Not much soil , a small bag would probably be about right.

Unfortunately I haven’t come across any! The size makes finding glass or metal pipes a bit tricky lol

River rock looks like

I think I’ve been fortunate so far . I’ve got two of them no issues fingers crossed !

@@GreatAscape Yup, maybe I just got bad luck 🤞 I am using Aquael products for a while already, must say these are overall great for the price tag. Even in the case of propeller rotor, you can get a new part for a penny in Czech/Europe region or, you simply glue it back like I did. Holds firm so far!

And besides this it’s pretty noisy. That propeller feels really cheap and it barely holds in a shaft. Any air bubble or you move a filter and it start rattle.

Fortunately AquaEL addressed that issue on all sizes of the Ultramax, and their new units as of late 2023 do not have that issue. I had one break on my Ultramax 2000, and I reached out to their aquael usa email, and they sent me a replacement impeller & shaft with no problem (& for free). So far mines been running for over 18 months and I absolutely love it - probably the best canister I've ever owned/used.

This is exciting ! Can’t wait to give it a try

What would you say the big differences in 1500 and 2000? Except the float rate?

Biggest difference is the amount of media capacity. The 2000 has one extra tray than the 1500 and their trays hold a crap ton of media.

I don’t disagree with you ! This is all a learning process for me , a life long journey with my hobby , my passion. I have a lot of respect and admiration for some of the greats , one day maybe I will be there ✌️

Getting too competitive really gets the fun out of aquascaping.

I think your Aquascape from last year looked really good. Anyone would love to have it in their living room

Lmao this is so accurate!!!!

Hey ! I don't think You will be making a mistake at all. The pre filter is great however , it's not something you can just pull out per se. I would bring it to a sink first just because some water does escape. There can be a bit of air in the head but thats the same with all filters , if you drain below the pipes are will inevitably get in , it does purge usually over the course of an hour or so and back to normal. I hope that helps ! Also, yes the flow can be reduced there is a switch :)

@@GreatAscape thanks for reply. Thing is my eheim pro 600 is getting full of muck in less than a month, hence, reducing flow. My discus tank is full of live plants, that's why I want to upgrade filter size and get one with a pre filter. The air purging after maintenance is not a problem cos it's normal. I'll order it when I move home in a couple of months.

Having this filter for about a year and trying as best as I can to answer your question, all I can say it’s go for it as it is an absolute bargain for performance. Air lock/purge issues were found/reported on the 1st versions of this filter but sorted out after a few month so that’s not gonna be a issue for u. The flow can be reduced to half of flow capacity without damaging the impeller or other internal parts. I do run lily pipes on one of them (ultramax 2000) with flow reduced to half on the outlet with no issues whatsoever for over a year. Got 2 of them running on a overstocked 100 gallon aquarium with south/Central American cichlids and water is always Cristal clear without any chemicals or filter floss/fine filter pads. Again an amazing filter.

Thanks Kalem ! I've used with and without the ADA additives , I Can't say for certain that they work or that I've seen a difference per se . I would be curious to see if ADA has actual studies of the products themselves . I had them laying around from years passed so I figured I would sprinkle some in. I don't think it hurts that's for sure. One thing I can say is that a quality soil , Good lighting , Co2 and ferts make a much more observable result that I could readily reproduce in the name of science ! lol

@@GreatAscape That makes sense for sure! Maybe i should look into the ingredients of those but its probably pretty secretive

@@KalemsFishtanks You can find the ingredients , I'm sure there is some proprietary properties they wouldn't divulge though . As consumers we tend to place a lot of blind faith into these companies based on their reputations. lol

Thanks bro ! Will keep everyone posted !

Thanks !

The acrylic legs look so good with it !

In the process of upgrading my Camera and editing equipment ! cheers !

Thanks Bro !

Thanks Justin ! Glad to hear Chihiros was easy to deal with and willing to help !

Thanks Brother !

Thanks Erkut !!

Thanks man !

Exactly lol

Is your filter noisy? I also have this one but I can hear it clearly in my living room plus it has a humming noise so if it’s in cabinet is pretty annoying.

@@misenko856 I also have the filter in a cabinet but I put newspapers under it! I make sure it does not touch the cabinet directly. Apart from that, every time it is noisy means three things (from my experience): 1. There is still air. Make sure you have good waterflow and the air should disappear. This can take even a few days but you can try to gently tip it back and forth to get som air out. Most of the time you just need patience. You can fill the prefilter with water before turning on. 2. The impeller/rotor is not cleaned. You may need to check that the impeller is clean and well installed if you hear rattling noise. But make sure to remember how to install again after cleaning! 3. Too much / tightly packed filter material. I had alot of filter material + filter wool. It restricted the flow of the water. Removed the wool and noise got better. Should not cause any noise but might help to get air out with better flow. I keep my filter running until the flow gets weaker and don't overdo the cleaning. I know that it will make some air-noise after each cleanup so I try to only do it when necessary. Right now I can barely hear it and I have it in my bedroom. My refrigerator makes more noise. :)

@@annogaming9535 Thanks for hints! It's a new filter so impeller is clean but your right, I've found out there were still some air so the impeller was rattling a little bit. Now It's much quieter, however I can still hear it. But what is bigger issue for me is that low frequency hum. I'm quite sensitive to it. Outside of a cabinet it's not that bad but if I put it in it's amplified. I've used rubber mat underneath but did not help much. It's a big issue to filter low frequencies so not sure what could help here. I wanted to try a different filter, fluval or eheim to see if they producing less vibrations but not sure. During a day it's pretty ok but in the evening when everything is silent... How often do you clen the filter ?

@@misenko856 I don't keep a schedule. I notice filter performance and water clarity, then I change. But about every third month. (180l with few fishes). I can only hear a very quiet humming. I mean, the wall air vent is louder. It should really not make much noise. But all filters have humming so not sure you can do much about that. I would first try everything (including cleaning the impeller) before buying other filters. Much easier than installing a new one. But sure, maybe buying another filter is the right option for you. Idk, not an expert :)

@@annogaming9535 Yeah, but without trying I can't say where are limits. People says that external canisters are "dead" silent. Well, not sure anymore :) For me dead silent means completely silent across all frequency range. Problem with low frequency noise is that it's different in every area/corner and it's hard to dampen. I don't mind some flow noise but rattling and humming - I have problem with these. I don't know why manufacturers don't pay more attention to dumping. I mean if they all do cheap plastic cover with cheap impeller unit, well, it will vibrate. I would pay more for higher quality material.

One of plenty more to come !!!

Thanks Justin ! I am going to try and be more consistent this time !