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External for 40L

Nutty

Member
Joined
6 May 2013
Messages
87
Hello,

I've been looking around to try and find a suitable external for my 40Lish tank looking to get even flow with a spray bar and improve filtering quality, the internal the tank came with is a little pathetic really.

There are currently 4 filters in the frame, they are all affordable and should fit in the cupboard under the tank. So the contenders...

Eheim 2213 - is the cheapest of the bunch at £30, i'm not sure why I've not just bitten their hand off that price but it doesn't look as beefy as the others not a massive fan on the Eheim green but its dirt cheap for an Eheim... i just have to hope its a "plus package" to get the extra bits

Aqua one Aquis 500 - found it for a smidge under £50, looks good, but not many positive reviews about it :S not sure why though it looks pretty sturdy to me!

Tetratec EX600 - looked at the EX400 but it didn't have the pump head height required. looks good, its also the fattest pump on the list and would just about fit in my cupboard. This one rolls in at £55 so not too bad.

Fluval 106 - the most expensive at around £66 and i would need to spend an extra £10 spend on a spray bar, heard plenty of good and some bad about this one, but is the extra pennies worth it?

For me its a tough one, i don't normally dig into my wallet often but i like to get decent quality and do things right!

Views/experiences welcome!

Thanks,
Nutty
 
Ive been looking for the last few days for an external to go with my dennerle 30l and ive gone for the ehiem 2213 there not the best looking filter but from all the reviews ive read they seem to be one of the best around and for £30 I dont think you can wrong
 
Never used any of the others, but I can say the Aquis 500 does a good job for me. Everything is solidly built, and it is effective.
 
I have a eheim 2213 on my tank. Used to be on my old goldfish's home for about 4 years. Never had any problems with it during that time and seems very well built - except it makes quite a loud hum. Perhaps it's just a tolerance thing and I'm a bit up tight about noise.
 
I have the 106 and can't fault it. I replaced the grey spray bar with a diy clear acrylic one which looks much better. I don't like the black pipes much but better than green I think. Never had a leak, easy to maintain. mine is packed with media and flow is still great. The adjustable flow is also very handy for use on smaller tanks or where the fish don't like too much flow. Did hum a bit but I've sat it on a pad of filter floss and I think that has helped(I'm very intolerant of humming!)
 
I have a eheim 2213 on my tank. Used to be on my old goldfish's home for about 4 years. Never had any problems with it during that time and seems very well built - except it makes quite a loud hum. Perhaps it's just a tolerance thing and I'm a bit up tight about noise.

Have you tried lubricating the rubber o ring and the 2 black rubber bushes that hold the impeller shaft in place ? I did mine with vasaline and its so silent you have to put your ear against the filter head to hear anything at all
 
Where can you get the eheim for 30 quid??

Also I agree with lubricating the ring after a while it won't seal properly and air gets in causing the noise
 
Is that just the canister or all tubing and taps? I can't see it will have media though. Eheim sell media on its own for that price
 
Have you tried lubricating the rubber o ring and the 2 black rubber bushes that hold the impeller shaft in place ? I did mine with vasaline and its so silent you have to put your ear against the filter head to hear anything at all

I've tried lubricating the rubber sealing ring but not the brushes... Sounds like a plan! It'll be great if you've just solved 4years of annoyance. I'll report back when I next open up the filter and let you know the result.
 
bit the bullet and went for the Eheim... little devil on my should saying aah well only 30 squid! just hope the girlfriend doesn't notice the pipework :D
 
I read lots of reviews on the eheim 2213 and the general consensus seemed to be that the quality had suffered since production had shifted to China. Too many people complained of noise so I've just bought the ecco 130 which was 70 on zooplus.
 
They eheim is not a plus model if you ordered from amazon

Hi Justissaayman, is this personal experience? the comments on the item seem to suggest that they received extras which would be part of a "plus package"?


I've not based my purchase just purely in hope of that, it would just be nice :):). It was the best fit for my cupboard really, and even though the pipe work is green i think it set out is a bit smoother!

Thanks
Nutty
 
I bought 2 units 5 weeks ago which were indeed the Plus version. I ordered another 2 after they ran out of stock and these are non Plus versions. Sending them back this week.
 
Ah, well... maybe i won't hold out much hope! will just have to cross my fingers and hope for the best!!

thanks for replying!
 
I can guarantee it wont be the plus, But it works just as well. Look for a 2213 on ebay for spares and just take the taps and resell the scrap one :)
 
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