Fluval 304/305 Tune Up Kit

Anyone who has ever bothered to price out the components in an aquarium filterseparately, knows that in most cases it is much less expensive to purchase an entire filter, than it is to purchase the parts which it’s comprised of.Especially when the filters are heavily discounted by certain retailers. However, if you are not likely to purchase an entire filter as a “parts bin” for the filter you already own, then it’s still a good idea to purchase certain spare parts which are more likely to break over time; parts such as impellers, impeller shafts, impeller covers and canister filter seals should also be kept in the event that one of these parts fails. This way your filter can be back in service within a matter of minutes instead of a matter of days or weeks.Fluval makes some very good canister filters. And the 305 is no exception, provided that the owner remembers to replace the canister seal every two years (as Fluval recommends). That said, these filters should give the owner years of trouble freeuse.As for the Fluval – Eheim (or what this author likens to the Ford Chevy) controversyregarding which is better, I own both, including three Eheim Classic filters.In terms of reliablity, the Eheim Classic filter is as *reliable as any filter ever made.However, if the rubber canister seal is not changed regularly, this seal can failcausing the Eheim to leak, just as any other canister filter can fail for the same reason.*Ironically enough, some of Eheim’s more expensive hi-tech filters are less reliable tan the company’s entry level Classic line of filters. In fact, certain models with self priming pumps are prone to leaking, while the pumps themselves are not very effective. And Eheim’s absurdly expensive line of thermo filters (the canister filters with built in heaters) have a history of trouble prone thermostats, which are very expensive to replace – that is, if you can even find these parts in the USA.As for keeping a stock of spare filter parts for your canister filter, it is simply a wise thing for the fishkeeper to do.