Fluval 406 Vs 407

I am sick of the HOB filter that came with my tank. It is a 55 gallon freshwater community tank. I was looking at the Fluval 406 then I noticed the new version came out(407) it seems to have some upgrades. The price is only 20$ more but Ill need to wait about 2 weeks until they get more in stock. Is anyone using a 407 and is it worth it to wait?

Thanks

 

With a 25% code from Petco, the 406 is $149.

 

I am sick of the HOB filter that came with my tank. It is a 55 gallon freshwater community tank. I was looking at the Fluval 406 then I noticed the new version came out(407) it seems to have some upgrades. The price is only 20$ more but Ill need to wait about 2 weeks until they get more in stock. Is anyone using a 407 and is it worth it to wait?

Thanks

What did you do? I’m in the same predicament

 

I went with the 407 I figured it is the improved 406. I just actually hooked it up today. So far so good, I really did miss all the options for different media and configuration when I was using a HOB. I will let you know how it goes. Install wasn’t too bad

 

I went with the 407 I figured it is the improved 406. I just actually hooked it up today. So far so good, I really did miss all the options for different media and configuration when I was using a HOB. I will let you know how it goes. Install wasn’t too bad

Wish I did. I got anxious. Petsmart had a great deal on the fx4 - just upgraded my other 75 but I think the sale is over. Send good vibes. I’m calling them this morning. (Nail biting)

 

Wish I did. I got anxious. Petsmart had a great deal on the fx4 - just upgraded my other 75 but I think the sale is over. Send good vibes. I’m calling them this morning. (Nail biting)

Good luck! I know many stores will extend a sale if you come in ready to buy. Personally love the fx4 I have one in storage but it does not fit in the cabinet under the tank and my wife really hates to see visible equipment.....

 

Good luck! I know many stores will extend a sale if you come in ready to buy. Personally love the fx4 I have one in storage but it does not fit in the cabinet under the tank and my wife really hates to see visible equipment.....

thanks for reminding me how wide that sucker is! hopefully it fits in ours. hopefully we can get it. thanks for your input!

 

No worries, if the fx4 can fit you’ll be happy with it more power! Also the connectors have adjustable angles which is key, I’m concerned with the angle of the hosing through the hole in the cabinet. Last thing I need is a hose coming loose and flooding my house.

 

No worries, if the fx4 can fit you’ll be happy with it more power! Also the connectors have adjustable angles which is key, I’m concerned with the angle of the hosing through the hole in the cabinet. Last thing I need is a hose coming loose and flooding my house.

that would be terrible!
so... I called petsmart and the sale was continued through June so we got the FX4 for $199 (orig $279).

 

That’s sweet enjoy, always good to get stuff on sale!

 

So I have been searching trying to compare the media vol for the 406 & 407 and am running into differing values. Can anybody clear this up for me?

 

So I have been searching trying to compare the media vol for the 406 & 407 and am running into differing values. Can anybody clear this up for me?

I also can’t figure out the exact difference in media volume, but I can say I love the 407, my only issue is when I disconnect the stop valve some water always sprays but no big deal.

 

I am sick of the HOB filter that came with my tank. It is a 55 gallon freshwater community tank. I was looking at the Fluval 406 then I noticed the new version came out(407) it seems to have some upgrades. The price is only 20$ more but Ill need to wait about 2 weeks until they get more in stock. Is anyone using a 407 and is it worth it to wait?

Thanks

Invest in the Fluval FX4 and a fan, your fish will thank you! We have 2 75 gallon and both with the FX4's after a few very short lived trials using other smaller canister filters. It's a bit bulky but it's much better. Good luck!

 

I got the 407 about 2 weeks ago and I love it ! Easy to install, easy to prime, lots of room for media and very good flow. Plus, I got a 2-year extended warranty, total 5 years, in the box. Parts will be easy to buy too.

I wouldn’t get the 406, 2 weeks isn’t that long and you’ll eventually regret it.

 

I got the 407 about 2 weeks ago and I love it ! Easy to install, easy to prime, lots of room for media and very good flow. Plus, I got a 2-year extended warranty, total 5 years, in the box. Parts will be easy to buy too.

I wouldn’t get the 406, 2 weeks isn’t that long and you’ll eventually regret it.

Oh I agree I got the 407 just over a month ago and love it!

 

I got the 407 about 2 weeks ago and I love it ! Easy to install, easy to prime, lots of room for media and very good flow. Plus, I got a 2-year extended warranty, total 5 years, in the box. Parts will be easy to buy too.

I wouldn’t get the 406, 2 weeks isn’t that long and you’ll eventually regret it.

How much media do you think it can hold in the trays. I think they state 1.6 gal, is that realistic? I am trying to decide between the 407 or another Eheim 2217.

 

H2O Concierge, I believe each tray of the 406/407 holds approximately 1.5 quarts, plus the volume of the vertical foam sponges.

If I had those 2 options, the 407 vs the 2217, I would go with the Eheim.

Kensfish online has the 2217's for a few bucks under $150. I just placed an order with Ken's a few weeks ago. Free s&h and no tax. Plus its a small family owned business. I like doing business with them. They also have a great and inexpensive selection of in-house branded fish food. My fish love their Ken's Fish brand of wafers, flake and pellets!

407's are all $199 still.

The Eheim comes loaded full of media, while the Fluval is packed with mainly bags of carbon and a small bag of their Bio-Max. After the bags of carbon are exhausted, half the trays or more will be empty. So there is another expense of filling them with layers of more foam sponges or other bio-media.

If your going to drop $199 on a canister, might as well get the FX4 for that price on sale at Petsmart.

 

H2O Concierge, I believe each tray of the 406/407 holds approximately 1.5 quarts, plus the volume of the vertical foam sponges.

If I had those 2 options, the 407 vs the 2217, I would go with the Eheim.

Kensfish online has the 2217's for a few bucks under $150. I just placed an order with Ken's a few weeks ago. Free s&h and no tax. Plus its a small family owned business. I like doing business with them. They also have a great and inexpensive selection of in-house branded fish food. My fish love their Ken's Fish brand of wafers, flake and pellets!

407's are all $199 still.

The Eheim comes loaded full of media, while the Fluval is packed with mainly bags of carbon and a small bag of their Bio-Max. After the bags of carbon are exhausted, half the trays or more will be empty. So there is another expense of filling them with layers of more foam sponges or other bio-media.

If your going to drop $199 on a canister, might as well get the FX4 for that price on sale at Petsmart.

I agree about the media, way too much carbon in the 407. I had biological media left from many years ago, so I was able to fill it to the max.

I had bought a Eheim pro 4+ just before this Fluval and sent it back. I hated it, so noisy. The 2217 is a classic, probably better than the pro 4+, but I don’t think it has as much filtration power as the Fluval 407. Also, it doesn’t self prime, you have to suck water out of a tube, which didn’t appeal to me at all.

It also looks a lot small than the 407, as far as room for media goes. I also believe the 407 is easier to maintain, the trays are easy to get out and in.

But it all comes down to personal preference.

 

H2O Concierge, I believe each tray of the 406/407 holds approximately 1.5 quarts, plus the volume of the vertical foam sponges.

If I had those 2 options, the 407 vs the 2217, I would go with the Eheim.

Kensfish online has the 2217's for a few bucks under $150. I just placed an order with Ken's a few weeks ago. Free s&h and no tax. Plus its a small family owned business. I like doing business with them. They also have a great and inexpensive selection of in-house branded fish food. My fish love their Ken's Fish brand of wafers, flake and pellets!

407's are all $199 still.

The Eheim comes loaded full of media, while the Fluval is packed with mainly bags of carbon and a small bag of their Bio-Max. After the bags of carbon are exhausted, half the trays or more will be empty. So there is another expense of filling them with layers of more foam sponges or other bio-media.

If your going to drop $199 on a canister, might as well get the FX4 for that price on sale at Petsmart.

I briefly had an Eheim 2080 (returned due to loss of flow-motor head filled with water). I found it to be quite heavy. Had to make a ramp to get it in and out of the stand. I am concerned that I would have a similar problem with the FX4. The FX4 has some downsides...mostly mech and only 1.0 gal bio, consumes 30 watts, must use OEM foams (I cut my own mech pads) and some say it's a pain to service. The 407 bio=1.6 gal, 23 watts. The 2217 bio=1.6gal, 20 watts. Yah the 407 virtually comes mt of bio media, but I would be moving media from my 2217 to it. That would leave an Eheim Pro 3 2078 paired with the 407 and a tidal 110 on the 125g. Is this just a lateral move? Feel free to correct or persuade me. I have been tempted by Petsmart in the past.

 

DechI , I figured out a better way to prime my canister filter and almost all of the air out of the system.

Before turning the filter back on, I open the intake and discharge valves and remove the strainer (sponge pre-filter adapter in my case) on the tank side of the intake tube.

I then insert the discharge barb of a small water pump (Eheim 1000) into the intake tube and plug in the pump.

I allow the pump to fully prime the canister and blow air out of it and the discharge tubes.

After I am satisfied there is no air in the system, I unplug the pump and plug the canister filter back in.

The minimal amount of air that might be in the canister is removed by gently rocking it back and forth and left to right a few times.

No more using the plunger/primer anymore!


H2O Concierge , what happened with the 2080 ?

Was it easily returned back to Live Aquaria? That is odd that a brand new canister would have the head fill with water like that!

 

DechI , I figured out a better way to prime my canister filter and almost all of the air out of the system.

Before turning the filter back on, I open the intake and discharge valves and remove the strainer (sponge pre-filter adapter in my case) on the tank side of the intake tube.

I then insert the discharge barb of a small water pump (Eheim 1000) into the intake tube and plug in the pump.

I allow the pump to fully prime the canister and blow air out of it and the discharge tubes.

After I am satisfied there is no air in the system, I unplug the pump and plug the canister filter back in.

The minimal amount of air that might be in the canister is removed by gently rocking it back and forth and left to right a few times.

No more using the plunger/primer anymore!


H2O Concierge , what happened with the 2080 ?

Was it easily returned back to Live Aquaria? That is odd that a brand new canister would have the head fill with water like that!

Nice tip on priming...I guess I could use an old powerhead. Ok are you ready for the saga? Easy to return and they gave full refund of $133.00. The problem was that they would not replace it because it was a discontinued item for them. So although I was not out any $$, I was denied a great deal on the filter that normally goes for $380.00. Anyway...After about 3 weeks I noticed that the flow had decreased to almost nothing so I unplugged it and started to remove it when water poured out of the pump head cover. I disassembled and lubed the gaskets and put the filter back on...only to find that a day later the same problem. I initially had noticed this crack and sealed screw on the cover thinking that it was just cosmetic.
I did research and found this post.

1. I did some reaserch last night, and it appears at one point, there was a common issue with leaks from the plunger assembly and the hose adapter. Water would slowly leak inside the top motor housing.

1. Symptoms would be a very slight leak from the cord area or another spot.

1. Long term water infiltration of that area causes metal screws and other parts to rust out, besides having a leak dripping water.

1. Users seemed to remedy the problem with new orings and gaskets amd/or spraying them with Eheim's Maintenance Spray Lube or vaseline.
2. I found one thread on a different forum where someone posted that Eheim allegedly has a production run of models with faulty components, and if the filter's serial number was in a certain range, they received a new motor head assembly with updated parts.
3. I am not sure about the validity of that.
4. I emailed Eheim this morning regarding their warranty and the leaks the Pro 3 and Pro 3e models had.

1. If I get a response, I will post back.
   
   
   May 9, 2019
   
   
   Well Known Member
   
   Received back a very detailed response from Eheim .
2. To summarize.......

1. 10.They said there was indeed a known problem with leaks in early production runs of 2071, 2073 and 2075 model canisters that was corrected with an updated revision to the production.

1. 11.Food grade silicone lube is recommended to be applied on the rubber gaskets/o-rings each time the canister is opened up for cleaning.
2. 12.The Pro 3 2080 (1200xl), Pro 3e 2076 and 2078 models are actually still in production because "none of the Pro 4 models match the size of them" .

1. 13.They are covered by a 3-year warranty. Motor head has to be shipped back to Eheim though for service.
   1. LiveAquariahas a sale on them, and you get a $50 store gift card with purchase over $199.
      I have an Eheim 2080 Pro 3 which after about 1 month has lost all flow and the pump head is full of water which flowed out when the canister was removed from the stand. I understand that this has been a problem with this model. Can you help to resolve this problem. The pump head is labeled; Typ 2080 38 0. Series 181205. So about a year and a half later, one of the 2080s that I have is now leaking badly. About a minute after being turned on, it will start flooding the floor. Set it aside for a month or so out of anger disappointment and went back to it today. I took the head apart and found this...

2. Looks like the head has been filling with water so badly that all the metal parts in it are completely rusted.
3. Very disappointing to see that the screws used were normal metal screws and not stainless steel. Even worse, the two black ones on the left look like normal wood screws to me.
5. You can see here how the base of the primer mechanism spring is completely rusted.
8. The motor and primer mechanism are actually one unit. When you press the priming button down, the whole motor moves up and down. The rubber gasket is held by two sets of screws. The inner lip of the rubber is held by 4 screws under the pump head (i.e. inside the canister itself). Thankfully these are real stainless steel screws. Sorry about the icky pic.
9. So about a year
10. The outer lip is held in place by these 4 screws inside the pump head. Completely rusted off. Considering that the screws are about an inch above the bottom of the pump head, there must constantly been about an inch of standing water in the pump head.
12. This is with the plastic housing that holds the motor removed.
14. 3 of the 4 screws weren't holding the plastic piece in place anymore, which means the rubber seal wasn't effectively doing its job. I think this is where the problem is. So now that the screw heads have completely disintegrated, I guess I'll need to drill out the remains of the screws. The screws themselves are self-threading screws, so I have to get the drill bit size right and get the exact replacement too. I hope that the sealing doesn't depend on the primer spring, since that has lost its lower coils now. Might glue a piece of acrylic tubing in place of the spring to stop it from being pressed anymore.
15. So much for German engineering.
    
    
    
    Last edited: 29 Aug 2015
    flygja, 29 Aug 2015
    
    
    
    
    
    
    You won't drill those out easily. The drill will want to wander off into the plastic, you'd have to use a very short drill and a drill press. There should be just enough sticking out to get a set of needle nose vise-grips on there and wind them out.
    
    
    That's a problem. I don't have a drill press. I'll try to use a pair of needle nose pliers to wind them out. It'll be hard because the screws are self-threading. Gonna use lots of WD40
    
    
    
    You'll struggle to get enough grip with normal needle nose pliers, if you haven't got vise-grips I'd try a set of normal pliers as they will grip better. If they are directly into the plastic then they should come out fairly easily without wd40, all the wd40 will do is make the screw more difficult to grip.
    
    
    I've changed my Eheims for JBLs Greenline. Very low consumption and larger filter volume compared to Eheim. Only classic line from Eheim seems to last for decades...
    
    
    my 2078 has just done this as well.

1. might go for a JBL greenline
   
   
   
   
   Primer seal replaced twice in 4 years on my 2078 - I even avoided using the primer where possible.
   
   
   dow corning dc4 lube

I contacted Eheim. Thinking that if I decided to send the head to Eheim they would see the cracked head cover and would probably not honor the warrantee and charge me shipping to get it back. I was approaching the 30 day return policy from LiveAquaria and had not heard from Eheim so I returned the filter. I did hear back from Eheim shortly after that, saying they would send me a return label so they could evaluate the motor head. Looking back I probably should have ordered a new top cover, forgetting about the 30 day return, and dealt with Eheim thru warranty. Oh well I didn't so that is why I am looking for another canister... AGAIN. The SAGA continues.

 

I would have assumed Eheim had made the appropriate revisions to the design flaw and subsequent production unit would have been free of those issues.

It was bad timing for me, otherwise I would have picked up a 2078 and/or a 2080.

Since then, I bought a 55 gallon tank and an FX4, both on sale.

I moved my Hydor 600 to the new 55 gallon Mbuna tank and placed the FX4 on the 75g.

The FX4 is made better than I thought it would be.

I loaded the bottom basket with cycled bio-media from the Hydor, though it's capacity is a lot less.

Top basket has the black medium-coarse bio-foam, followed by a few layers of Polyfil batting, the included carbon pad, then the Fluval Phosphate pad.

When it's time to service it, I don't forsee any hassles.

The shut off valves see to be made well, and I like the top lid's locking system.

Having a 3 year warranty is good as well.

For a 125g like yours, I would choose the FX4 over the 407, if they were both $199.

More flow rate and the optional gravel vac are a plus.

Additionally, if I had an FX4 on a 125g, I would set it up for mainly mechanical filtration with a secondary filter for the bio.

 

I would have assumed Eheim had made the appropriate revisions to the design flaw and subsequent production unit would have been free of those issues.

It was bad timing for me, otherwise I would have picked up a 2078 and/or a 2080.

Since then, I bought a 55 gallon tank and an FX4, both on sale.

I moved my Hydor 600 to the new 55 gallon Mbuna tank and placed the FX4 on the 75g.

The FX4 is made better than I thought it would be.

I loaded the bottom basket with cycled bio-media from the Hydor, though it's capacity is a lot less.

Top basket has the black medium-coarse bio-foam, followed by a few layers of Polyfil batting, the included carbon pad, then the Fluval Phosphate pad.

When it's time to service it, I don't forsee any hassles.

The shut off valves see to be made well, and I like the top lid's locking system.

Having a 3 year warranty is good as well.

For a 125g like yours, I would choose the FX4 over the 407, if they were both $199.

More flow rate and the optional gravel vac are a plus.

Additionally, if I had an FX4 on a 125g, I would set it up for mainly mechanical filtration with a secondary filter for the bio.

I commend you for making it thru my last posting. Yes I am sure Eheim has corrected the issue. I just probably got sent an older model that had been a return. Congrats on your recent acquisitions. Things happen for a reason. Thanks for the suggestion of splitting mech/Bio between 2 canisters, I had heard some do that. A question about your Hydor 600. How much media would you say the Hydor 600 holds, specs say canister vol=3.2 gal. That sounds like total vol...not media vol. Well it is looking like the FX4 (mech) paired with my 2078 (bio) would be more than adequate at approx. 9 turns an hour for the 125g. I would probably want to diffuse the output with a spray bar. I guess I am going to have to keep my eye out for the next sale. Enjoy your Mbuna's.

 

I estimate each of the 600's tray/baskets holds around 2 liters each.

I had bought a 4-liter container of Seachem Pond Matrix on sale when I bought the 600. After removing all the pieces that did not look like pumice, I was able to place the remaining contents into 2 of the baskets.

I then was able to fill some more space up with the smaller "normal" Matrix pumice stones. After shaking the baskets around, the smaller stones settled in with the larger "Pond" pumice.

The last time I had cleaned the 600 and put it back on the 75 gallon before moving it to the Mbuna tank, the top basket alone held 2x 100mL bags Purigen, a bag of carbon and a bag of Phosphate remover (Laguna Pond Phos-X), then topped off by a fine floss pad.

I remember the 3+ gallons of media capacity spec from their website when I first purchased the filter. I figured Hydor took the internal volume of the canister body and subtracted the space taken up by the pump head. That figure may not account for the volume the actual baskets take up. This is only an assumption though.





It comes with a coarse sponge that fills the entire bottom basket, and enough of their sintered glass bio-media to completley fill 2 more trays.

That media appears very porous looking, more so in my opinion than Fluval's Bio-Max, which seems harder and more dense if that description makes sense.

I run mine with an ATI Hydro-Max III pre-filter. That way, I omit the use of the coarse sponge in the bottom tray.

All Hydors have large front and rear clasps to secure the motor head down onto the canister body. They are supplemented by a pair of sliding latches on the sides to further lock it in place.

 

Wow. Thank you for the details on the Hydor 600 and your media setup. Sounds like a good setup to me. Sooooooooo..."The runners up are Fluvial 406, 407 or FX4, Hydor Pro 600, API XP-XL, Marineland 360/530, Eheim 2217....Envelope please and the winner is...Petsmart (usually not the case) $199.99 for the FX4". I brought it home last night and have been pondering (no pun intended) on the set up. Using a blow dryer, and then a heat gun on a small piece of Eheim tubing, I was able to attach the pre filter that was on my 2217. I have been searching for a sectioned (possibly multI directional) spray bar for the FX4 output. I am not sure if I will be able to run the FX as purely Mech because I need to find a place for all the Matrix that is in the 2217 (which I will be putting back into storage). The Matrix will probably take the place of the Fx's provided rings. I will have 2 canisters which I thought that I would put on opposite ends. I have always run my outputs flowing the length of the tank, instead of back to front. What do you think. I found this somewhere and would cite the source if I knew...so thanks for the graphic.

 

I never would have thought of that set up! Yeah that should circulate well.

Very good hack getting the Eheim pre-filter to mate to the FX4 hoses.

When I first set up the FX4 on my 75g, I used the dual outlet nozzle on the discharge that it came with.

It provided slightly more current versus the spray bar from the Hydor. Since the tank also has 2 Aquaclears running, I didn't need the extra current.

I removed the discharge outlet, and I have the water shooting straight down out of the hose.

As the water exits, it diffuses into the water column because it hits the stream of rising air bubbles coming from a corner sponge filter, which blows them across the right side glass.





Here is a pic of it when the water line was lowered during a large water change.




There is still current in the tank that is drawn toward the FX4's intake, but just not as strong as before.

As for the included Bio-Max, I used it as a pre-filter media hack.

I took half of it and broke the "tubes" in half with a pair of pliers. I then washed the broken tubes along with the intact Bio-Max, then placed them along the bottom outer channel of the canister.

Water exits the intake tube at the bottom, then gets distributed around the bottom channel before it travels upwards through the outer coarse foam rings.

This channel is empty and to me looked like a wasted space, so I threw the Bio-Max in there.

I got the idea from the Pondguru channel. Here is a

to that video, fast forward to 4:00 minute mark.

Theory is the incoming water rushes across and through the media along that outer channel, and some of the muck either settles or gets trapped down there before rising up through the foam rings.

Another unused space I found was at the very bottom center, below the bottom media basket where the water enters the pump assembly.

I grabbed a spare foam sponge block from the Aquaclears and placed it at the bottom, creating a quasI dam in front of the depression entering into the pump. I notched out the bottom of the foam block slightly, so it would not cover up the opening to the pump if the foam shifted or moved.

I placed extra Matrix from the Hydor in the area on the other side of the foam block.

When the bottom basket is dropped into place, it seats up against the foam block, so it shouldn't move and none of the Matrix should be able to accidentally enter the pump.

I wish I had a pic, but here is a crude drawing of an overhead view......





Maybe you can get some ideas from all this and adapt them for your own use.

 

Good info. Nice ****. Multimedia post. Cool.
Wow that is a lot of flow. I can imagine a snow globe in my sanded 125g. I have referred to PondGuru in the past, but some how I missed this one. I originally was looking at filters with a lower wattage and higher media capacity. He does confirm what I had suspected that the FX4 was lacking when it came to the amount of bio media that it could hold. He states for the FX4 full cycle=80 gal tank lightly stocked. Verses Fluval's statement of 250g (a number I usually cut in half). Oh well...I do have the 2078 to help with that. Right? So many consider the FX 4/5/6 series as good choice for years made the choice easier. Looking at it for the first time on the floor in fronton the tank I thought "the aliens have landed...huh".