Hagen Fluval 304 (1000 L/Hr)300L Tank

Wanting to change my fish tank from freshwater tropical to marine tropical there were a few upgrades to be done, to guarantee the health of the new stock.
The first and probably most important was to add extra filtration to the tank, which is a tropicarium 88(see my op on this product for more info), this was going to be achieved by adding a Fluval 304.

This is an external bucket type filter, which has just been recently remodelled, ...
...is now more square in shape than bucket like. Grey in colour with blue locking clips it has even been made to look modern and smart.

The 304 is the second biggest in a range of four. It has a flow rate of up to 1000ltrs per hour and is suitable for tanks upto 300 litres. It has a filter volume of 6.6 litres, and comes supplied with a pre-filter sponge and three bags of ceramic media and three sachets of activated carbon, these will ... more

Wanting to change my fish tank from freshwater tropical to marine tropical there were a few upgrades to be done, to guarantee the health of the new stock.
The first and probably most important was to add extra filtration to the tank, which is a tropicarium 88(see my op on this product for more info), this was going to be achieved by adding a Fluval 304.

This is an external bucket type filter, which has just been recently remodelled, making this the fourth generation of this model, and it is now more square in shape than bucket like. Grey in colour with blue locking clips it has even been made to look modern and smart.

The 304 is the second biggest in a range of four. It has a flow rate of up to 1000ltrs per hour and is suitable for tanks upto 300 litres. It has a filter volume of 6.6 litres, and comes supplied with a pre-filter sponge and three bags of ceramic media and three sachets of activated carbon, these will fill the three media baskets, or you can use your any other media of your choice to fill the baskets. All pipe work is included to supply the unit with water from your tank, and then return it to the tank. This is connected to the unit by lock nuts, which ensure a watertight connection.

The unit has a ceramic impeller shaft, which is supposed to last longer, and work more efficiently and be quieter in use. The impeller is situated in a well, which incorporates a self-cleaning channel, so reducing maintenance.

The unit also incorporates a priming lever, which helps to get the unit pumping quickly and efficiently.
The unit is gravity fed, and pumps water back up to the tank. This is a good system, but is does require that the unit be fitted below the level of the tank.
Because of this there is a device called the aqua stop, this is basically two taps built into the system, which automatically stop water draining from your tank when you disconnect the filter canister.

Maintenance consists of cleaning/changing your filter media as to your fish/systems requirements, but with the above-mentioned taps this is easy and not a chore like it used to be on the older canisters filters.

With a retail price of over £100 this is not a cheap piece of kit, but if you shop around you can get it considerably cheaper, mine cost me £53.95 from ultimate discount aquatics, at www.fantasea.co.uk and it was also delivered free of charge.

At present this has been running for two months, with absolutely no problems, the motor is nice and quiet, but you do have to make sure that your feed and return pipes do not vibrate against anything, otherwise you will get a low pitched humming noise.

 

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