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There's the link to my initial opening setup and review. I just did my first filter change and I am still so completely beyond impressed. I went 2.5ish months on the original filters 5 stage 4 media 1 bio sponge 1 carbon and the tank stayed crystal clear. In the previous post you can see that both lines have shut off valves, so to start, you shut off the intake valve let the filter empty a little then undo both lines which are quick release, change media clean everything and reassemble. It literally took me 20 mins start to finish. This next part I'm putting in bold because I've heard re-priming the filter can can some times be a problem.. when you have screwed in both lines securely to the filter turn the intake valve back on wait til the filter housing fills to the top and plug it in.... filter change completed no priming needed
So hopefully some people deciding on a filter reads this, that's what's it for, I still highly recommend the pen plax 1500...

Sounds pretty cool, though I'm confused about the no priming part. Did you disconnect the hoses? Did you clean the filter and change water of just the former?

Because the shut off valve keeps the lines full, after you reconnect the lines open the valves wait for the housing to fill up and plug it in.. No repriming nesessary

Maybe they all have that feature I'm still a noob but I can still give the 1500 filter 5 stars thus far both in performance/quality: noise and ease of maintenance. Outstanding product

Most canisters have that, as long as the intake hose has water and no air. That's the real (hard) part of priming, IMHO.

Are the hoses stiff or soft?

The hoses are a high quality black silicone very sturdy with great solid couplers.. So far no sign of any issues..