Having been keeping fish for 40 years, I grow more passionate about the hobby as time marches on. I also have become much more critical of the overwhelming sub par equipment that continues to flood the market.
A long time eheim fan, I've used their filters almost exclusively for thirty plus years and will always consider them the finest made aquarium filters in the world. That said, it was with some trepidation I ordered the Aquatop 500. I had read good reviews on the fish forums and decided to give this unit a shot.
Aquatops are made by SunSun one of the largest filter manufactures in the world. Aside from minor cosmetic differences this is the exact same filter as Reaction, Grech, SunSun, The Marineland C series and others. Although Aquatop is relatively new to the US SunSun has been making filtration systems since 1985 and I would encourage anyone to visit their web site.
Regarding the Aquatop 500 I was impressed from the get go. This is one powerful filter that provides more bang for your buck than most others in this price range. Quality touches include 3/4 inch clear green non kink hose. Secure lock down brackets for the power head, a very good quick stop for leak free disconnects when you want to add media or clean the filter, a 9 Watt Quartz tube encased integrated UV which you can turn on and off from the filter head.
9 watts of UV is is pretty close to being useless above 40 gallons. Quartz covers for UV bulbs aren't cheap the average price for a Quartz replacement tube on a 9 watt UV bulb is around $50-60. Because UV bulbs are expensive as well and usually need to be replaced every 6 months or so. The option to turn your UV on and off right from the filter head will extend the life of the bulb and never use UV on a tank that isn't fully cycled.
The filter holds a massive amount of media the five baskets are large and deep, with expandable handles so adding the media of your choice is easy as pie.
QUICK SPECS:
4+1 Stage filtration system
Capable of Mechanical, Biological, and Chemical Filtration
White enclosure
525 gals/hr (Non Certified w/media expect a loss of 30-50%)
Suitable for tanks up to 175 gal. ( This the the claim I wouldn't use this as a stand alone filter for over a 55 Gallon)
AC 110V
55 Watts
9 Watt UV Sterilizer
5ft 2in power cord with ground
Works for both fresh and saltwater tanks
18 pounds
Dimensions: 12" x 11" x 18"
Vinyl Hose Inner Diameter (ID): 3/4"
Self Priming
** Self priming filters are rarely effortless. This one is no exception and a real bear to Prime. The trick to priming these filters is not to pump the priming mechanism as the manual suggests but rather hold it down for three five minutes, release and let gravity do it's thing**
The output is strong at first. But I found the combination of water bypass and a subpar motor to slow the efficency down significantly in a very short time. I have been running a few of these and they all ended up back flushing junk into the tank. The key to avoiding this is frequent cleaning but that becomes a hasssle.
I'm often skeptical of Flow Rates unless they're certified it's all marketing jargon Consider the AquaClear 110 HOB filter it's been touting a 500 GPH since I was a kid from that tiny little motor that fits in the palm of your hand.
An eheim 1200XL with it's massive motor head is certified at 450 GPH. This is because there's no regulation hence, comapnies are free to make any claim they like. What really counts here is the "Power" of the motor that drives the pump, you can put the engine from a VW Bug into the body of a Porche but you can't expect the same perfomance.
In a very real way that's the problem with these filters, they're powerful at first but weaken very fast. Add a flimsy plastic impeller and impeller assembly as opposed to ceramic and that once strong out put becomes a weak stream. But then if Aquatop had SunSun spec in these ugrades you wouldn't be at this price point not by a long shot.
As for noise the filter is virtually silent , no hum no buzzing.
Please note the filter does not come with media. It does however, come with 5 coarse pre cut foam inserts and two ultra fine foam inserts. The ability to add five layers of filtering meadia makes this unit ideal for keeping Messy fish like Fancy Ornamental Goldfish, Oscars, Large Cichlids like Texas Reds, Midas and Flowerhorns or Arrowana and so on.
This a very decent filter for the price. Is it comparable in build quality and performanc to a Fluval FX5 or an eheim? of course not. But if you need a filter at this price point you'll be hard pressed to find a better value.
If you can stretch your budget you'll make out better in the long run with other brands but each case is different and the filter will suite your needs. Most filters offer at least 3 year warrantee you get 180 days with Aquatop. An odd number to use and weak very short term protection. I have found through personal experiance that customer support is nill to none and restricted to email only. A major drawback when problems pop up.
If you're on the fence about buying one my recommendation would be to go ahead and give it a try just understand that these filters come with some limitations that may be are hard for some to get around.
After reading product reviews from several different brands of canister filters, I was skeptical to try any of them. I decided on this Aquatop CF500UV canister filter. I have a 55 gallon tank with 1 goldfish 10 inches long, 5 goldfish ranging between 4-6 inches long, 2 bala sharks 4 inches long, 3 neon tetras, 1 pleco 13 inches long and 1 pleco 5 inches long......my tank is overstocked to say the least! Having the majority being big goldfish, you can imagine what my water quality was like.
I was running a 60 gal power filter w/standard filtration media, a 30 gal power filter with just ammonia reducing chips, a current maker, an air strip, and a heater. I've done water changes after water changes, and when that didnt control my water issues, I spent about $200.00 in additives which was only a bandaid on the fact that I have too many dirty fish crowded in the tank, nothing could keep up. My water tests came back consistently ridiculous, and its a wonder how the fish have even survived thus far.
I ordered this canister filter on Thursday afternoon and it was at my gate on Friday morning (didnt pay any expedited shipping). It even got here sooner than the other items I ordered through Amazon Prime at the same time, and you know how crazy fast those things arrive. I set it aside and planned to dive into it the following week to give myself time to research exactly how to do it since I knew I wouldnt be getting any help from the guys on this one.
Went to feed my fish Monday morning only to find the main filter had burned out sometime overnight and the water was even yuckier than ever. So... here we go I had no choice but to get this canister filter up and running THAT DAY! A little daunting at first, seeing all the parts & pieces, I read the instructions about 12 times and then had it figured out...all except the order in which to fill with media/stack the 4 huge trays inside to handle my specific water problems. I googled Aquatop to get their phone number, called them and they were more than happy to talk me through it and welcomed a call-back should I need any further assistance in assembling it. I did however, have some difficulty in priming the unit. I spent 1 1/2 hours pumping the primer button before I figured out that I could actually fill the canister 3/4 full of water then use the remaining air inside of it to actually create the suction. They warn to NOT fill the canister with water, which is true dont fill it all the way up, but filling it 3/4 of the way will save atleast an hour in pushing the button, as well as an interesting looking dot patterned bruise from having to use my forearm to push after so long. I DONT consider this a flaw in any way of the unit, more like my inexperience costing me a lot of time. After all, they did say I could call them back for tips if I had trouble priming, I just didnt want to have to juggle a phone and try to prime at the same time since I didnt have any help at home.
It comes with 4 trays inside this model, I filled my trays like this, starting from the bottom going upwards:
BOTTOM TRAY: The blue sponge it comes with at the bottom of tray and the white filter it comes with on top of that
SECOND FROM THE BOTTOM: White filter it comes with on bottom of tray, then filled this one up with rinsed carbon
THIRD FROM THE BOTTOM: White filter it comes with on bottom of tray, then filled this one up with Ammonia Remover chips (used the whole 48oz carton) You may not need this media for your situation, but I sure did.
TOP TRAY: White filter it comes with on bottom of tray, Bio-balls and ceramic rings on top. I only had 50 bio-balls which wasnt enough, Aquatop recommends ceramic rings so I filled the rest with ceramic rings (OK to mix them).
PUT TRAY COVER ON THE TOP TRAY, THEN ITS READY FOR THE CANISTER LID.....SUPER EASY & CUSTOMIZABLE
Everything done, filter running so quietly I have to lean over the unit to hear it run. Water improvement within the hour, very noticeable improvement after 4 hours and by the next morning my water is CRYSTAL CLEAR!!! Its amazing, I have never seen the water this clean since we first started the tank over a year ago. I never write reviews, but after the miracle this canister filter just performed for me, I felt I had to let others know. Especially if you have goldfish, and if you have the ammonia and nitrate problem or overall BAD water quality problem like me, this really will be the answer to your troubles. Best of all, its VERY affordable, I couldnt believe how inexpensive this unit was at $129.99. Even though I only have 55 gal, it actually has the load of atleast a 100+ gal tank right now, and these fish are still growing fast. Someday if I do manage to get a bigger tank to accomodate all these fish, I know this filter can handle it. Its rated for 175 gallon tank. I'm thinking I might even get a thank you note from my fish :) THANK YOU AQUATOP!!
Buy Aquatop CF500UV 5-Stage Canister Filter with UV 9W, 525 gph Now
I bought this filter to replace my old Eheim 2217. I have a friend that uses these so I knew what I was getting.
The filter works great. It's huge, powerful and very quiet. My only complaint is that it doesn't come with enough bio media. I added some media of my own, hooked it up and couldn't be happier.
For the price, you can't go wrong with this thing. Just make sure you are prepared to add some bio media. Pot scrubbers from the dollar store work just fine. :)
Read Best Reviews of Aquatop CF500UV 5-Stage Canister Filter with UV 9W, 525 gph Here
I am new to the hobby of keeping aquariums. After much research through websites like plantedtank and aquarium central I decided upon buying this canister filter. I wanted the bigger version although the smaller ones are also great for smaller tanks I hear. I wanted a good quality filter, that has a decent track record of longevity, ease of use, and won't break the bank. Many users on other aquarium enthusiast based sites have had these filters for almost 5 years now running strong, although under different names for this product which was originally called SunSun, then Perfect, then Grech, and the final incarnation to stay is Aquatop. That was a decent enough track record to me to order this filter despite how leery I was about all the product name changes.
One thing to mention from the get go. TruAqua and Amazon are shipping out "pre-tested" units I think. They come with water in the unit and some black crud sometimes. I personally do not like this as I want everything as sterile as possible when I receive a product like this. I am not sure of the tank conditions they are testing this unit on before shipping it to me. Which means if you order an Aquatop unit now be prepared for it to be wet and parts used. I contacted Amazon about this and was told they would try to fix this pretesting every unit before shipping.
As for the unit itself it is well made. It comes with some filter floss media and some blue open foam for one tray, but it won't be enough. You will need to purchase your own media to put into the trays. I suggest going to your local dollar store and picking up some plastic pot scrubbers. You'll get about 6 for a dollar. Buy 4 packages and fill one of the media baskets with pot scrubbers. You'll have to set the scrubbers on their sides to stack them all in one basket. So put the blue foam with a white filter floss in the bottom tray. For the second tray up fill that one with the pot scrubbers. For the third tray up I suggest buying some of the sintered or ceramic bio media. I picked up 3 boxes of Fluvals Biomax ceramic media. Fill a tray full of this. Last tray I bought some generic chemical media mix. It contains both activated carbon and zeolite chips. Buy some panty hose, stick the carbon and zeolite chips in the panty hose and fill the top basket full. Stick one more filter floss pad at the very top and you are done. If you need more mechanical filtration instead of the chemical filtration I would use the 100% poly cushion filler sold at walmart. You can get a big sheet that you can cut down to size for a few bucks there. Just make sure all mechanical filtration is done before the biological filtration. Except one very top filter floss which is optional.
The only downsides to this unit are the thin plastic on the input/output valves and the pieces at the other end of the hose. So be careful. Use some vaseline or a pure 100% silicon based lubricant to lube everything down. Boil some water and insert the end of the hose into the water for about 15 seconds or so. This will make it much easier to slip the hose over the barbs.
Besides the pre-testing, my only other gripe is the spray bar. It's junk. Easy to crack and a pain to install. I might be creating my own from PVC pipe in the future. I am currently using the spray bar setup that came with this unit, but it is very thin plastic. The little elbow bend pieces MUST be used, so it makes placing the bar exactly where and how I want a pain.
For $120 you get a nice big unit with plenty of room for the media baskets. The pump seems to be great. It is easy to use, silent, and most easy to setup (minus to spray bar). The flow rate is good if you set up your media properly. So far it's been working great for me since I bought it.
Want Aquatop CF500UV 5-Stage Canister Filter with UV 9W, 525 gph Discount?
i ordered from tru-aqua directly from their site. i have had the filter fro about three months now. I absolutely love this thing. i have it installed on a 55 gal. aquarium with 5 angelfish and 2 plecos in it. this things output blows the plecos all over the place. but they seem to like the current. they will go up in the current and turn horizontal and let the current blow them. kinda fun to watch. i had the spray bar installed but have recently taken it out. i left the elbow on the output to flow the current down the back glass. i'm in line with the other reviews about the bio balls. i have 12 in my filter. i've been meaning to get more,just havent gotten around to it. i took off a star (read update) b/c the first unit i received the motor casing was cracked....water everywhere. emailed aquatop,along with a picture, and they quickly got me an rma. the second unit also had a broken part, again an email and pic and phone call. the overnighted the replacement part. the guy said they never had this problem. but hey i dont know. i may have gotten 2 units packaged by the same person, that may have been mad at work that day.....we ALL have bad days. one more thing....i did a major water change and cleaned the internals of the filter. i also stirred my sandy bottom. the water almost looked like milk when i went to bed. the next morning was almost back the way it was before i cleaned and stirred. my old filters would have never did that. in my opinion...GREAT BUY!!! if i still had my 28gal. up and running. i would buy the cf300 for it.....
5 STAR UPDATE-7/8/12 still loving this filter. I have had ZERO problems out of this thing, been going strong for over a year now. the UV bulb is showing wear, it may go at any time. I haven't changed any of the filter pads, I just spray them out with the water hose.
one quick tip. I did a clean today and found out the output side where the quick disconnects are there is a back flow valve. Yes I knew it was there and why. but here is what I did. I took some needle nose pliers and removed the valve. HOLY CRAP!!!! the flow is noticeably more. even my wife commented on how much more water it was moving.
The box works very well. The inner box does a decent job of skimming any particles off the surface and retains flow even after a power outage. There were a few things I wish had come in the package: a priming tube and assorted sized connectors for various sized flexible tubing outputs. The inner box is larger than I anticipated taking up a decent size chunk of real estate inside the tank. Overall it works very well though, it gets the job done.
