This review is for; Aquatop PF25-UV Hang-On Filter with UV Sterilization
I only had this filter running in my 28-gallon tall hex tank for just over a month & have been very pleased with it so far. My acrylic tall, aquarium only has a 7" opening for back-hanging filters, so at 6.5" wide this filter was a prefect fit. Note that it is very important that the lip of your aquarium must be 3/4" OR LESS. Any lip thicker than 3/4" & this filter WILL NOT fit. Fortunately the lip of my tank is exactly 5/8". My tank is for Marine fish as I have damsels, cleaner shrimp, live corals & some other live invertebrates.
The filter also comes with a small bag of ceramic rings (usefull for biological purposes) in addition to the standard disposable cartridge with activated carbon. The filter does have a surface skimmmer that does skim the surface of the water, but unlike traditional protein skimmers there is no collection cup to clean. The flow rate is adjustable by a simple turn of the knob on the top part of the filter near the intake tubes. The unit pump is very quiet. My aquarium is in my living room, so I could hardly hear it when I'm watching television. The only noise I hear is the water from the filter going back to the tank.
The UV sterilizer works on a separate switch and can operate independently from the filter's main pump. I run my filter 24-7, but I turn my UV sterilizer off or on occasionally. When it is on you see just a a slight glow on the bottom of the filter which helps me to remind me that it is on. To replace the bulb, you just unscrew the bottom assembly that houses the bulb.
Overall, I like the quality & value of this filter so far, but time will tell to see how it holds up. If you buy this filter & install it please insure that all of the plastic parts are not cracked and that they all snap together firmly. I made a slight mistake on the intake tube near the top part of the filter in which two pieces were not firmly snapped togther & I had some water run down the side of my tank! Yikes, but it was easily fixed. Overall, you can't beat the price/value for an outside filter, surface skimmer & UV sterilzer all in one unit. Recommended!
UPDATE 7/19/13 It's been about 13 months since I purchased my AquaTop PF25UV hob/uv sterilizer filter and it continues to work quite well. In fact, so well, that I have purchased a PF40UV and a pair of PF15UV filters for some of my other planted aquaria.
These are fairly durable filters and their uv sterilizers are very effective at keeping the water in my planted aquaria nice and clean.
While they are quite good for use as uv clarifiers, if you run them at a very low gallon per hour rate say 20 gph, these filters will also offer germicidal benefits.
In this author's experience after more than a year of use, I find that the AquaTop HOB/UV sterilizer filters are not only affordable, but also, well made, durable, and very useful for keeping the water columns in my planted aquaria crystal clear.
Highly recommended!
Earlier:
If you own a planted aquarium that has a basic lighting system, and you use a minimum amount of fertilizer, your filter is probably good enough to keep your water clear.
However, if you use a hi-tech lighting system such as T-5, or metal halide, injected CO2, and planted and liquid fertilizers, then you are going to have a nearly impossible time keeping your water clean.
The problem with these hi-tech systems is that they generate so many nutrients in the water table of an aquarium, that bacteria and algae not only thrive in such situation, they can actually grow exponentionally when exposed to them.
This will leave you with either very cloudy water from all of the new bacteria as they replicate, or green water from algae as it replicates. One of the other tends to dominate an aquarium with a hi-tech lighting system.
For example, when using a GLO T5 lighting system, pressurized CO2, and liquid and planted fertilizer. this author has had many algae blooms in my aquariums.
The only way that I could clear the water was with the use of a Vortex D1 diatom filter.
And even then, within a day the water turned green again.
So I decided to purchase an AquaTop IL-10UV inline ultraviolet sterilizer to see if it could get rid of the algae blooms.
The IL-10UV ($40) worked so well for one of my planted tanks, that I decided to purchase an AquaTop PF-UV25 for my Aqueon 20 long planted aquarium. I have only owned the PF-UV25 for about two weeks, however, it managed to clean the green water in this aquarium within a matter of 24 hours.
I also like the fact that the PF-UV25 has a separate mains plug for the uv sterilizer bulb, since this allows me to extend the life of this bulb by using it less frequently.
The PF-UV25's power supply is a well made unit with some heft to it, that includes an on-off switch. And this makes it very convenient to use.
The unit's intake tube also includes both a surface skimmer as well as a check valve. I like the inclusion of the check valve, since hob filters tend to drain their water back into the aquarium during a power outage, which might damage a hot uv bulb. I say this since the water is used to keep the bulb cool. So even if the bulb is turned off, it may still be hot enough to crack if the water surrounding its housing is rapidly drained from the PF-UV25's filter housing during a blackout.
Even though the PF-UV25 offers just mechanical and chemical filtration, it is a must for a planted aquarium where hi-tech lighting and injected CO2 are used.
Moreover, if the PF-UV25 stands up as well as my Aquaclear hob filters, this line of filters will be copied by many other manufacturers of hob and canister filters, since they do a superior job of filtering an aquarium.
Some critics of inexpensive uv sterilizers have claimed that the poor quality of the uv bulbs included with these units cannot kill off bacteria.
However, I have seen the PF-UV25 clear an aquarium so full of bacteria that the water was very cloudy, overnight. So these uv sterilizers do work in spite of being inexpensive.
They also clear up green water and prevent it from coming back as long as they are used several times a week ( or kept on 24/7).
I use canister filters for biological filtration. In my 20 gallon long heavily planted aquarium, I use an Eheim 2213 for biological and mechanical filtration, and the AquaTop PF-UV25 for mechanical filtration and uv sterilization. The combination works quite well, and my fish have never looked healthier, or more energetic than they have since I added uv sterilization to my aquariums.
Hats off to AquaTop for making affordable uv systems for aquaria that have made keeping planted aquariums with hi-tech lighting systems very easy to maintain!
And I enthusiastically recommend the AquaTop PF-UV25, given its ability to kill algae and bacteria, while keeping my aquarium's water crystal clear all at an affordable price.
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I ordered this product and received it in a timely manner, however the UV bulb was broken. The package had no cushion at all. I called the company and they promptly sent me a new one. This time the outer casing was cracked! I didn't want to wait again, so I took the first one apart, used the casing on it, and now have a working filter.
It's too bad that they don't take the time to properly package this item, as it works wonderfully, once you can get one that isn't damaged!
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when i took it out of the box there was carbon pellets all over the place and I found a piece of glass that can't possibly have broken during shipping, it had to have been broken prior. I have to say it looks used as well. Returning and won't order again.
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My 10 gal tank was filled with deep green water, no matter what i tried, it would not get clear. Within 2 weeks of installing this, it was clear as could be and I have had no issues since. Thanks for a great product.
This Co2 inline diffuser has no issues at all. The other customer's Co2 must have been leaking and not keeping pressure. I use a standard 5lb Catalina aluminum Co2 cylinder with an Aquatek of California regulator and NEVER experience any issue. It is running through an Eheim classic 2211. The outtake hose on this filter is too small so I have it installed at the very top of the intake as it comes out of the aquarium. By the time the intake reaches the canister filter the bubbles are completely dissolved and it does not make the canister run loud because there are no bubbles. If you run it on the outtake into the aquarium you will still see a mist or sometimes get bubbles in the tank. This never happens if you install it on the filter intake. It is just as good as a Co2 reactor, actually better because it doesn't reduce your flow like an inline Co2 reactor will and you don't have to have an extra pump like you do with hang-on-back Co2 reactors. I highly recommend this. And I am a professional aquascaper! It runs completely silent as well.
