Comments on: The Fluval G Series Hydrotech is here…

By: Miguel E Espinosa

Miguel E Espinosa — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 20:46:50 +0000

Hey Ron i’m happy the filter is working strong for you. I hope to get a G6 soon for my 80gal African Cichlid tank (way overstocked!!!). I currently have a Eheim Pro 3e. It’s a great filter but no where as easy to maintenance as the G6. I would have bought a G6 if it would have been release early last year instead of the Eheim hands down.

Your mantenance schedule needs a little tweeking if want your fish to really thrive. Waiting 30 days for a water change is not a healthy thing for the fish will be suffering a little stress by then. A 10 to 20% water change per week would serve them much better and keep the EC more steady state. This has been my experience for the last year and half with my overstocked tank. BTY I am talking about 50+ mbuna!!!

By: Ron

Ron — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 22:17:39 +0000

I’ve been waiting and looking for others reviews myself. I’ve had my G6 for about 3 months now and am very pleased. The filter flow seems very powerful when I drain my tank for water changes, especially compared to my Emperor 400 (400 gph) on the same tank. Everyone’s big complaint on the G6 seems to be flow and cost and I think this is the highest flow filter short of the FX5 and is cheaper than a Pro3E. Am I wrong on this ?
The flow display on the G6 indicates 100% and has never changed. The temperature chart is useful and appears to be accurate. The conductivity of my heavily stocked cichlid tank reaches 400 after about 30 days when I change the water (about 60% of the 55 gallons). The conductivity then drops to 300 and ramps up linearly over the 30 day period between changes. I clean the mechanical cartridge every 3 weeks or so which is very simple. I’m loving it. No leaks, no noise.

By: Bryan

Bryan — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 15:15:27 +0000

Still waiting on the follow-up reviews of the G filter………

By: Ron

Ron — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 01:50:03 +0000

I had a similar issue and had to push the filter all the way to the back of the cabinet to allow the hoses to travel up behind the tank. However, I was very pleased that the hose i.d. is a standard 5/8″ and with some common fittings can be re-routed if desired or an inline heater can easily be added without the problem of using the Fluval accordian hose.

By: craig

craig — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 17:10:31 +0000

I have just purchased a g6. For all its new technoligy i was very dissapointed with the way the aquastop valves pipe linkage, which when installing in a cupboard below the tank (which should be the easiest of places) the valve comes straight up which means that the pipes comes through the holes on the back of cabinate at the highest point possible, and are then forced to do a complete right angle to connect with the aquqvalve, this of course completely kinks the hose and is not acceptable. Quite simply the pipe conectors on valve need to be angled towards the back of filter (cabinate) instead of being straight up. I have had to remove a section of the cladding on rear of cabinate so tha i can push the filter all the way back allmost to the wall. This then allows the pipes to enter filter without kinking! My cabinate has 50cm inside height the filter is 32cm high so even with 18cm clearance for pipes and valve the pipe still kinks. I am dissapointed with the g6 for this reason after all it is a £350 filter and i would not expect one of the steps of installation to be so troublesome. Fluval realy should rethink either the type of piping they use or the design of the top of the aquavalve. I would like to replace my piece of tank rear cladding. But with current pipe and valve this i cannot do without kinking the pipes.

By: Ron

Ron — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 05:01:55 +0000

My engineering instincts overtook my dollars and sense today and I went out and purchased my own G6 from the LFS (Kee’s in Shelby Twp. MI offering generous incentives).
Using my trusty digital calipers I measured the new smooth gray tubing as follows:
I.D. = 16 mm (0.625″ = 5/8″)
O.D. = 21 mm (0.825″)
Wall = 2.5 mm (0.100″)
This I.D. should lend itself in perfect alignment with the Hydor ETH 300 in-line heater (according to their only available spec.=5/8″) !
The staff at Kee’s also made mention of the protrusion on the back rear motor housing that could be a future connection point for an add-on probe, computer connection and/or possible heater attachment, all apparent speculation or alluding by Fluval trainers.

By: Ron

Ron — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 14:59:41 +0000

Jonathan,
Great info.
Can you verify the measurements though, they seem to be conflicting ?
Wouldn’t a 16 mm hose with 2 mm wall have a 20 mm o.d. ?
Ron

By: Ron

Ron — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 12:38:10 +0000

Sanderling,

Great to finally see some hands-on information from an actual user.
I’m ready to put some money down myself, but am waiting for that extra little push before making the leap.

What size tank will you be using it on ?

One of the things of particular interest to me are the hoses and barb attachment diameters. I’ve read all the literature via PDF and it is not documented. I would like to put a Hydor ETH 300 on the output of a Fluval G6 on my 55 gallon.

I think the Hydor uses a 5/8” (16 mm) i.d. hose/barb and suspect the G6 may be similar to the Fluval 405, which is 17 mm.

*Can you please measure the hose i.d., o.d. and barb max. o.d. ?

Thanks and hurry,

Ron

Hi Ron,

The hose I measured has an internal diameter of 16mm, a wall thickness of 2 mm and an outer diameter of 24mm. The filter comes with a single length of hose, 3m long that you can fit to your specific requirements. Unlike earlier Fluval hoses, this one is a smooth walled material similar to PVC but more supple. You need to be careful to ensure that you trim it with little or no slack or it is prone to kinking, particularly on the suction side.

Jonathan