Question about Fluval 404 from new guy

[mike j]

hey everyone, glad I signed up, you all seem very knowledgable (sp). I am interested in purchasing a Fluval 404 for my 77G FO tank and was wondering if anyone had good or bad things to say about the filter since I've heard both from LFSs in my area. Any help would be appreciated, thanks so much.

 

[tiggerbengal]

Hi Mike J,
I have a Fluval 404 on my 125 ...... It is a quite canister. I had trouble starting it back up the first couple of times I cleaned it. It wouldn't self-prime. So, I held the intake & outake tubes straigh so they weren't kinked, and it worked.

 

[deuce biggalow]

I have one on my 44 gallon tank, that water is really clean.. The 404 is much better then the prior 303. Justin

 

[chrismilano]

Ive been really happy with the 404. They're very easy to remove the canister to clean. Note: do not cut the carbon baggie open to put it in. Very messy.

 

[dirtybilge]

I have a 304 and a 404 there both great, very good bang for they buck, if you wanted something a little better you could buy a eheim 2217. ED

 

[fshhub]

welcome aboard, mike, and as for your Q
most of us here either have or eventually do go with a natural bio filter, so if you have a dsb and or lr and or a skimmer, then i would not reccomend any canister, too much money and they can be nitrate problems in the future, IMO,
live rock and a deep sand bed, is the best way to go, to pit off with a skimmer and some powerheads, and it will be much less maintenance, more effective and nicer looking in the long run, lr and the dsb are the best 2 filters(natural too, and less of a prob with nitrates later) that you can get for any system but if you are not ever gonna go reef or anything, canisters can do fine for a fish only tank, but the prob is most of us see what we can accommplish and eventually go reef(even if we say we wont), so if there is any doubt or intention about going reef, i would put the money into lr and sand instead(nad if you have them already, then a skimmer and powerheads)
HTH

 

[peasly1]

the 404 is one of the most simple and efficent ones I have seen,beside a dsb,lr and skimmer

 

[fish tank]

hi mike j, i'm mike also and have a 404 on my 75gl or had it on there. i used it for a mo. and then took it down to put in LR, and LS. and its for sale now.if your intersted e-mail me at anacondass@aol.com

 

[thewolfman777]

i have a fluval also and it works great. i do have to agree w/ tigger though about the self priming problem. another trick too is to fill it with water first, then prime it a bit, then plug it in. i have never tried to straighten the tubes but it sounds like a good idea. my water is crystal clear with the fluval and i think it is worth the money, unless you plan on eventually going the way fshhub described. nitrate build up in a cannister can be a problem in the long run

 

[sandy]

I have a 50 gal with 55lbs LR and 65lbs Sand. I also have a Fluval, but I've not run the tank long enough to have an opinion.
Have a question though: With the LR and the Sand as filtration (Have a Skilter Protein Skimmer/Filter... will upgrade)... Would it be okay to keep the Fluval for extra filtration and clean it twice a month or so? I mean if the beneficial bacteria is in the LR and Sand, it should not hurt to keep the fluval clean. (Rinsed in salt water of course). Thanks. Sandy
(Fish only with LR and some inverts)

 

[mlm]

I have a 404 in my reef tank without anything in it. I use it to run carbon sometimes. It works good and they are pretty cheap.

 

[mike j]

thanks everyone so much for the quick feedback.
I have 40 lbs of liverock in the 77 gal. and have 50 lbs of aragonite as a substrate. I would like to skip the canister filter as well but am afriad that simply the 40 lbs of liverock with a Prizm skimmer w/ powerhead won't be enough biological filtration.

 

[fshhub]

add more sand, if you are not comfortable, i remember when we removed our filters, it was a tough decision to make, but now are very glad we did, unlie sw, mechanical filters are more of a nuance than a help, IMO, they do remove the garbage, whichis where the problem comes from, they remove it and it becomes built up in the system then turning to nitrates, witha dsb and lr adn good movement, they do not remove, but completely break everything down, until it becomes nitrogen gas and then bubbles out of the system altogether, making it even more effective
HTH

 

[tbone]

I have a 404 Mike it has been great, had the same little problem as above as far as the self priming but it's all worked out now and my water is crystal clear....