# What filter? (330 liters )



## Fred13 (31 Oct 2021)

Hello guys I hope you are all great!

I am facing difficulties to choose the appropriate filter for my upcoming tank.
My tank's size is 120 cms x 50 cms x 55 cms. It is approximately 330 liters without any hardscape.
I assume that is about 300 liters of water with hardscape and substrate in it.
My first choise would be the oase 850 thermo. Unfortunately,  I keep reading for burping issues in users reviews.  Besides that, I am not really sure if its sufficient for my tank.
The next best alternative I would probably go for is the aquael ultramax 1500 or 2.000. So many great things have been written about those filters but the 2000 version has 19/25 hose pipes which do not suit with my lily pipes. I want to stick with 16/22.
Any recommendations would be more than appreciated !

* btw I do not want to break the bank


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## Hufsa (31 Oct 2021)

Stay away from Aquael Ultramax, especially the 2000. Its had a lot of issues, spare parts are difficult to get ahold of and customer service leaves something to be desired for most... Most of us (myself included) sang its praises at first, but not any more. Its prone to not starting at all suddenly


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## H.Alves (31 Oct 2021)

I own an ADA 120P which is 120x45x45 so roughly 220L and own an aquael ultramax 2000. Although i really like the flow and quiteness of the filter, i had issues in the past where the pump just failed. It took me around 3 months to get the top part replaced. Luckily i had an eheim 2217 running along with it so i could transfer most of the media.

Now that aquael is back up and runnning i am planing on updating the eheim 2217 to maybe an oase biomaster thermo 600. I am also worried about the noise issues and the bubble purging issue, so i am, literally on the fence. I first thought about the 850 but even from the youtube videos you can already tell that is much noisier than the 600 and i actually dont need a lot of media space since the ultramax has more than enough. The pros of oase is that the pre-filter is easier to clean and the in-built thermometer makes things easier.

The aquael ultramax and ultra series are cheaper, quite silent, but they lack the thermostat part and even worse there are some reliability issues. Not having a lot of parts available makes all the difference. Maybe in the future this might change but for the time being… it’s a risky purchase. In case you decide to give aquael a go, buy from a trusted reseller because any complain you might have (being under warranty or not) must go through them. So having a good support is paramount in solving possible issues fast. They do have parts but except from rotors you don’t actually see them for sale.

So despite not really having an answer for you, what i would suggest is that, independently of which filter you go for, if you can afford it, definitely go for 2.


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## Fred13 (31 Oct 2021)

Hufsa said:


> Stay away from Aquael Ultramax, especially the 2000. Its had a lot of issues, spare parts are difficult to get ahold of and customer service leaves something to be desired for most... Most of us (myself included) sang its praises at first, but not any more. Its prone to not starting at all suddenly





H.Alves said:


> I own an ADA 120P which is 120x45x45 so roughly 220L and own an aquael ultramax 2000. Although i really like the flow and quiteness of the filter, i had issues in the past where the pump just failed. It took me around 3 months to get the top part replaced. Luckily i had an eheim 2217 running along with it so i could transfer most of the media.
> 
> Now that aquael is back up and runnning i am planing on updating the eheim 2217 to maybe an oase biomaster thermo 600. I am also worried about the noise issues and the bubble purging issue, so i am, literally on the fence. I first thought about the 850 but even from the youtube videos you can already tell that is much noisier than the 600 and i actually dont need a lot of media space since the ultramax has more than enough. The pros of oase is that the pre-filter is easier to clean and the in-built thermometer makes things easier.
> 
> ...


Thank you all for your comments!
I see, 2 filters is the best option I have, however,  it is out of my budget at the moment.Two filters mean, 2 sets of lily pipes as well (Unless I wait for the black Friday).
Unfortunately, there is not a single unit that gets the job done for my tank. And if there is one ( see fluval fx4 and 6) it isnt suitable with my lily pipes or any external heater. 
What if I buy 2 biomaster thermo 600? 
Or 2 JBL 1502 with an external hydor of 400 watt?
I am able to spend about 300-350 bucks for filtration so I should figure out any combinations within this range.


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## Fred13 (31 Oct 2021)

Something else that I am thinking about is to start with just one biomaster thermo 850 and buy a second smaller filter after some time before I got my tank fully stocked. 
What do you think about that ?


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## H.Alves (31 Oct 2021)

Fred13 said:


> Thank you all for your comments!
> I see, 2 filters is the best option I have, however,  it is out of my budget at the moment.Two filters mean, 2 sets of lily pipes as well (Unless I wait for the black Friday).
> Unfortunately, there is not a single unit that gets the job done for my tank. And if there is one ( see fluval fx4 and 6) it isnt suitable with my lily pipes or any external heater.



One of the only options to one filter for all is the eheim 1200XL or 1200XLT but its quite expensive one, and still you are relying on a single filter. Thats the ones they use at Green Aqua for the 180Ps.

In your case, i would buy one first and then later get another one. I am at the moment just using a single Aquael ultramax 2000 for the 120P and while the filter was stopped, i had a single eheim 2217 running it. Don´t get me wrong, a single filter works well but having more flow definitely helps keeping the tank pristine and i even saw an improvement of fish behaviour after more flow/filtration was added.

You also have to take in consideration how much noise is acceptable where you have the tank. Aquael is very silent but still i "coated" (dont know the correct term in english) the inside of the cabinet with acoustic foam for further noise isolation. You have to take in account the height of the cabinet as well. The 850 is significantly taller than the 600 and remember you still need some space to remove the pre-filter.


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## Fred13 (31 Oct 2021)

H.Alves said:


> One of the only options to one filter for all is the eheim 1200XL or 1200XLT but its quite expensive one, and still you are relying on a single filter. Thats the ones they use at Green Aqua for the 180Ps.
> 
> In your case, i would buy one first and then later get another one. I am at the moment just using a single Aquael ultramax 2000 for the 120P and while the filter was stopped, i had a single eheim 2217 running it. Don´t get me wrong, a single filter works well but having more flow definitely helps keeping the tank pristine and i even saw an improvement of fish behaviour after more flow/filtration was added.
> 
> You also have to take in consideration how much noise is acceptable where you have the tank. Aquael is very silent but still i "coated" (dont know the correct term in english) the inside of the cabinet with acoustic foam for further noise isolation. You have to take in account the height of the cabinet as well. The 850 is significantly taller than the 600 and remember you still need some space to remove the pre-filter.


Having a little bit more research I found out the new Eheim 5e.
The 5e 450 seems a good one as the first filter for the initial stage. It is expensive for sure but if I can do my job well I may spend some more.
Is this maybe better than the oase in terms of noise?
I have a Juwel cabinet, the latest design with the 2 doors. It seems that there is a lot of space so no worries about the height.


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## Hufsa (1 Nov 2021)

Id go for an Eheim Experience or Classic over any of the newer models any day. They seem to add more movable parts and little plastic bits that can break for each generation of pump. Get yourself a good ol "pump in a bucket" and it will serve you well


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## Ian61 (1 Nov 2021)

Another option would be to go for one filter and a power head to give you the extra circulation if you feel you need it. I run a Oase biomaster 600 head on an 850 canister on a tank the same as yours. My stocking levels are low and tank is low tech. I have bought a powerhead but never installed it. I also have a small powered skimmer.
Forum members with more knowledge than I don’t seem to worry too much about filter volume for biological filtration as long as your plants are thriving, but flow seems important particularly if high tech/CO2.
PS Oase filter seems excellent but is noisy. See previous threads.


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## Courtneybst (1 Nov 2021)

I run a Biomaster 850 and a 350 on my 350L tank. Seems sufficient!


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## Paulus (1 Nov 2021)

Running the Eheim 4+ 600 (2275)  on my 120P for a month now. Later when my old tank is gone all add the eheim 2217 to it (now running on the old tank untill i have sold it...)

But the 2275 is running great. Nice outflow, very quiet, nice filter media capacity, easy in use.
Had the Oase 850T before but that was horrible. Sound, air priming etc etc.
Happy i bought the 2275 and it's nicely priced these days


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## GTomas (1 Nov 2021)

I run Aquamanta EFX 400 (sold by Maidenhead Aquatics) on my 1200, strong flow and well designed, it's been running flawlessly for the past few years. What's important is affordable price, too.


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## Fred13 (1 Nov 2021)

It is the first time I feel that confused about my filter choice. 
I am looking positively at the new Eheim 5e filters along with an external heater of 400 or 500 watts.
Honestly, I was certain to buy the OASE 850 Thermo but with all those reviews pointing out the sound issues, I am not into it anymore... That's a shame because the prefilter along with the internal heater seems such a great bet.
I understand that EHEIM lost its quality over the years (btw I never had one) but what can go wrong with the latest model which btw costs about 370 euros?
The 5e 700 seems okay for me. 1800 l/h , large filter capacity, and this wifi application that it is fine to have some fun.
And if this isn't enough I can always add a smaller filter to support the main.

What do you think?


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## foxfish (1 Nov 2021)

I think one issue is sticking to 16mm pipe as that will really limit the flow and add quite a bit of back pressure to the pump ! You can only pump so much water through a 16mm pipe.
If I was going to use just one filter I would be looking at bigger bore piping ones, you can tee off some flow and size down the pipe although a spray bar would work well on a big tank like yours.


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## Fred13 (1 Nov 2021)

foxfish said:


> I think one issue is sticking to 16mm pipe as that will really limit the flow and add quite a bit of back pressure to the pump ! You can only pump so much water through a 16mm pipe.
> If I was going to use just one filter I would be looking at bigger bore piping ones, you can tee off some flow and size down the pipe although a spray bar would work well on a big tank like yours.


You are absolutely correct.
I already own a brand new set of lily pipes , you know for aesthetic reasons and I am thinking that If I downsize the inlet and the outlet will lead to the same results as if I had been using a 16/22 filter.
I am gradually concluding to just one powerful filter for the first month and adding a second one later on when the tank gets more fauna.
I forgot to mention that this setup will have co2 but lower lighting intensity than a usual high tech. I aim to keep the levels of co2 pretty high but the light intensity at medium level.


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