Equipment Review and Discussion :: fluval 4 plus?

[Turtlefriend]

Im hopefully going to get a 60-90 gallon tank. Im considering getting a stealth heater and the fluval 4 plus. Is that a good filter for a tank that size? I know canister filters are the best but i dont have the money to get one right now. If i do get the fluval 4 plus, which media do i put into it and what does each media pad do? How many slots are there for media? If i dont get the fluval 4 plus, what else is good and cheap?

[jenaero]

I can't help out with finding something 'good and cheap' because I'm not sure such a thing exists.

I can tell you that a fluval 4plus won't do you any good in such a large tank. I had one in a 40gal (or 50, not sure) and I had to do 100% water changes AND wash the filter every week. I think you should seriously consider saving up some money and getting a canister. I use a Fluval 404 on my 125 gal and it's great. It ran me about $160 (canadian) but it was SO worth it.

In case you insist on getting the 4plus, there is a spot for the white foam pads and you can fit a piece of carbon in between but that's about it. Nothing fancy.

[marisa]

The 4+ isn't really that great a filter and wouldn't look like it was doing anything except pushing water a little in the size tank you're talking about. The filter itself is rated for only 57 gallons, I think. I used one with some really small hatchlings in a 40-gallon stock tank and had problems with it wanting to float (I had it suctioned to the bottom) and had to weight it down with rocks. A good canister would be what you'd want, but you still can do better than the 4+. An AquaClear 110 would be better in terms of helping to keep the water clean (but if you do get a 90-gallon tank, get a canister).

[kneenuh]

I use a Fluval 404 on my 125 gal and it's great. It ran me about $160 (canadian) but it was SO worth it.

good deal! They're $179 where I am, and that's USD!

[industrial_girl_2000]

I have a 90gal tank with 60gal of water in it & the fluval 4+ filter. At the time, I had just upgraded my tank to the 90gal size, & obviously had to upgrade the filter as well since it wasn't made for a tank that large. I went with the fluval 4 because I got it on sale (1/2 off so only cost me about $25) plus it was underwater which means it's quiet & you don't get that loud dribble noise like you do with waterfall filters. It comes with a set of white sponge pads, but you have to buy your own extra charcoal/ammonia mix for it. If you buy the fluval brand mixture of charcoal/ammonia mix, it comes with it's own nylon bag that you can use for the charcoal mix media. The bag is re-usable & so are the white sponges. You just have to rinse them out weekly & replace the charcoal weekly.

So far this filter has done pretty well for my turtle's tank. I do monthly complete water changes (no partials) and replace the charcoal/ammonia media weekly & rinse out the white sponges weekly. The water is clear/clean & smells clean. I do not feed my turtle reptomin pellets IN her tank though because if you feed pellets in the tank, the Fluval 4 will not be enough filtration to keep the water clear. I do feed romaine in the tank daily, but romaine doesn't dirty the water. When I change the filter media weekly, I also use a fishnet to scoop out some of the non-dissolving turtle-waste particles that are on the bottom of the tank.

I have no doubt that the canister filters are fantastic & if you have the money, definitely go with that. It's just that after I got done spending $1000 for the tank & delivery, I didn't have much money left for anything else so the cheap sale price of the fluval 4 was *very* attractive. When this filter dies (unfortunately they don't live forever...), I will hopefully have money for a canister filter.

Hope that helps with your decision!

[Starchick]

I just bought the fluval 4, haven't set it up yet so I can't comment on its performance, but I wanted to mention that petsmart had it for 34 dollars on the web, and they pricematched for me at the store. I'm using the fluval 2 in Napoleon's 30 gallon and like how it works. I don't have anything to compare it to as far as ease of use, but I have the foam pads in there and a little baggie with carbon, and all my ph/ammonia/nitrate/nitrite levels are fine. I clean the filter once a week and replace as much water in the tank as it takes to fill up my bucket to rinse the filter with, and do a complete water change every other week.

[daredevilgirl013]

I have a Fluval 4+ in my 50 gallon stock tank. I have it completely underwater and I only change the pads in it every month and I don't wash them out I just toss them out. But I also have a Whisper Filter for a 30-60 gallon tank in there as well. So I've got two filters running. Now the Whisper I change every week.

But the two together work great. I have never had to change the water. I've never had to clean the tank. Only once have I done anything and that was to syphon up about three 5 gallons bucket worth of leftover food from the fish and water and dead stuff, and really it wasn't that bad. Just enough to get things going again. But like I said the two work great.

[Turtlefriend]

I actually got a 45 gallon tank because Petco had a sale. I got $50 or %50 off a $100 tank after i bought a marineland filter. I bought the smallest one so i can sell it and get a fluval 4+ for the 45 gallon.

[kikicool]

I have the aquaclear 110 in my 55 gallon tank, and I like it. Keeps the water sparkling. But... it doesn't do much for any sort of particles, they all sit on the bottom, so I must scoop daily. Ah, well. Also, I got mine on ebay for some good price... I forget what though.

[marisa]

Unfortunately, filters won't pick up particles/debris on the bottom of tanks (they're meant to filter the water). Only the particles closest to the intake of my Aquaclear 110 eventually make their way to the intake tube. If I see any on the bottom of the tank, I try to suction them up.

[kikicool]

I battery vac them. I swear this was the best tool ever invented!

[marisa]

I used to use a battery vac (the super battery vac, I think it was called). It worked OK on smaller tanks, but for me it was tedious to use with a larger tank.

[Rickiew04]

What's a battery vac? It's submersible? What do you do instead of using the batter vac now?

[kikicool]

Yes! It is submersible (to a point, and that's fine). It picks up all the STUFF at the bottom of the tank, then you just empty the little pouch it collects into. It is this:
http://www.petco.com/Shop/Product.aspx? ... lyID=6608&

I was going to ask the same question, Marisa. What product have you found that you like better? I'd be interested in trying it!

[Turtlefriend]

I installed my fluval 4 plus and right now its pointing up and to the side of the tank. Will it hurt my turtles if they get hit by the water and crash into the side of the tank?