Any experience with Reaction EFU canister filters or.....

[Glass Onion]

Hello All,
Have any of y'all used this kind of canister filter or know someone who has?
What about the Cascades?

I was looking at the selection on Ken's Fish and saw that these are reasonably priced. But, as we all know, if it doesn't work, then it's not a good price. So before making the plunge I was hoping someone could pipe in.

Also, how benificial is the seachem de-nitrate media? It says it helps remove biologicals. The lable says that if you want anaerobic bacteria in addition to aerobic bacteria to flourish that you have to keep the flow to less than 50 gph turnover in whatever filter you put it in. Is it worth it to get a little HOB for each tank?
The reason why I'm asking is because of the "biologicals removal" because:

I have been feeding my trophs homemade food for the past 2 weeks and boy! is it messy. They wolf it down and scavenge most off the substrate but, as any Troph keeper, I am paranoid about the filtration holding up.The water clears up about 30 minutes after they rip it to shreds and devour it, but still...

Thanks in advance.

Jenney.

[smk]

i don't know about the reaction cannister you mention but i know a couple of people with cascades and they had nothing bad to say about them i don't know what kens sells them for but you might want to check bigalsonline i saw the 1500 which is the biggest for around i think 119.00
scott

[cameracorpus]

I've been using a Cascade 700 on a 55 gallon for about 2 years. It was underfiltered but the filter itself really never did anything wrong, and it is dead quiet. Biological filtration wasn't ever an issue, just mechancal. Addition first of a 400 sized HOB, and now a XP3 instead of the HOB made the water sparkle. I'd buy another one, but keep in mind that the ratings may be pushing the envelope a bit. I think the 700 would be fine for a 29g or 35g.

Oh, and normal media rules apply. Store-bought is available, homemade/cut-to-fit works just as well. The sponges last forever. Mine has the option of a spray bar or a jet.

[Glass Onion]

I decided on the EFU canister because it has a UV sterilizer built in to it. I've never run of those on my tanks and thought I would give it a try. I will run it on my 135 tank housing 38 WC Chilambo. When setting it up, I will snap some pictures to post here. It was very reasonably priced @ $124 and is rated for 150 gallon tank (or close to that).
I should be getting it today.
Thanks for your input!!
Jenney.

[Glass Onion]

Well,
I ordered and received the EFU canister filter. When I pulled it out to start setting it up, I noticed a nice crunchy sound and shook the lid and a piece of glass came out.
Long story short, the glass sleeve that houses the UV bulb was broken. The company will send me a new lid, but I have some minor hoops to jump thru. Aaaaaarrrrgggh :furious:
I took some pix of the unit. It seems well built. Well, except for that glass component. Once I get it all together, and up and running I will report more.
Wish me luck,
Jenney.

[fshfrk]

I always liked my components seperate.Not like a am/fm radio with the 8 track player in one unit. Oh and a record player on top. Anyway I'm sure your new filter will work just fine.

[Glass Onion]

Ok. Here it is days and days later. I finally got the replacement lid for the filter. So, I 'm sitting on the couch with the instructions out assembling the thing. There are multiple parts missing. Are you kidding me right now?
I would say it's a joke only it's not funny. I call the company to tell them I just want to return it and get my money back. But, I have to return the unit to Ken's fish and the broken lid back to them. No frakkin' way am I doing that. I tell her she needs to send me the parts I'm missing. I reviewed the "ingredients list" for it and found another part that was missing to assemble the directional nozzle. I asked her "Who packs this stuff?" she kind of mutters "It's packed out of the country" Well that explains alot.
I am not as mad as I was when this happened earlier today.
I hooked the thing up with the spray bar and not the adjustable/directional nozzle.
It is kind of hard to open and close. It has a pump primer built into the lid but I didn't need it, it fired right up. It's quiet. It's huge. I hope it works and doesn't leak tomorrow while I'm at work. The spray bar is long.
OH! And there's a little plastic flap that covers the on off switch for the sterilizer bulb that broke immediately. It was kind of stupid to have it on there to begin with.
I don't know if I'll buy another. Give me about 6 months and I'll revisit the subject.
I know that flukes happen and sometimes the universe throws you a whammy. But......


Here's the flipper lid that broke immediately on the replacement lid.

One of the four media boxes. They are roomy and have handles that extend when you pull up on them.


I really really want to like this unit because it's rated for a 175 and was $135. Time will tell and so shall I if anything else comes up.
It was easy to set up
I also want to mention that Ken at Ken's fish was Johnnie on the spot about figuring out what was going on. Super nice guy.

All the best, and wish me luck
Jenney.

[Glass Onion]

All of my fish were dead this morning.

[geoff_tropheus]

:(

[supadave]

Wow !!! Jenney..I am so sorry for your loss. I saw your photos of the dead fish on Trophs.com and it hurt me just to see all those dead fish.