What is so special about this Fluval I keep hearing about and what makes it better than the HOB systems? I looked it up online and the only thing I seen was a hefty price tag please explain why its so special and if I need one lol

The Fluval, or any canister filter is better because it holds more Beneficial Bacteria. This makes it able to better deal with Large bio loads. They also have bigger motors, Or pumps to move more hours per gallon!

Hope this helps.

fluval filter is a canister type and always have higher filtering flow rate
as compared to hang on the back (HOB). fluval always provide bigger space
for filter media making more room for bacteria and more turn over of
water inside the tank. more ...more .... but more expensive as compare
to the ordinary filter...

yes more money but well worth it
hold more bio media and sponges to pull dirt and other particals out
the best hob filter though and i own them are the aqua clear 110's
one sponge then fill to top with bio media and sponge is reusable for like a year or two
moves 500 gallons of water an hour

nhager wrote:


as to what makes fluval special well nothing in particular. as for why people recommend them well reliability and price play a big part in that.(if you think fluval has a hefty price tag try pricing out a comparable eheim). also the effectiveness of a canister is far greater than that of an hob.

as for why a canister over an hob well like mentioned bio capacity. if you take the best hob on the market for oscar the aquaclear 110 (made by fluval btw) and calculate the bio area on it you will see it has an area of about 120 cubic inches of space(just measured one out) now compare that to the fluval 405 which is rated for the same volume of tank and you get about 450 cubic inches of bio area. as you can see the canister has over 3 times the area for bio media than the hob and this is the main reason people who keep large cichlids prefer canisters over hobs.

I run two HOB made for 30 to 60 gallon tanks and one HOB made for a 20 gallon I dont think I need to worry about it much because between the three I move alot of water

the little hobs your using are fine for small oscar but as they grow you will find that keeping your water quality in good condition will become near impossible to maintain. water movement alone is not the only thing that needs to be considered with filtration. mechanical and bio area are also very important in the overall picture and im sure in time you will notice this and take the appropriate steps to rectify the problems you will inevitably encounter.

Necro is spot on, cannisters are far better filters and fluvals are good quality filters at a good price. Eheim are the supposed king of filters but they have a price tag to match