# Fluval 304 nearly a disaster, Rena or Eheim ?



## marko (Jun 11, 2010)

Wow I think it's time for a new filter to bad this one is almost new the other day I turned off my fluval 304 and water started pouring out from the seal lots of it if I had not been home my 55 gallon would be half empty plus I live in an apartment not good I have been having problems with theses filters and am looking into new options Rena xp4 or Eheim 2075? like I said I have a 55 gallon but would like a little more filtration as it will be fully stocked .


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## TCR (Jul 13, 2010)

I have had a fluval 303 and had issues with then too.. my rena XP4 seems to do a great job


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## Mferko (Jun 8, 2010)

eheim will last you over a decade, worth the extra $$ imo


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## Shell Dweller (Jul 11, 2010)

+1...ehiem certainly less trouble and lasts longer with less problems imo.


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## jkam (Apr 21, 2010)

If you get an eheim get the classic. Parts are easy to get but you probably won't need them. 

On a side note, please use punctuation. That block of text was so difficult to read.


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## crazy72 (Apr 22, 2010)

2075 here. Hands down.

+1 on punctuation.


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

I agree with Franck. 2075 all the way. If budgeting is a problem, get a 2217. Or get one of Charles' used 2028 for $150. Steal.


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## marko (Jun 11, 2010)

LoL dully noted on the punctuation , thanks for your info looks like Eheim is the filter of choice hands down .


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## Chewie (Jul 21, 2010)

*Water Everywhere*

I have a fluval 304 that was working great. I have it running on my 100g tank as a media chamber for extra filtration beside my sump. Did my monthly maintenance on it yesterday and this morning looked at the tank and, wait a minute why is it 1/3rd empty, water all over. Leaking bad!!!! arggg. It is funny cause I was reading this thread yesterday and thaught to myself I must be lucky to of got one that didnt leak. I did put it in a rubbermade container just in case after reading how they where prone to leak, 20g less on the floor at least... o well, one more thing to replace this month....replaced a return pump and my skimmer is an the fritz....
classifieds here I come.


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## big_bubba_B (Apr 25, 2010)

i had problems with my 405 same thing leaked like a siv . I would go ehime but there customer service is horrible were as the rena get any type of part u nead and they seam to last a long time


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## catgoldfish (Apr 21, 2010)

Chewie said:


> I have a fluval 304 that was working great. I have it running on my 100g tank as a media chamber for extra filtration beside my sump. Did my monthly maintenance on it yesterday and this morning looked at the tank and, wait a minute why is it 1/3rd empty, water all over. Leaking bad!!!! arggg. It is funny cause I was reading this thread yesterday and thaught to myself I must be lucky to of got one that didnt leak. I did put it in a rubbermade container just in case after reading how they where prone to leak, 20g less on the floor at least... o well, one more thing to replace this month....replaced a return pump and my skimmer is an the fritz....
> classifieds here I come.


 If they leak it's usually right after you clean it like you said. So just keep an eye on it right after you clean them. Otherwise they're pretty good for the price.


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

My biggest beef with the Fluvals is when you've been running it for a while, it's nearly impossible to extract the taps to perform maintenance. It's like there's a huge vacuum down there. Not sure if it's my 204 or it's all Fluvals. In the time it take to wrestle with my 204 behind my tank and clean up the spilled water, I could have cleaned my XP3 or my Eheims.


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## The Guy (Nov 26, 2010)

*Eheim*

I would for sure go with Eheim,I am running 2 Ecco's right now on 46 g & a55 g easy to maintain and very quiet. I have a 2075 that I will be using on my 110 g when it gets set up. The reports on the pro 3 2075 are good. Good choice!! Cheers Laurie


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## Chewie (Jul 21, 2010)

*Canister filter with UV*

Been looking around for a new filter and came across these.

JBJ Reaction Aquarium Filter with UV Sterilizer

what are your opinions?


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## euroamg (Dec 14, 2010)

I vote for Eheim. I have a 2226 for more than 10 years already...I replaced the seals just for insurance.. They shrink after a long time.. Better safe than sorry..


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## neven (May 15, 2010)

I lean towards Rena, because their price range is more realistic. Both are well made, and both have flaws. Many people on these forums have had xp filters 4+ years aswell as the eheims, it just depends on how well you care for them.

ie. Rena you need to make sure you clean the quick release valves during maintenance or risk a leak into the housing and our the wire hole (avoidable with proper care), and eheim's hoses are known to sometimes slip off their outtake and spray the crap out of your wall (avoidable with a proper hose clamp).

So just keep an open mind and take whatever deal you cant pass up rather than get attatched to a specific model and end up paying full retail....


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## Julie (May 28, 2012)

We have been using two Fluval 304's for a couple of years without incident. Recently we had a hydro power outage and one of the canisters did the same as yours, started pouring out from the seal lots. We noticed leaking out of our basement ceiling, which could have emptied out our 90 gallon tank. One week later and this scenaro happened again. Thank goodness we were home again to catch this. Now I am paranoid! Can anyone enlighten me on what the heck is going on?


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## macframalama (Apr 17, 2012)

guys the seals in the fluval series only sit properly one way if you remove the seal and look at it you can figure out how it is supposed to be seated, also too much media makes the baskets sit goofy , SLOW DOWN AND LOOK
but if its a rena vs ehiem thread i haven't used ehiem before because of the cost but i have many rena's and there just plain old work horses, bulletproof in my opinion
would buy another one today if i needed one, there the cats pajama's if you will,


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## Foxtail (Mar 14, 2012)

+1 for the rena. I like the hoses, you can get them at the hardwear store cheap. Fluval hoses not so much. I have never used the ehiem so I cant comment on them.

Sent from my SGH-T959D using Tapatalk 2


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## Scherb (Feb 10, 2011)

Hello. question for all you Eheim owners. what do you do when something fails ? do you go with out a filter while waiting for parts to be brought in ? i know with my fluval i just go to any store and get the part i need.


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## Rastapus (Apr 21, 2010)

Aqua Nova's anyone? Laurie, I thought you would be all over this one....:bigsmile: Great filter, great price.


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## Rastapus (Apr 21, 2010)

Scherb said:


> Hello. question for all you Eheim owners. what do you do when something fails ? do you go with out a filter while waiting for parts to be brought in ? i know with my fluval i just go to any store and get the part i need.


We still stock a heap of parts, received an order last week in fact.


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## Scherb (Feb 10, 2011)

Rastapus said:


> We still stock a heap of parts, received an order last week in fact.


Hello, well that's good to know. as far as i knew the parts and filters were online order only. so what does it cost for a eheim that is the same flow rate as a 404 ? Cheers


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## Rastapus (Apr 21, 2010)

Scherb said:


> Hello, well that's good to know. as far as i knew the parts and filters were online order only. so what does it cost for a eheim that is the same flow rate as a 404 ? Cheers


We no longer carry the Eheim line for various reasons. There are a few in BBY now that we fixed up with parts we had sold out of however but not too sure what models are left, 2213 classic I recall seeing today but I believe the rest are sold already. Really should try a Aqua Nova Canister, we have had a great track record with them for over a year now.


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## Scherb (Feb 10, 2011)

Rastapus said:


> We no longer carry the Eheim line for various reasons. There are a few in BBY now that we fixed up with parts we had sold out of however but not too sure what models are left, 2213 classic I recall seeing today but I believe the rest are sold already. Really should try a Aqua Nova Canister, we have had a great track record with them for over a year now.


Cool. Thanks for the info. Cheers


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## shady280 (Oct 17, 2011)

Dunno. All I have is fluval units. Petsmart online carries all the parts über cheap. If anyone wants to donate old fluvals to me I'll gladly take them. My test when I'm done and it's running is to tip it sideways. Keep in mind if you spill a bit where the hoses go the water will come out above the o ring and look like a leak. If it keeps leaking its the o ring. Use water to clean the o ring area and even use a super small amount of Vaseline to help from damaging the o ring.


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## macframalama (Apr 17, 2012)

i use canola oil on rena seal but same idea . clean areas make a proper seal,


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

shady280 said:


> If it keeps leaking its the o ring. Use water to clean the o ring area and even use a super small amount of Vaseline to help from damaging the o ring.


I'm not a Fluval guy much anymore, but I just wanted to point out that petroleum based products like Vaseline will actually cause the gaskets to break down and crack prematurely. You should be using silicone based lubes.


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## hlee72ca (Jun 29, 2010)

I have 305s and 405s, replace the o ring every 2 yrs, Fluvals are work horses. I have had no problems with them. The new 6 series have improvements on the primer and the impeller cover.


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## Nicole (Nov 21, 2011)

+1 Rena.. Better priced and it gets the job done. Never had a problem.


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## crazy72 (Apr 22, 2010)

If you have the extra cash, I'd say go with the 2075. Quieter and easier to prime.


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## Scherb (Feb 10, 2011)

crazy72 said:


> If you have the extra cash, I'd say go with the 2075. Quieter and easier to prime.


Hello. not sure what you mean. my 404 is quoit and i never half to prime a Fluval. just fill it to a quarter inch from the top of the canister, then put on the top connect hoses and go. Cheers


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## crazy72 (Apr 22, 2010)

Scherb said:


> Hello. not sure what you mean. my 404 is quoit and i never half to prime a Fluval. just fill it to a quarter inch from the top of the canister, then put on the top connect hoses and go. Cheers


Sorry, I meant 2075 vs XP4, as in the original question. I find with the XPs, you have to top up the water pretty close to the top otherwise you can get air bubbles in the system and it can make the filter noisy. But more generally, my 2075 is much quieter than any XPs I've had.


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## Scherb (Feb 10, 2011)

crazy72 said:


> Sorry, I meant 2075 vs XP4, as in the original question. I find with the XPs, you have to top up the water pretty close to the top otherwise you can get air bubbles in the system and it can make the filter noisy. But more generally, my 2075 is much quieter than any XPs I've had.


Hello. oh ok, got it. Cheers


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## shady280 (Oct 17, 2011)

True enough. So far I've never needed the lube. Just water so far but read somewhere bout the Vaseline. Cause you know the Internet is always correct. Lol.



2wheelsx2 said:


> I'm not a Fluval guy much anymore, but I just wanted to point out that petroleum based products like Vaseline will actually cause the gaskets to break down and crack prematurely. You should be using silicone based lubes.


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## macframalama (Apr 17, 2012)

canola oil people, same thing they replaced hydraulic fluid with because if there is ever a leak it isnt damaging to the environment...


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## AquaAddict (Dec 4, 2010)

jkam said:


> If you get an eheim get the classic. Parts are easy to get but you probably won't need them.
> 
> On a side note, please use punctuation. That block of text was so difficult to read.


HI,

I have an Eheim Classic that I broke (I know, very stupid). I have emailed Eheim but with no results. Since you are saying parts are easy to get, could you please tell me what you do or how you get parts from Eheim?

Would you mind PM ing me? Thanks in advance for any help you can give me. That filter cost a lot of $ and now it is useless.

AquaAddict


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## tony1928 (Apr 22, 2010)

Eheimparts.com is a great site and easy to find part numbers too if you want to shop it around.



AquaAddict said:


> HI,
> 
> I have an Eheim Classic that I broke (I know, very stupid). I have emailed Eheim but with no results. Since you are saying parts are easy to get, could you please tell me what you do or how you get parts from Eheim?
> 
> ...


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## J'sRacing (Apr 25, 2012)

I'm on a eheim 2075 and ecco pro 2234, excellent filters, easy to clean and maintain. Don't have to worry about the o ring not fitting, since its self guided and self latching. Oh yea and hella quiet too, the 2075 i have is quieter than the Fluval 305 my dad uses. 

But overall i trust a company that backs their products with a 3 year warranty over a company that only backs their product for 1.


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