard to beat. They just tend to need "burping" from time to time to remove excess air. I consider the pen plax cascade, fluval and filstar XP series all part of the next price point and of those, I favor the XP series. I also run sponges in all my tanks except the 180 in the living room. Just my two pennies...
mike

i have a fluvel 404 running on my 5ft and i like it, i have not had any problems with it at all, but it is also personal choice

Well I just ordered my new Fluval FX5. Should be here this week. I'll post pics of this huge machine when she gets here

I favor the XP3 for the same reasons MPP does. Ease of use, reliability, noise level, media and most importantly....cost!

I have 2 XP3's now, one on my 125 and one on my 75 and I wouldn't trade them for anything.

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has them available for $89.95!! PetSmart sells them in Omaha for $179.95. They are the only dealer I have found who sells them.

Haley could probably get you a good deal on the Fluvals though, if that's the way you decide to go.

For good info on the FX5 see this thread

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For what that thing costs....it better do my water changes for me and make me coffee!!!

Well, one of the reasons I went with this big guy is in case later down the road I get another BIGGER tank.

It comes with most of the media you will need. I did purchase the ceramic rings for bio-filtration (these things work very well, much better than the stars IMO and they never need to be replaced). Other than that, media for the thing is very cheap.

It comes with 3 black plastic foam pads, I put these in the bottom basket 20 ppm first followed by the 30 ppm one. These foam pads can be washed and reused many times.

In the second basket, I use any chemical bags that I want to...carbon, etc. The filter comes with a bag that I use just for the heck of it. It is supposed to be some special carbon mix.

In the third basket, I have 2 pieces of media. First, I have the ceramic rings for bio-filtration and on top of those I use the water polishing micro-filtration pad that comes with the unit. These micro-pads are the only media that I ever replace in the unit. They are sold at PetSmart in three packs for about 6.99 and I use a new one every 4-6 weeks.


Hope this helps....feel free to give a holler with any questions.

Andrew