High-flow filter options for >200l tanks (2021)

[Paul Kettless]

For my input on an EA 900 I’d go with either of the Biomaster 600 (course prefilter sponges) or the 850. With no inbuilt heater the eheim Pro 4 600.

Interested to know why you said without the heater, was that purely on cost. If I'm gonna spend that much money another 25 quid to get the heater out of the tank seems sensible to me 🤔

 

[Paul Kettless]

Was there anything specific that swayed you, Paul? I'm still in between AquaEl and Biomaster. The T version is basically twice the price, so basically could get two of the Ultramax 1500s for the price of an 850T. That's nothing to sneeze at.

As you said its a huge price difference, the positive points swaying me to the biomaster are the integrated heater, the simplicity of the pre-filter and how easy it is to help maintain it well. The warranty of 3+1 years and the overall reviews and comments that people are raving about it. Its been in the market place for quite a while now, and the product is solid and reliable in general. It seems like there are more happy customers than not. The AquaEl on the other hand being Polish Im worrying about parts, warranty and how simple it is to remedy problems as and when they arrive. I think the fact that I can hide a heater that wont effect flow, and have something thats easier to maintain in the long run is a huge bonus. I just dont know if if worth paying double the price. Yet I read a review today on the AquaEl in PFK that gave it a glowing report, runs near silent (very important for the other half) top marks and highly recommended. Likewise, the pond guru guy ( though I hate his sales patter for Biohome blah blah, the less said the better) he had nothing but praise for the solid build quality and said that the filter is very good value for money and like the pre-filter idea.

To be honest though, even though I disliked them in the past, Jbl filters are extremely affordable and work wonders, there's no bypass at all and the pumps are very powerful. I'd just get an E1502 and an external Hydor heater, spend the rest on plants, hardscape or whatever else you might need.

I have had JBLs before. Infact I have a 701 that is brand new and never been used. They are as you said pretty good all-rounders, and the price is very attractive. I especially like the fact that it onlys draws 20 watts power, and again are well known for running super silent, where the 850T is 32w. Thats a big difference in power consumption per year.

I spoke with @wookie over PM, and he gave me some sound advice and honest info on his 2 Biomasters he is running. I thought after that chat I had made my decision, then a few more comments on here and I doubt myself again. You guys dont make it easy for a fella lol. I could quite easily buy something like an AquaEl Ultramax 1500 or a JBL e1502 for example that would easily deal with the biological aspect of the aquarium in combination with being heavily planted and then add something like the AI Nero 3 (again @wookie planting the seed) which would give ridiculous amounts of extra flow if need, and is fully controllable . Both combined would be around the cost of an 850T, and I wonder if the combination of a decent flow canister and the AI would just take the flow to another level.

For now Im well and truly sitting on the fence still.

 

[Paul Kettless]

Well guys I think I that I have made my decision and rightly or wrongly, I am going to go for the AquaEl Ultramax 1500, paired with an AI Nero 3. I will add an inline heater at a later date. My deciding factor was that the combined cost is just over the price of an 850T, but is going to give me so many more options when it comes to flow. If there is one thing that I know from my reef keeping days and what I have read over and over again on this forum, Light and flow are crucial factors to success, and Im hoping with a fully adjustable ONF flat one and the filter/powerhead combo this will see me well for the future. A decision had to be made otherwise I would be going over the same thing for an eternity🙄 I think just reading another post and response from @dw1305 just a pump in a bucket has made me think further, and helped me come to this decision.

 

[Wookii]

Well guys I think I that I have made my decision and rightly or wrongly, I am going to go for the AquaEl Ultramax 1500, paired with an AI Nero 3. I will add an inline heater at a later date. My deciding factor was that the combined cost is just over the price of an 850T, but is going to give me so many more options when it comes to flow. If there is one thing that I know from my reef keeping days and what I have read over and over again on this forum, Light and flow are crucial factors to success, and Im hoping with a fully adjustable ONF flat one and the filter/powerhead combo this will see me well for the future. A decision had to be made otherwise I would be going over the same thing for an eternity🙄 I think just reading another post and response from @dw1305 just a pump in a bucket has made me think further, and helped me come to this decision.

Make sure you give us a mini review of the Aquel when you get chance Paul. Also on the Nero 3, if you have shrimp or very small fish, you might want to consider a guard as mentioned in my journal thread (if you haven't read it already) 😉

Kinabalu (60 x 40 x 40)

I absolutely love all the textures and plants in this tank! Well done! And nice diy on that plexi too Thanks man - really appreciate that.

www.ukaps.org

 

[Paul Kettless]

Make sure you give us a mini review of the Aquel when you get chance Paul. Also on the Nero 3, if you have shrimp or very small fish, you might want to consider a guard as mentioned in my journal thread (if you haven't read it already) 😉

Kinabalu (60 x 40 x 40)

I absolutely love all the textures and plants in this tank! Well done! And nice diy on that plexi too Thanks man - really appreciate that.

www.ukaps.org

I certainly will do a review , and thanks for the heads up on the guard I will look into that further as I would def like some Shrimp, and fish list is not defined at this time. I just need D&D to sort themselves out now and give stock to retailers to fulfill back orders. My Ea900 has been on back order since 31st December.

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,

a pump in a bucket

I wish I'd though of it, but it was <"Clive's comment">. I've referred to it because it is such a good description. Some times you need some clarity, <"to cut to the chase">, or otherwise you get lost in the detail and <"never see the bigger picture">.

Personally I never had <"any intention of using canister filters">, but I found that there were situations where HMFs or <"wet and dry trickle filters"> weren't viable options (for non-fish keeping reasons).

cheers Darrel

 

[Paul Kettless]

well orders placed, those AI nero's seem to be in very low stock. seems like most retailers are out. Fortunately, I found one on Amazon. Another expensive fish day in this house.

 

[CooKieS]

As you said its a huge price difference, the positive points swaying me to the biomaster are the integrated heater, the simplicity of the pre-filter and how easy it is to help maintain it well. The warranty of 3+1 years and the overall reviews and comments that people are raving about it. Its been in the market place for quite a while now, and the product is solid and reliable in general. It seems like there are more happy customers than not. The AquaEl on the other hand being Polish Im worrying about parts, warranty and how simple it is to remedy problems as and when they arrive. I think the fact that I can hide a heater that wont effect flow, and have something thats easier to maintain in the long run is a huge bonus. I just dont know if if worth paying double the price. Yet I read a review today on the AquaEl in PFK that gave it a glowing report, runs near silent (very important for the other half) top marks and highly recommended. Likewise, the pond guru guy ( though I hate his sales patter for Biohome blah blah, the less said the better) he had nothing but praise for the solid build quality and said that the filter is very good value for money and like the pre-filter idea.


I have had JBLs before. Infact I have a 701 that is brand new and never been used. They are as you said pretty good all-rounders, and the price is very attractive. I especially like the fact that it onlys draws 20 watts power, and again are well known for running super silent, where the 850T is 32w. Thats a big difference in power consumption per year.

I spoke with @wookie over PM, and he gave me some sound advice and honest info on his 2 Biomasters he is running. I thought after that chat I had made my decision, then a few more comments on here and I doubt myself again. You guys dont make it easy for a fella lol. I could quite easily buy something like an AquaEl Ultramax 1500 or a JBL e1502 for example that would easily deal with the biological aspect of the aquarium in combination with being heavily planted and then add something like the AI Nero 3 (again @wookie planting the seed) which would give ridiculous amounts of extra flow if need, and is fully controllable . Both combined would be around the cost of an 850T, and I wonder if the combination of a decent flow canister and the AI would just take the flow to another level.

For now Im well and truly sitting on the fence still.

my Aquael ultramax won’t work since 2 months now and still waiting for Aquael response...hope you got the last version with 19/25mm hoses? This one should run without problem

 

[Paul Kettless]

my Aquael ultramax won’t work since 2 months now and still waiting for Aquael response...hope you got the last version with 19/25mm hoses? This one should run without problem

Sorry to read that, doesn't seem like the customer service is there. I went for the Ultramax 1500 so the pipework is 16/22.

I did see on another post, although not sure where now, that a way to tell if I have the new model is by how many fins are on the impeller. Fortunately mine has 6, and not the 5.

I still have no signs of my ea900 tank, seems that news from D&D to suppliers is also very poor. I've been waiting 6 weeks now, and no further forward at all.

Seems like company's in general are forgetting the important element of sales, and that's customer care.

I hope you get yours sorted soon. Its a real shame, as the build quality appears to be excellent, and has the promise of being a good filter. I guess time will tell for me. Thats if I ever get the chance to set it up lol

 

[anda1961]

I can say that Aquael while very quiet and solid filters parts are virtually impossible to get. I should know have Ultramax 2000 with 19/25 pipe work sat awaiting spare impeller.
Have 2 Ultramax 1500s again tried to get spares ready for any mishaps impossible.
Have a JBL 1502 green line on my other 80litre tank brilliant spares readily available.
I won’t entertain anymore Aquael external filters because of the spares situation in the UK shame very well built and silent like carnt hear them running.

 

[Ollie s]

I can say that Aquael while very quiet and solid filters parts are virtually impossible to get. I should know have Ultramax 2000 with 19/25 pipe work sat awaiting spare impeller.
Have 2 Ultramax 1500s again tried to get spares ready for any mishaps impossible.
Have a JBL 1502 green line on my other 80litre tank brilliant spares readily available.
I won’t entertain anymore Aquael external filters because of the spares situation in the UK shame very well built and silent like carnt hear them running.

Did you ever get your ultramax sorted? I'm stuck between ultramax 2000 or a biomaster 850t but just can't decide its starting to make me grumpy lol

 

[stevetorley]

Im sure we would all love to buy it if we all could afford to spend £300 on a filter without even having to think about it, but the majority of us most probably have heaters already. The AquaEl Ultramax 1500 for example is nearly half the price., and does have a pre-filter albeit not so easy to get to. If we are suggesting that the Oase is better, is it that much better to spend double the cost. Dare I say it but I believe the Oase's are the trendy buy right now and over hyped and quite expensive for what they are.

In my research over the past couple of weeks I have seen loads of people complaining about priming, leaking and noisy Thermo filters.

I have the oase 850 themo on the oase highline 400. It's really loud compared to my fluval 307. I ended up adding the 307 to the tank as well to improve the turnover. I haven't had any leaks and the priming has been fine.

 

[Nelson Marto]

I have the oase 850 themo on the oase highline 400. It's really loud compared to my fluval 307. I ended up adding the 307 to the tank as well to improve the turnover. I haven't had any leaks and the priming has been fine.

Hi, the OASE 850 is noisy? I'm about to buy it, but the noise will be my factor of decision. The other option is EHEIM professionel 5e 600T. Currently I have an eheim 2275, I would like to improve... without noise.

 

[stevetorley]

Hi, the OASE 850 is noisy? I'm about to buy it, but the noise will be my factor of decision. The other option is EHEIM professionel 5e 600T. Currently I have an eheim 2275, I would like to improve... without noise.

Yes, very noisy.... I can't hear the fluvial 307, but the 850 makes a really annoying humming sound. I swapped out the sponges for biohome ultimate. So:
PreFilter:
Orange 40ppp (i think)
Bottom Tray:
Medium Sponge
Rest of the Trays:
Biohome Ultimate

I've checked:
Inserted rubber feet.
The filter is not touching or leaning against the cabinet.
Hoses are not vibrating against the cabinet.

 

[Nelson Marto]

Yes, very noisy.... I can't hear the fluvial 307, but the 850 makes a really annoying humming sound. I swapped out the sponges for biohome ultimate.

You are the second person I heard saying biomaster850 is noisy (how many days is working?). Now I'm afraid of buy it.
There are more people here with Biomaster 850? People in general report that biomaster 600 is quiet.
Can you or some one mesure de decibel at 20cm distance from the filter?
we can user this app and compare.

Sound Meter - Apps on Google Play

Measure environmental noise with your phone.

play.google.com

 

[Wookii]

I have the 850, and it did make a fairly audible humming noise to start with in the first several weeks. I can imagine if you have it in a very quite environment it could be a nuisance. The noise did seem to reduce considerably over time - whether this was because the mechanical parts were run in, or because my ear/brain interface filters out the background noise I can't be sure but now the bubbles in myCO2 reactor are more audible than the filter itself.

 

[Nelson Marto]

I have the 850, and it did make a fairly audible humming noise to start with in the first several weeks. I can imagine if you have it in a very quite environment it could be a nuisance. The noise did seem to reduce considerably over time - whether this was because the mechanical parts were run in, or because my ear/brain interface filters out the background noise I can't be sure but now the bubbles in myCO2 reactor are more audible than the filter itself.

That is a very good impression, now is silent...how long did it take to reduce the noise? Can you mesure it?

 

[stevetorley]

Mines been running for 5 weeks. I'm disappointed with the noise, prefilter is good though.

 

[stevetorley]

OK... loaded an app on the phone. Opened the cabinet doors, and held the phone at the door opening:

Both filters off: 59.4db
Just the fluval 307 on: 63db
Just the Oase 850 on: 69.8db

 

[Nelson Marto]

This mesure is not accurate, i know, because it depend on phone microphone sensibility.
Anyway my room is more silent than yours 😛
I don't have an OASE 850 I was planning to buy it, my current filter is eheim 2275 (prof 4 600).
My room with no filter close to aquarium: 28db
With filter, open, cabinet, and phone at 15cm 34db
With filter, close cabinet, and phone at 15cm 33db.

someone more have this messures?