Fluval Canister Filter

Upgraded from my Emperor power filter to the 405 canister filter and am pretty happy with it so far. I have a 75 gallon fresh water tank with around 10 fish between 3" 6" inches each. I'm still experimenting with media and think this filter would work much better if it had a secondary water polishing media as a final stage. As it's shipped it has a sponge type physical media, bio-media and carbon. The sponge seems to let some of the smaller particles through. I've since added a layer of fine mesh fiber between the carbon and bio-media and it seems to be an improvement. Time will tell if it shortens my time between cleanings.

1. Installation Very easy to install, the video supplied with the filter is very easy to follow and the printed directions are also very good. Just be sure you have a place below your tank to place the filter since it needs to be placed below the water level to operate.

2. ConstructionAll the molded plastic parts seem well made and work very well. Especially the clamps for the hoses. The unit is pretty easy to remove and disassemble for cleaning also due to it's good design.

3. Maintenance So far with this unit I'm only cleaning it every 3-4 weeks, I was cleaning every two weeks with my old filter. Cleaning is much easier since you basically take the whole filter to the sink with you vs. just pulling the filter cartridges in my old filter. As I said before the supplied physical media is a sponge type material which seems to let some of the smaller stuff through so I'd recommend experimenting with some additional media.

4. Filtration Compared to my old power filter there is no comparison. This unit keeps the water much cleaner for much longer. With 4 bays for media you can alter your setup as you see fit and the volume of media is much greater. For comparison, my power filter cartridge held I think about 50oz. of carbon, this unit holds up to 400oz. The pump is also very quiet and since it's tucked away under my tank I can't hear it at all.

I'd have to say after using this filter for a few months I would recommend it to anyone.

I purchased a Fluval 405 in January '09 for a 30 Gallon tank I was setting up for 3 large single tail Goldfish. It's been running non-stop ever since. In February of '09 I transfered it to the 55G that replaced the 30, and in April '09 I transfered it to a 70G that replaced the 55.

Set up of the Fluvals is pretty easy, but does take some time.

To the people who are having problems removing the top of the filter in order to service it: You don't have to pry off the top, you use the latches on the side, and after "unlatching" them, you shove downward on them. Use some finesse, and they act as levers and raise the lid for you. It does take a bit of effort, so as I said, use some finesse.

I have mine set up with the Fluval "Pre-Filter" ceramic 6 sided "cylinders" in the very bottom tray. The rest of my trays are full of Fluval "Bio Media" ceramic cylinders. One word on filling the trays with these cylinders. The trays hold a lot more cylinders if you place them in one-by-one, standing up, and in rows, and then stack them. I did a comparison between just pouring in the cylinders, and placing them in, in rows and stacks. Big difference. That's important with 3 big Goldfish! I also use the Fluval water polishing pads and the water is always crystal clear. I've never once had that milky looking water, or green tinge water.

I haven't broken anything on it yet, but I did ruin the clear rubber (silicone?) cup that is the priming cup, by rinsing it with really hot tap water. It get all wavy and would no longer seal good enough to create suction and prime the pump.

A word on priming: Fill the canister with water that you've treated for Clorine (I use Prime), and then put the lid on. Then pour in just a bit more treated water, into the outlet port. Carry it over to the aquarium, hook up your hose assembly, turn it on, and open the valve. It should immediately begin pumping. Rock it back and forth a few times and listen for the air to move out of it, and that's it, it's back in business.

I've had one problem with the Fluval and I'll discuss the solution below since Hagen is not interested in talking with me about it via email or phone.

About 6-8 months ago, I noticed the micro polishing filter pads were coming out all dirty on their tops. This is now how the water is supposed to flow in the Fluval. Correct flow path is that water comes into the canister housing and travels down the left side, through the 4 large sponge filters. Once the water is at the bottom of the canister, it turns and flows upwards, through the bottom of each of the 4 media storage trays. The water then goes through a port molded into the plastic cover that sits on top of the top most media tray. This port has a plastic sleeve sticking up, and that sleeve is just pushing up against the the impeller housing cover.

Needless to say, there's no way water can be flowing down through the media trays. Well, mine was. No amount of cleaning of the hoses, impeller magnet and housing, or even replacing the impeller cover helped with the direction of flow. Every time I serviced the Fluval, the sponges would only be marginally full of crud, and the water polishing pads would be dirty on top. Additionally, the Fluval had become almost impossible to prime. Even when completely filled with water, as I described above, it would just sit there and cavitate. It would take me 10-15min of pumping on the priming pump....at different speeds....before the impeller would finally grab water and start actually moving it upward out of the canister.

I surmized that the cover and that round sleeve, weren't sealing against the impeller housing. I inspected the cover and found it was bowed downward, away from the impeller housing. There's nothing to support it and keep it flat and true, so because it's always being shoved downward, the plastic just bows and permanently takes that shape. I ordered a new cover, but while waiting for it to arrive, decided to try to fix the problem by modding my existing cover.

I heated the cover under hot tap water. I've got really hot tap water, so that worked great. I held it flexed back into a straight position and once cooled, it was back in shape. I could have just installed it this way, but I knew the problem would return. I decided to make a gasket to seal the plastic sleeve on the cover, against the impeller housing. I used two large rubber o-rings, like you can find in the plumbing dept. of any hardware store. I simply slipped these down over the plastic sleeve. Once in place, the top o-ring stuck up above the sleeve just enough that it would create a good seal against the impeller housing.

The good news is that the problem is cured. The Fluval fired up instantly, just as it did when it was brand new, and I even have improved flow. I'm using a Fluval spray bar by the way.

So if future Fluvals come with a silicone rubber gasket to seal between that top cover and the impeller housing, you can say that you read about it here first on Amazon! But for now, if your Fluval 105, 205, 305, or 405, or the early generation 04 models, are performing poorly, put a couple of o-rings around that sleeve on the top cover, and fix it!

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This filter actually 'came with' a used aquarium I got from a garage sale...so I have no idea how old it is...but it works great! It is quiet, which is always a plus, and it is versatile. There are 4 trays, with two chambers each, in which to mix and match filter media. I am able to tailer mine to the strong needs of my turtle. Although the filter has a 100 gallon tank capacity, I am saving up for a second one on my 90 gallon tank...there is no such thing as over-filtering when it comes to turtles and I just love this fluval.

Initial set up is a bit overwhelming, but the directions are very clear. Once it is set up, maitenance is fairly easy. It's a bit bulky to haul to the sink to change out the media...but that's to be expected from something this size. I also have trouble getting the lid off and basically have to use a screwdriver as a lever...but honestly, I don't mind...I would rather have it be snug and leak proof than easy to remove!

The manual has a section that talks about the various components of filtering which can be helpful when deciding what to put where in your filter. It wasn't helpful to me. But this is probably the most widely used type of filter and a visit to any turtle or fish keeping community on the internet will yield plenty of tips and advice on setting up media that is most effective for your aquarium community.

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I rescued a red eared slider turtle a few months ago and had NO idea what I was in for to keep a tank clean. I was about to give him away but had grown to like the little guy so I thought I would give a canister filter a shot. I went with the Fluval after much research and review reading. This product does wonders!! I have him in a 30 gallon tank filled about half way and it keeps the water crystal clear. I take it apart and rince the components every 1-2 weeks and that is such an easy process. I highly recommend this product. I am very pleased with the performance and ease of maintance.

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The filter got to us on time for a great price. Assembled easily and supplies good flow in tank. Using on a 50 gal very populated tank, filters seem to need cleaning more than I expected. Also clogged once that brought flow to a halt after only 1.5 weeks of service.

Overall a good mechanism for assemble and disassemble, except lid needs to be pried off instead of having a lever system (?)