Hagen AquaClear Filters

Some products are just so well designed and versatile that they become the work-horse of their market. The Hagen AquaClear filters are just that. They're cheap, they're dependable, convenient, and they get the job done. I've had my AquaClear for over 10 years now and it still performs as if it were brand new.

The AquaClear line consists of hang-on-back (HOB) filters in different sizes that simply hang over the edge of the aquarium, eliminating the need for hoses and space beneath the aquarium to house an external filter. They are a perfect solution for beginners and those short on space. The filters are also extremely economical, ranging from just $22 for a Mini which is rated up to 20 gallons to $65 for a monster 500 which can handle up to 110 gallons all by itself.

The system works by pulling water up through an intake tube via an impeller and pushing it through the filter media and back into the tank via an overflow lip. The media is where the AquaClear filters really shine. Unlike other HOB filters that use cartridges, AquaClear media is held in an easy to remove insert, but each set of media (biological, chemical, mechanical) is it's own individual unit, wrapped up in a mesh bag and stacked one on top of the other. This makes it very easy to clean and prevents shock to the aquarium since you can replace the media one at a time, allowing the bacterial colonies to propogate from the old media to the new. It also spreads out the media over a greater area, allowing longer contact times and improving efficiency. Using your own media is possible, though not as convenient as in a canister filter. The set-up also allows for easy restarts, since the distance the impeller has to pull the water is minimal. All is needed is to fill the filter with water and the impeller will do the rest. The filter also allows the flow to be adjusted by simply shifting the intake tube to the side of the impeller. This is handy during feeding times when you don't want the filter's flow to create a blizzard of food flakes. The lack of tubing and the ever-annoying suction cups (ever done battle with a suction cup inside your tank that just doesn't want to let go?) also makes it very easy to move this filter from one tank to another, making it an excellent choice for a quarantine tank filter or a seeding filter to jumpstart the bacterial colonies in a new tank.

The quality of the plastic used in the filters is a little questionable, but unless you routinely abuse your filter equipment with heavy objects or like to leave it out on the floor to step on, it's not a big deal. The only other qualm users might have is the waterfall style outflow. This can get quite noisy depending on your water level (unless you enjoy the noise of splashing water) and for those of you with CO2 injection of some sort, the water disturbance will cause a lot of CO2 to escape.

If you're looking for a cheap, basic filter that is dependable and convenient, AquaClear filters are definitely a best buy, earning five out of five fish.

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Eheim 2213 Review

I recently realized I've never done a formal review for my Eheim 2213. I've had the filter for almost a year now and feel like I've gotten to know all of its quirks. The Eheim 2213 is the smallest of the Classic canister filter line made by Eheim, and although they claim it can handle aquariums up to 66 gallons, it wasn't enough for my 29 gallon aquarium.

First, I'll start out with the facts. The 2213 pumps up to 116gph and has complete three stage filtration. It comes with all the filter media including EHFIMECH mechanical filtration media, EHFISUBSTRAT PRO biological media, and coarse, fine, and carbon pads. It also comes with all tubing and, the best feature, double disconnect valves. These valves work great and make up for the fact that the Eheim 2213 has no auto-start feature (more on this later). Everything is high quality and you can tell a lot of thought and design went into each piece, which is typical Eheim style.

Setting up the filter is fairly easy, although the instruction manual is not very helpful. Pictures and intuition are paramount and whatever you do, don't cut the tubing before you're absolutely sure it'll reach where you want it to go! The Eheim 2213 is different from the larger 2217 in that inside the canister it has a media basket. All the media is placed inside instead of just being dumped into the canister in layers. However, the benefits of this are few and far between and I think the designers should have put some more thought into the way the top of the basket twists on. When you go to clean the filter out, trying to twist on or off a slippery, dirty, slimy piece of plastic with absolutely no leverage besides a flimsy handle to lift the basket out is not easy.
Once you get all the media set up the hardest part is actually starting the filter for the first time. Since there is no auto-start feature, you're forced to find a way to create a siphon (usually by sucking on the end of the tube, which is never pleasant). The good news is, once you fill it up, you never have to do it again. Just remember to shut the double valves before you shut off the filter and the tubes will stay filled. That way, you just plug it in, start it up, and open up the valves and you're ready to go again.

In terms of effectiveness, it is extremely efficient (only 8W, compared to the 2217's 20W or 30W+ for those cheaper canister filters). The flow is very low, but this is apparently why it is so efficient, both in terms of power and removing nitrates and ammonia from the water. Longer contact time with the media means more wastes are absorbed by the bacteria. However, in terms of mechanical effectiveness, the flow rate doesn't really work. I had it on a 29 gallon planted aquarium with a heavy fish load and it couldn't keep up. Debris and mulm started to accumulate on the bottom of my tank. I'm guessing that with a non-planted tank and with a regular fish load, it may be able to handle a 66 gallon tank. But in terms of usage on a planted tank, I'd say the maximum effective capacity is 30 gallons. It works great on my 20 gallon tank now, and an Eheim 2217 does the job perfectly on the 29 gallon aquarium.

Overall, the Eheim 2213 is a great little filter. Aside from being a bit underpowered for medium or larger planted tanks, its design is top notch. And luckily, Eheim offers a full range of (more powerful) classic line canister filters that larger planted aquarium enthusiasts can choose from. I give the Eheim 2213 four out of five fish:

Eheim 2217 Review

The Eheim 2217 is the largest of the Classic series you can buy. It's rated at 264 gallons per hour and the filter itself is a hefty 6 liters (roughly 1.5 gallons). This is significant because the volume of the filter container determines how much media you can put in and the more media, the more filtering capacity. Many people mistakenly think that the flow is what determines what size tank a filter can handle. Although this holds true in some cases, larger filter volume will always mean larger filtering capacity. It doesn't matter how fast you push water through a tiny container, it will only have so much media that can do the job. Although the 159 gallon rating may be a bit optimistic (like the 2213's 66 gallon rating), this filter can certainly get the job done on any tank below its upper limit.

If anyone asks you why an Eheim is one of the best filters available today, you can point to the flawless German engineering and efficiency. The 2217 only uses 20 watts to push all that flow; comparable filters use 25 or more. There is also absolutely no bypass. The way the filter is designed means that all water must pass through the media. Any dirt that gets sucked up by this filter remains in the filter.

The quality of the parts and construction is top notch. When you clamp the lid onto the container, you know it wouldn't leak, ever. Not even if you tried. In fact, you can even run it without half the clamps and it still won't leak. Priming the 2217 for the first time can be a bit of an ordeal (like any of the Classic series). These filters don't come with any of the fancy self-priming buttons or levers, but they do come with double-tap valves, which make all the difference. However, the first time you set it up, you will funnel (Eheim sells a bulb to do this) or, with much regret, suck on the intake tube. Once you have it filled and running, all you have to do is close the valves on the double-tap connectors, unplug the filter, then separate the connectors. The water remains in the tubing and in the filter, so when you're finished, just reconnect everything, open up the valves, and turn it on. No priming ever again!

My 2217 came with free media, as I think most do at this point. It came with 1 fine pad, 1 coarse pad, 1 carbon pad, Ehfimech, and Ehfisubstrat Pro. These are all top notch, and the Ehfisubstrat Pro is specially shaped so it doesn't compact and clog. They provide mechanical, biological, and chemical filtration. Again, nothing gets by this media. It also came with tubing and tubing accessories including a spraybar, an intake tube with strainer, and suction cups. It includes a plastic elbow piece which I believe is an alternative to the sparybar, but quite frankly, if you decided to use it it'd be like putting a fire hose in your tank; heaven help the poor fish who unknowingly swims in front of it.

Eheims are probably the best filters you can buy, if you have the money. The 2217 usually retails for around $120 but is well worth it, as these filters have been known to last for decades. I give it five out of five fish:

Pros: Efficient, high quality, no bypass, large filtration capacity

Cons: First time priming can leave a fishy taste in your mouth

Coralife 130W 24 inch Dual Linear Strip Light

When picking out my very first light for a planted tank, one thing ruled supreme: low cost and high output. I hadn't yet discovered spiral CF bulbs, so I went with a Coralife unit. I ordered the dual bulb 24 inch 130 watt strip light with 6500K bulbs. It was $119 not including shipping and handling. Of course, this was for a 29 gallon tank, which is 30 inches long (one of the most popular lengths for tanks and yet still no 30 inch bulbs?) so I had to buy a glass canopy for it as well, since the mounting legs wouldn't work. It was easy to set up, no assembly required, everything is ready to go. It has two seperate power switches: one for each bulb.

It's been running on my tank for almost 9 months now and overall I'm satisfied with it. It's not stunningly bright despite its 130 watts, probably due to a low-tech reflector. Some of my plants in the deeper parts of the tank had a bit of trouble not getting enough light. It does produce a lot of heat though (a telltale sign of light-absorbing restrike) and Coralife has put in cooling fans to keep it from burning up. Unfortunately, their thinking ahead stopped there, because the fans are pitiful and noisy. It is by far the noisiest piece of equipment on all of my three tanks. The housings around the fans are wiggly and tend to vibrate all over the place. These are the only two areas where the low price of this unit really comes through. Otherwise it's a great first upgrade light if you have a deeper tank like a 29 gallon. I don't really see any other standard application for the light, since it would be far too much light for anything smaller, unless you have a ridiculously deep tank. Overall, I give the unit four out of five fish.

Pros: Low cost, high output, nice looking metal housing

Cons: Noisy fans, low-tech reflector which causes lots of light loss and excess heat

Jebo 11W UV Sterilizer

Hooray for cheap Chinese imports! I got this handy little UV sterilizer off eBay for $27 (of course I got killed on shipping, but isn't that just the eBay way?) and I must say it is probably the second best money I've spent, the first being upgrading the lights from stock lights. It's not bad quality for a Chinese manufacturer. We've all heard horror stories about the Chinese aquarium products that leak uncontrollably or break in a week due to poor quality. But this seems solidly constructed. The UV bulb itself sits inside a quartz tube which sits inside the black housing. Two o-rings seal the quartz tube and the whole unit. Some people have complained about leaking here, but I think that's just because it may be easy to misplace one of the o-rings. The hose barbs screw in easily, though I've heard if you over-tighten them it can crack the housing, so be gentle. I had no problems. Mine weren't black, but a translucent bluish color, probably because people were complaining that they couldn't tell if the light was on or not. Or it was cheaper. They do glow when the light is on, which I admit is reassuring when you only paid $27.


So I immediatley took it out of the box, assembled it, and put it on my tank (I was suffering from pea-soup syndrome a.k.a green water). It can be hung right on the back of the tank just by the tubing, but this might kink the tubing eventually, so I made a custom plumbing kit out of PVC. This also allows me to easily move it from tank to tank if need be. It can also be installed in-line and it has mounting brackets to do so which handily double as a brace when it's used hanging on the side of the tank. Mine came with a pump included, however I'm not sure if that was just the eBay seller's promotion, so they may not all come with pumps. Don't worry, if you don't get one, you aren't missing out. The thing is a beast, pumping over 275gph. This is WAY too fast for the UV sterilizer to kill anything. It can't be adjusted at all. It also sounds like it must use 30W of power. It doesn't come with a strainer or any sort of protection to prevent fish from being sucked up into it either, which is very likely considering it's got the suction of a category 5 tornado. I had it hooked up for a day with no clearing of my green water problem. I then moved it to my Eheim 2213 output, a meager 100gph, and the water cleared in a few days. There were no leaks or issues and it worked like a charm.



Overall, this sterilizer is a great value for your money if you can find it. It's way cheaper than other UV sterilizers that often sell for $50-100, and the quality isn't half bad. I give it 5 out of 5 fish!

Pros: Rediculously cheap, but fairly good quality. Gets the job done.

Cons: Powerhead provided could toss around even the largest Oscar and is of no use due to its high flow rate.