AMK Canister Filter Wars Part 2 Eheim Profession 4+ 600 Canister Filter Review

Canister Filter Wars Part 2 Eheim Eheim Profession 4+ 600 review
Part 3 - • AMK Canister Filter Wa...
Old school versus new school. Picking the best canister filter.
In this multi part series we will compare the Canister filters Currently on the market. I am including my history using them and showing a large range of models. Then I will be narrowing down two a final 2 or three three and providing runner up models to the best canister filters along with a few unique offerings.
Dirty secret about the industry and reviews. “Paid For”. Many of the reviews you read about stores, products, companies, and so on are cannot be fully be trusted. Manufacturers pay influencers, manufacturers pay reviewers, reviewers have motivating factors. Blogs and online sellers get paid and offer paid to play services for the products they push. The funny thing is none of this is a secret but I just wanted to have it said again. In addition influencers get mad and create “beefs” with manufactures who do not just “give” them whatever they want.
Full disclosure I like anyone have some bias. I have friends on both sides of the argument and throughout the industry. I am opinionated like all hobbyists.
WHY I am doing this review to help hobbyists and dealers cut through all of this and make a better decision for themselves and the hobby as a whole. I was motivated because of watching so many statements and reviews that I found were not complete or remotely fair. Some lacked logic or knowledge of the functions of the filters. Because of my history and how I came about selling, using, and promoting the brands I think I am more qualified to help you get out of the weeds on your purchases.
My history
I am more qualified than most Aquascapers on the mechanics and engineering of the filters. I will given them the high road on their art but not on experience or use of mechanical products and bio filtration.
I have been keeping fish since I was seven and I have been in the business professionally since 1986 so I have over 35 years of experience wishing the aquarium business and over 40 in the hobby as of the making of this video. dang that make me feel old! I have owned retail stores, manufacturing companies including aquarium manufacturing, cabinets, coral fabrication, been in a partner in a leading pump manufacturing, owned a distribution company, and made sales to thousands of stores and distributors across the Americas. In addition I have been to trade shows, stores, and manufacturing facilities throughout Europe and Asia. Lets just leave it at I know most the manufactures intimately along with the better store owners in the industry.
Most importantly for this test, I distributed and sold Eheim back when it was first imported into the US through Cal, a great Texan, founded Hawaiian Marine Imports and I currently distribute Oase along with 6 other canister brands now. I deal with 1000s of enquirers and troubleshooting issues annually. I currently own and use on my personal aquariums both Eheim canister filters, One Fluval and many Oase models.
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[@arthurpellett9256]

The sponge on the top is the first stage not the last

[@aquamanknox]

I may have miss spoke. I know that. Thank you for pointing that out.

[@WhiteCloud746]

How have I not found this fellow before? He's great.

[@fbasantajr]

Good overview, and I would have to agree with you... It's just OK, looking forward to the next one. Thank you from NYC

[@DennisEhv]

Never had problems with the baskets placing. Why stack them outside the filter box, then I understand the problem with the baskets.

[@terrellma]

Suspect that coarse sponge at the top might be 1st stage.

[@aquamanknox]

yes it is

[@misenko856]

Hi, nice video. May I ask how the noise is in real life ? I mean especially low frequencies. Does it produce humming noise ? I have a cabinet with ultramax 1500 and this vibrates little bit and transfer low frequencies to the room.

[@aquamanknox]

I would suggest no pumps are truly silent but the eheim is very quiet compared to other brands. I did decibel readings on all of them but ultimately it is exactly as you mentioned “real life noise”. In a cabinet the original eheim classic is very quiet. The pro is more like the biomaster by oase. The ultamax does not have close to the same build quality or motor blocks as the Italian and german models from Eheim, Oase, or Hagen. I would not put it in the same category. It is more like aquatop. I really wanted that filter to be nicer. I wish they would improve it.

[@misenko856]

@@aquamanknox Thanks a lot for the response. Normal noise above some frequencies (e.g. some impeller rattling or water splashing) is easy to suppress but it's the low humming noise from power head which is causing the biggest issue because it's almost impossible to dampen and if it's in cabinet it will amplify it as loudspeaker and in various spots in a room you can hear/feel this very low FQ humming which is totally unpleasant. I guess reviewers could pay more attention to frequency characteristics of a noise from the filer that just dB reading in general. This would be very helpful but yes, these are high tech stats. BTW, I've just bought for a test JBL e1502 and this is even worse that Ultramax. Very noisy and also vibrations. So which one of the mentioned you'd recommend in terms of lowest vibrations possible so it can be placed into cabinet without producing too much of vibrations ?

[@aquamanknox]

They all do this. I have a Classic Eheim 2217 in my bedroom, and I cannot hear it. My daughter has an Oase Biomaster Thermo. It has better features and is easier to clean with a heater built in. They are both quieter than what you have tried so far @@misenko856

[@misenko856]

@@aquamanknox Thanks, probably I will give them a try. I know that in past the filters were quieter. Is this biomaster quieter than eheim?

[@larryleszczynski4019]

I run this filter, it's way easier to prime than the video makes it look. It primes much easier if you press and hold the button down for a while during each press, instead of quick pumps like done in the video. And once it has been running, restarting after cleaning is super easy because the tubing is already full of water. Also, I just use PolyFil instead of buying the proprietary filter pads.

[@aquamanknox]

I edited this cutting even more attempts. I tried everything. I could have gotten a faulty seal but this was a brand new unit and that should not happen.

[@DennisEhv]

@@aquamanknox it helps when the outlet is above the water line of the aquarium. So when the filter is running back aqain you can (1) lower the outlet back in the water or (2) filling back the aquarium.

[@WhiteCloud746]

Great work. One thing to bear in mind is that the black plastic tubular media from Eheim is not for biological, it's actually wonderful, easily cleanable MECHANICAL media. It's the modern successor to Eheim "mech" media. I believe they call it "Mech Pro." For me it works really well as a settlement layer. A huge amount of muck remains inside the canister when you pull out baskets with Mech Pro. I myself use it in an Eheim Ecco Pro. It's very easy to clean and swirl around in water precisely because it's plastic. Again, it's not for fostering bacteria. It's for mechanical filtering. I find it just as good as a medium porosity sponge but it's much easier to clean and renew.

[@aquamanknox]

See my video on packing canister filters. I have other medias I prefer to this. I am glad it works for your application.

[@AquaNoxLTD]

The pro 4 is a great filter