Aquatop Canister/UV filter Reviews and experinces

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CanadianKeeper

CanadianKeeper

Fire Eel
MFK Member
Apr 25, 2012
1,248
72
66
Ontario
Ok to start off a friend of mine had let me know about thies filters... I was going to save up for an fx5 but hey I figured I give this a try !

So I have orderd it now off of aquatops website, it cost about 180 including shipping to canada... Damn good price for the prices of store purchased canisters in my area. Now I am just waiting for it to arrive...

Has anyone else used thies canister filters ? I plan on running it on a 125 african tank. I might run an ac110 along with it.

I will post pictures and have a full review of it when I recieve it... In the waiting period anyone else had one of thies ?


http://www.amazon.ca/Aquatop-CF500UV-5-Stage-Canister-Filter/dp/B004GIXCI4

imagesCAHBKFCV.jpg

CF500-4.jpg
 
I have a couple...
great filter for the price, i have one on my 125 with an AC110 and an Emperor 400

The self priming pump does NOT work so you will have to fill the filter with water before you put the top on...
also i had the spray bar on but then i took it off to get more flow, i would recommend not putting the spray bar on and just leaving the 90 degree elbow on.
 
Ive been running one for about a year on a 55 and only clean it 3-4 times a year so far. I only run a powerhead in addition to it and never really had water quality issues. It does a good job for the money and the uv light is a nice benefit.
 
ok cool, I wont put the spray bar on then if it increases flow rate... Also Would it be able to run a 125 african tank on its own or should I keep the ac 110 on the tank also ?
 
I run the 4 stage SunSun version with in addition to 4 xp3's on my 135 mbuna.

I think they are a decent filter for the money. Some of the parts are flimsy but it seems to work pretty well. Priming botton doesn't work for me either, regardless of where I place the tubes of filter. It's very quiet.

I still run the quad of Rena's though to aim for around 10x turnover, and they've been running for over 5 years. I trust my Rena's and maintenance is a breeze on the xp line. Too early to tell if I trust the SunSun(Aquatop,Marineland). Time will tell


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Yea, well I planned on upgrading to an fx5 for the price I couldnt beat this, seems to have very good reviews. I will most likly get and fx5 still.. The tank is not over stocked.. It will be under stocked compared to most african tanks. I like to see the fish not a swirling mess of colour lol
 
Ok so I GOT THE FILTER ! WOOOT !

Sadly my phone is broken so there will be NO PICTURES FOR A WHILE, i can describve everything tho...

Ok so it showed up with ups asking for Cash on delivery for customs from UPS... Didnt have that with my led lights but what ever still cheaper then any stores... Came in a REALLY well packaged box... Wasnt beat up.
Open the box to find... Padding and foam for protection. After I pulled all that out there was the aquatop box ! In great condishion ! So pull everything out its all there in one peice. The canister itself was bubble wrapped.
Currently Im trying to figure out the intake situation... has one weird peice messing up the whole thing. Most cans i can look at and slam together. This one not so much, has a really weak and unreliable looking peice for where the U joint on the intake and the rest of the intake for the tank is... Also on the Intake at the top of the canister there is a plastic blocking peice that I took 10 min to get out ! GRRRRR The rest of the set up has been alot easier, I have put on the spray bar.

It came with a filter pad in each compartment, I kept the bottom two in, put bio rings and bio balls other two.

The self primer is USELESS ! lmao, thing is brutal. I ended up just filling the canister and suckin on the output hose then I was good... Mouthfull of water but what ever. If it is anything like the marineland once the hoses are full its good to go.

I am going to run it by itself on my 125 gallon african cichlid tank and see how well it does... The UV bulb works. Turning it on for a bit to see how it does.
If I need to I will turn on my ac110 along with it

It has Pretty good water flow, the whole tank has a current, that is WITH the spray bar on. It creates good surface agitation also !

SO FAR ! UPON FIRST SET UP ! Id give this a 8/10. In a month after first cleaning and some time to see if it can handle the tank I will rate it again !

Overall first impression, happy with it. Good price ! See how long it lasts and how well it preforms on my african tank. So far, the fish seem to enjoy the increased current int he tank
 
I have this filter in the UK, mine is from allpondsolutions.co.uk. They are also called sun sun. Seems to be same filter worldwide, with different labels and box. Reason the priming does not work, is due to the pipes not been best quality. If they are under the water, then should be fine, or try sticking/silicone the pieces together. When doing water changes, this tends to suck in water, so better off turning off. Great filter, and for the faults, it's still worth the money. For the biggest one, supposed to be 2000lph is £80 with UV.


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Yea I have the biggest onethey sell it was about 120 US, so about the same canadian. I got slapped with 50 dollars for the border taxes tho :( Still a filter that can filter up to a 175 gallon (claiming) would be 300 Canadian in stores.
 
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