# Eheim "ecco Pro" vs "Professional 3"



## t.doyle

OK guys, 

I need a filter for a 125 litre. Its either the ecco pro 200, or the professional 3 '250'. The ecco pro is a bit cheaper but am I missing out on something by not getting the pro 3? surely the pro 3 must have some sort of feature/catch that makes it more supreme than the ecco pro? otherwise why would it be more expensive?

Of those of you that have had hands on experience, please enlighten me! Which one do you think is better? I also noticed the ecco pro uses 12/16mm hosing and pro 3 uses 16/22mm hosing..


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## John S

The main difference is the flow rate. The Ecco Pro is rated at 600LPH and the Proffesional 3 at 950 LPH. The professional also takes morre media. I've not used any of the Eco Range but have used the Professional 600 and 2078. The 600 was the quietist filter I've ever 'not' heard  Hopefully somebody else can give you a review of the ecco Pro.

Your choice sould also depend on how you are running your tank. If its planted and running Co2 injection then the higher the LPH the better.


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## bogwood

Its as davem says.

I rate Eheim  PRO as excellent, based on many years use, on a  variety of their models, and no longer look at other manufactures.

I think once your requirements are established. Taking into account. Price. Features. Design .Shape. Capacity. Flow.
Its very much a personal choice on which particular model you go for,  A bit like buying a car.
Often several models will do the job.
If you search on this forum, there is a lot of helpful information on the various filtration options.

Personally, ive always purchased larger than i need,and never regretted it.


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## sa80mark

I used to have 3 eheim ecco pros on breeding tanks I had a 200 and 2 300 and from my point of view I never really liked them I feel the amount of media you can fit in is limited and the flow rates are way off I still have a 300 and really wouldn't use it on anything over 75l another thing I really dislike on the ecco range is the locking handle they can become very stiff and have read many stories about people snapping the handles trying to unfasten the filters


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## Willard

Hello T
I have a 6 month old ecco 300 running on my 180l tank. It does the job of keeping my fish alive, but  the flow is not great for a planted tank. Also the pipes got terribly clogged after a planting session and killed the flow entirely. Also spray bar cant be used on the ecco range either i understand. So I would have to say drop the ecco pro...

At pay day I am getting a pro 600 - 2075 to replace or even run along side it. The bigger the better everyone says on here and I have to say having learned the hard way, they are right.

Out of interest whatever filter you do decide to buy have a look at the cost on the zooplus de site. Quite a bit cheaper than the zooplus uk site.


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## Tim Harrison

The general rule is that flow should be around 10x the capacity of the tank. So with a 125l aquarium you should perhaps be aiming for a filter that turns over around 1250 l/h. So maybe you should give some thought to looking at other models completely.

I use the 300 for tanks around 60-70l capacity and it's fine for that, but I wouldn't use it for anything bigger.


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## t.doyle

ok.. so it seems people prefer the pro 3. I just quite like the ecco pro in the fact it has smaller, less obtrusive piping. The tank is a low tech including mostly anubius and java fern. I feel a slower flow may be better for me in keeping rams/apisto's also. 

Another thing, the pro 3 doesn't come with carbon pad whereas ecco pro does? will a carbon pad still fit inside a pro 3?

One more thing, is it just me or what! but everytime a press the backspace button the browser goes back to the previous page! ARRGHH!


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## BIN578

I would go with the Pro range every time if you have the budget mate.  Better flow and more flexible in the future if you upgrade the tank.


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## t.doyle

do the pro 3 range come with the green pipes or grey pipes?


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## Willard

t.doyle said:


> ok.. so it seems people prefer the pro 3. I just quite like the ecco pro in the fact it has smaller, less obtrusive piping. The tank is a low tech including mostly anubius and java fern. I feel a slower flow may be better for me in keeping rams/apisto's also.
> 
> Another thing, the pro 3 doesn't come with carbon pad whereas ecco pro does? will a carbon pad still fit inside a pro 3?



Smaller piping yes, but as I said easy to clog too....and trust me the flow is dreadful! I have a semi decent flow of water only on the front left hand side of my tank only. The rest is one big dead spot that collects gunk.

I have a low tech tank, no co2, low light tank so didnt think I needed a big filter. Ive realised now I do and having having to pay out again....

Also the ecco instructions say the carbon pad should be binned after two weeks so thats not something id worry too much about.


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## John S

t.doyle said:


> do the pro 3 range come with the green pipes or grey pipes?


 
 Eheim green. As far as I know all the standard piping on their filters are green apart from the installation sets that you can by - I think they are smoked grey.


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## Willard

Sorry T I dont know what colour the pipes are for certain - I think they are the green ones though.

If I were you I would get the 2073 instead of the ecco pro or the 2071. If you get it from the German zooplus site you will pay 149 euros, plus a 7% discount if you use the discount code "Sammelbestellerrabatt 7%" = 138 euros. 138 divided by the current exchange rate 1.14 =  £121. You may pay a conversion fee of a few %.

The UK site has the 2071 you were considering for £139.


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## Tim Harrison

They are green. Once the carbon pad stops working it is still useful as biological media. However, with proper tank maintenance carbon or purigen type media is often unnecessary, so don't get too hung up on it.

I know you're going for the low-tech but IME it is still best to stick with the 10x tank capacity flow, if you want healthy plant growth without algae problems. Even then, believe me, the flow will still be underwhelming so Rams/Apistos etc won't give a damn.


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## t.doyle

Willard said:


> If I were you I would get the 2073 instead of the ecco pro or the 2071. If you get it from the German zooplus site you will pay 149 euros, plus a 7% discount if you use the discount code "Sammelbestellerrabatt 7%" = 138 euros. 138 divided by the current exchange rate 1.14 = £121. You may pay a conversion fee of a few %.


Luckily I am in the trade, I work on the Reef/marine department so have only ever used sumps, hence the lack of knowledge in externals! lol. So this means I can get things significantly cheaper.. If however I did buy from zooplus.de, would I not get euro style plugs?


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## drooke

There's also import duty to consider when buying from a German site.


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## bogwood

drooke said:


> There's also import duty to consider when buying from a German site.


 
I thought duty/taxes only applied if you buy from outside the EU.
Or have i just been lucky with my recent purchases.


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## t.doyle

bogwood said:


> thought duty/taxes only applied if you buy from outside the EU. Or have i just been lucky with my recent purchases.


You would be correct! there are no charges/barriers or import taxes when buying from within the EU


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## stu_

t.doyle said:


> If however I did buy from zooplus.de, would I not get euro style plugs?


 
More than likely, but EU to UK plug converters are pretty cheap.Ones with screw fixings, not like ones for toothbrushes 
Similar but not necessarily like this


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## Willard

All zooplus electrical gear I have bought from the uk site has the euro plug on. It all comes from their warehouse in Germany anyway. They provide a uk plug for stuff from the uk site, but prob wont if u order from the de site. They are cheap enough though.

Also, if you are a 1st time buyer I think you get an extra 10% off.


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## BIN578

Willard said:


> All zooplus electrical gear I have bought from the uk site has the euro plug on. It all comes from their warehouse in Germany anyway. They provide a uk plug for stuff from the uk site, but prob wont if u order from the de site. They are cheap enough though.
> 
> Also, if you are a 1st time buyer I think you get an extra 10% off.


 
You seem to pay in euros what you pay in pounds if you order through the german site.  thus saving an extra 20%.  I would do that and buy a euro plug for £1.49 every time


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## drooke

Sorry, thought it applied to all non-UK purchases. That sounds like a decent saving then!

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk HD


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