Fluval External Filter: Keep Your Aquarium Clean with Replacement Filter Cartridge

Yrving Rodriguez: De los mejore filtros del mercado, excelente relacion costo-calidad.

Mexico on Jun 14, 2022

Steve F: I've been a fish keeper on and off for about 35 years and have owned two previous Fluval external filters. Both lasted me a very good amount of time and when I needed a new filter I decided to buy Fluval without too much thought. The filter I was replacing was a Fluval 105 which had sprung a leak from a clip that had been damaged.

Having unboxed my new 206 there were a few disappointments. These are, the parts that go in the tank, (the intake pipe and strainer and the output nozzle) are clear plastic with white rubber connectors. These don't look good compared with the brown/grey parts that have traditionally come with Fluval filters. They also feel a bit cheaper quality. The canister itself also feels like it has been machined to a lower quality using thinner, cheaper plastics.

On the plus side, the design of the lid is better and despite it being a larger capacity filter, it is still very quiet and once inside the cabinet and with the door closed you can't hear it at all. Throughput is more than I need for a 120L tank, but I can adjust the output down a little so the fish aren't living in a jacuzzi.

Price is very good at £88. When I bought my last 105 about...

United Kingdom on Feb 26, 2018

GlitterbugGlitterbug: I wish i could give this ten stars. I love love love this filter it has transformed my tank completely, I started keeping fish in the 70s and all the way through the 80s and 90s and even most of the 00s you really had to over estimate the size of your filter relevant to your tank. My rule of thumb was at least double more often than not triple the size of my filter relevant to size of tank but those days appear to be long gone. I recently purchased a tank which had some weak trickle filter installed in the hood and I knew this would not cut the mustard just by looking at it. The tank construction itself is fantastic but the on board filtration is absolute poop. The aquarium is 4 ft and 300 litres so this is just over as it is market as up to 400 l being a 406. All the little niggly things that were slight issues with the 405 gone in the 406. Operation is super effective and super quiet. Keeps my water absolutely crystal clear and water parameters perfect and I love it so much I don't think I would buy any other brand of filter now. I used to be a Eheim fanatic but when I looked at the current prices they are absurdly expensive compared to these. Due to being less than half the...

United Kingdom on Feb 14, 2016

Amazon Customer: Purchased for use in a 100l saltwater setup, works extremely well. I purchased this over the similarly priced Tetra Tec Ex 800/1200 range as I'd read numerous reviews of them leaking.

The Fluval 206 feels well built, instructions nice and clear, I had it setup in around 1 hour but my tank has a lid so I had to use a hacksaw to cut holes in the lid of my tank in order to fit the pipework in (and pipe holders which are fairly bulky), but all in all anyone with a little DIY experience can do this. If you have an open tank you could probably have this setup in as little as 15 mins.

Pipework all feels very sturdy and I was pleased to find securing tighteners built into the filter lid to hold the pipes in (which otherwise would just be push fit), this greatly reduces the risk of the pipes working themselves loose and puts my mind at rest. The pipes themselves are fairly stiff and you'll have problems if you're expecting to be able to bend or shape them inside the tank.

The length of the pipework is decent at 2.5m, I ended up having to cut a small amount off (as the pipes have to be fairly tight for the filter to work), although it would have been nice to see more...

United Kingdom on Jan 10, 2016

M. McPherson: So we upgraded from a handful of internal filters which weren't really doing the job in our tank. We settled on this one, although the 206 is technically enough for our 125L aquarium, we have fancy goldfish who are notoriously high-waste fish and there wasn't a huge increase in price over the 206.

Setup

Everything you need comes in the box and as someone who has never set up a canister filter before, it took me around 45 minutes from box open to up and running. The instruction manual is detailed enough that it wasn't a problem and I imagine any experienced aquarium owner will barely glance at it before incorporating this into their setup. Possibly the most nerve wracking part for a first timer is the cutting of the hose to fit your setup. I had more than adequate amounts for my 125L tank. The filter media are packed in the right containers and order, you just need to take the polybags off. I added the ceramic rings from my previous filter to those provided.which will speed up bacterial colonisation and help keep the tank balanced. After you give them a rinse, put them in and seal the lid with the O-ring provided, you just plug the hoses in and lock it into...

United Kingdom on May 14, 2015

Andrew: After much hesitation, I finally decided to replace the cheap hang-on-back filter that came with my 36-gallon tank with a canister. My hesitation came from my false assumption that canisters are hard to setup and more difficult and expensive to maintain. I couldn't be more wrong, at least with the Fluval 306, with its separate mechanical and biological media compartments and quick release intake/output hoses, cleaning it is actually very easy.

With the HOB I've been using, the water never stayed clear for long. When it starts to clog up, it would make this awful noise. It required cleaning and filter replacement every two weeks, otherwise the water becomes all green and cloudy. Each one of those cartridge type filter costs me $5 if I buy it locally. Never mind the cost, each time I replace that cartridge filter I'm removing a lot of the beneficial bacteria, so after each change my water would be a cloudy/milky white for 2-3 days. With the Fluval, after over a month since running it, my water is still crystal clear. Now I know what others said meant when they say that the water has a "polished" look to it.

Maintaining the Fluval 306 is also very easy and in fact less...

United States on Sep 01, 2013

Bdg619: Having had aquariums off and on for the past 7 years and working at a local pet store for the past two, I have had a lot of experience working with filters whether they be hang on back or canister. This is, however, the first canister filter that I have owned personally, and I am extremely pleased with it. It is running in conjunction with my 65 coralife super skimmer on my 30 gallon long saltwater reef and it has been doing an excellent job.

Pros:
Quiet, quiet, and quiet (did I mention quiet?).
This thing is beyond a whisper. If it weren't for the other things on my tank the whole thing would be silent.

No "waterfall."
With hang on the back filters water falls back in the tank quickly from above the water line, causing splashing. This splashing leads to more evaporation. The fluval uses a powerhead type attachment to bring the outlet below the water, pushing the water into the tank rather than letting it fall or trickle in from above

Ample filter media and room for more.
The fluval 206 comes with four mesh filters, one more mesh type filter right after them, biomax, one finer mesh filter for slight water polishing, and activated carbon all...

United States on Feb 23, 2013