Habitat - Indoor :: Fluval 405 a good fit?

[pcr]

My son and I are setting up a new indoor habitat for his two RES. It will be based around a mid-sized pond liner the we picked up on craigslist; I'll be building a wood frame to support the liner.

At the same time, we need to upgrade the filter. I have a chance to get a used Fluval 405 at a good price, but I want to make sure it will work in this situation. It won't be practical to raise the pond liner more than a few inches off the floor. I know the 405 is a gravity-feed, so I'm worried that having it at almost the same level as the tank itself will prevent it from working effectively. I have no experience with gravity feed filters, so any guidance would be appreciated.

Thanks,
pcr

[steve]

It should work, but the initial priming might be difficult or tricky. There are plenty of people who use canisters with tanks on the floor.

[Marcus.85]

I have 2 405 and I have to warn you that if it's too close to the tank (as in low height differential) the output becomes really really low. I wouldn't advise it.. You should look into auto-priming filters which, it is said, work better in those kind of situations.

Mine was on the exact same level though, I'm not sure if it'd get better with the tank slighty higher, o not..

[pcr]

I could get a FX5 instead (which I think is auto-priming). That's a lot more expensive than the 405, though, and seems like it might be overkill. Anyone have any experience with an FX5 located level with the tank?

Thanks,
pcr

[steve]

I think any canister filter would be tricky. Since you're building a frame, can you raise it? It'll be easier to clean since you don't have to bend over too much and a siphon would work a little better.

[pcr]

I can raise it a few inches, but I'd like to keep the top no higher than the adjacent windowsill. Also, too high and it will lose the natural pond-like feel I'm trying for. (Not many natural ponds are waist high.)

The FX5 manual says the top of the filter should be 20cm (7.8") minimum from the top of the water. (The 405 manual does not specify this distance.) Can anyone tell me the height of a FX5?

After looking more at the gravity-feed filters, I'm almost wondering if a small submerged pump and a pressurized pond filter might be better. Even more $$$, but at least I'd be confident of getting a good flow rate. Anyone have any thoughts on this?

pcr

[steve]

It's possible, though I'm not sure if it's better. You can also look into hang-on filters and the DIY skippy filters.

[meltedspork]

The FX5 is 16 inches high, but I do not know if they include the total height with the input/output nozzles that stick out of the top, which would make it 20 inches high.

[rsour24]

why not use a pond pump and a pond filter?