- Includes UV Serilizer to eradicate algae spores and harmful bacteria
- Suitable for tanks up to 175 gal
- Extremely quiet
- 4+1 Stage filtration system
- 525 gals/hr
- Suitable for tanks up to 175-gallon
- 9-Watt UV sterilizer
- Dimensions: 18-Inch by 12-Inch by 11-Inch
CF500-UV Features: -Replacement fine filter pads and course filter sponge. -Suitable for tanks up to 175 gallons. -Includes four fine filter pads and a single coarse filter sponge. Filter Placement: -Internal. Filter Type: -Canister. Pet Category: -Fish and Aquatic Pets. Color: -Whites & Tans. Generic Specifications: -9 Watt UV sterilizer. Dimensions: -18″ H x 15″ W x 12″ D, 17.1 lbs. Overall Height – Top to Bottom: -18″. Overall Width – Side to Side: -15″. Overall Depth – Front to Back: -12″. Overall Product Weight: -17.1 lbs.
Best Canister Filter
Decent Filter At The Right Price For What You Get,
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…
Read more
Was this review helpful to you?
|The answer to my problems!,
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 :)…
Read more
Was this review helpful to you?
|SATISFIED, SO FAR…KNOCK ON WOOD.,
My fish give this 5 stars, but they don’t have to maintain it. My last two compaints are in the cleaning and servicing area: There’s no handle to carry it by – grab with both hands and hang on – and it has to be full of water for the siphon to effectively start…no big deals, but Penn Plax had that covered with their Cascade filters.
A neat feature is the inlet tube, which has a built in cleaning tube connection so you can vacumm your tank with a siphon-type cleaner by removing a cap and attaching your siphon hose to it and vacumm your gravel…at least I think that’s what it is, as the instructions completely avoid this feature, but it works.
The inlet/outlet hose disconnect seems to be a good idea, but I haven’t cleaned my hoses yet – it’s very simple to disconnect – a big plus for me, as my filter sits inside a cabinet that’s not much wider than the filter.
I use my filter to filter – not set up a colony of bacteria to biologically control the water, so the ceramic filter “beads” get no special attention, and the filter pads get rinsed along with the charcoal bag (which is an excellent addition as it can be unzipped and refilled if needed).
This is a 3 stage filter which can be easily cleaned. Detailed instructions,a carrying handle and the ability to start the siphon with no water in the filter would make cleaning easier (this cost them one star) – but it’s not a major inconveience – my filter is housed in a narrow cabinet. If it were sitting on the floor, it would be no problem. The ultra-violet light, siphon attachment on the intake tube and tubing and fittings are positive additions. In the past six weeks, I’ve cleaned my filter once – it’s due again, but I’d say 3 weeks is what I’ll be looking at, and my tank is crowded…fewer fish would make for fewer cleanings. I’d recommend it to a friend, and if I ever get another tank, this is the filter I’ll buy.
Was this review helpful to you?
|