Fluval 407 canister

I'm switching from an HOB to canister for my 38 gallon tank (currently not planted but will be planted in a month). Looking to get the Fluval 407 since I'll be upgrading to a 55 or 75 gallon come Christmas.

When I upgrade I'll have a sponge filter to go with the 407.... but...
Is the 407 too much for the 38 gallon in the meantime?

 

Additional question...should I consider the Fluval FX4? I know that would be good for an upgrade to 75 gallons. But again will it be too powerful for my 38 gallon in the meantime?

 

what do you have now?
I think the FX4 will be way too much flow for a 38 gallon.
If you are getting the new tank around Christmas, it might be worth considering that petsmart had the FX4 and FX6 for half off last Black Friday. Of course, its not guaranteed it will happen this year.

 

You could always rig the fx4 or fx6 with a diy output and also close of some of the output valve so that way you can control more of the flow? I have a fx6 on my 55g. Has a ton of flow don't get me wrong but a little pvc design to redirect the output causing some good surface agitation and a powerhead to direct my flow its dialed! Also gives me the mindset that I can always setup up my tank size and not have to worry about if my filter will be able to keep up.

Check you locate PetSmart or Petco, my PetSmart was having a random sale one day to clear shelf space, and I grabbed my fx6 for $210.00 out the door!

 

You could always rig the fx4 or fx6 with a diy output and also close of some of the output valve so that way you can control more of the flow? I have a fx6 on my 55g. Has a ton of flow don't get me wrong but a little pvc design to redirect the output causing some good surface agitation and a powerhead to direct my flow its dialed! Also gives me the mindset that I can always setup up my tank size and not have to worry about if my filter will be able to keep up.

Check you locate PetSmart or Petco, my PetSmart was having a random sale one day to clear shelf space, and I grabbed my fx6 for $210.00 out the door!

I was on the fence when the FX4 was $139 from petsmart, but sold out when i try to checkout.

 

I would way rather support any LFS or small business but when big name companies have deals like those its hard to pass up! haha

Another thing I noticed with my PetSmart was online they had it marked up almost 80 bucks, and was saying my local store was out of stock. So might be worth just popping in to your local store? PetSmart isnt always on their game so your stores inventory might be off too!

 

what do you have now?
I think the FX4 will be way too much flow for a 38 gallon.
If you are getting the new tank around Christmas, it might be worth considering that petsmart had the FX4 and FX6 for half off last Black Friday. Of course, its not guaranteed it will happen this year.

Currently have a fluval aquaclear 70 HOB. Does an ok job but could use something better. I do get brown diatom breakouts every 4 to 5 months. So weird. Will be fine for 4 months then bam.... brown algae everywhere for few months until I manage to make it go away. 5 months later, repeat.

I'm moving next month and when I do will be redoing the entire tank (planted this time). Figured now is the time to switch to canister also. Was almost ready to buy the 407 but then started to worry a 407 wouldn't be enough if I went to a 75 gallon.

I could just stick with the aquaclear 70 and wait on the canister (fx4) until upgrading. Or buy a second smaller HOB temporarily (in addition to the aq 70) to get some extra filtration and water cycling.

 

For the tank, I have a 60 gallon which is 12" deep, and a 40 gallon breeder which is 18" deep. Trust me, the additional 6" will make a huge difference on the 75 vs 55.
I would just get another cheap HOB for now.
Who knows there might be crazy deals around Black Friday for the fx and tank.