Introducing the filter you should have bought for Christmas.....the Aquael Ultramax 2000. Ultramax 2000 (Ebay UK): ebay.to/2WQ7w2b Ultramax 2000 (Ebay EU): ebay.to/2sHb9e5 (Check local fish stores and online retailers) Biohome filter media: www.filterpro.co.uk While it may not hold as much media as the largest in the Unimax range (700 holds 8kg) the Ultramax still manages to fit 6kg of biohome ultimate into the decent sized filter media trays - and if you're looking to achieve full cycle filtration (0 ammonia, 0 nitrite and 0 or close to 0 nitrate) that makes it suitable for tank sizes as follows: Normally stocked tropical community tank 600 litres / 158 US gallons Heavily stocked (e.g. cichlid / goldfish / predator) or marine tank 300 litres / 79 US gallons Remember, that is the recommended upper limit tank size for a FULL cycle - I've no doubt that it will keep ammonia and nitrite at 0 in much larger tanks but in this series of videos we work towards a full cycle, not half a job. A full cycle is completed by bacteria - the aerobic part of biological filtration which processes ammonia to nitrite and nitrite to nitrate followed by an anaerobic part which processes nitrate into soluble nitrogen which bubbles off to the atmosphere. Therefore it requires a suitable amount of excellent quality filter media to be able to provide the environment for both aerobic AND anaerobic bacteria - that is what Biohome ultimate does perfectly but even with such good media there are limitations and we recommend the following amounts for different stocking scenarios: (1 US gallon = 3.8 litres) (1kg = 2.2 lbs) Average community tropical aquarium = 1kg per 100 litres Average coldwater aquarium = 1kg - 1.5kg per 100 litres Predator aquarium = 1.5kg - 2kg per 100 litres Large cichlid aquarium = 1.5kg - 2kg per 100 litres Malawi / Tanganyikan aquarium = 1.5kg - 2kg per 100 litres Marine aquarium = 1.5kg - 2kg per 100 litres Average mixed fish pond = 1kg per 200 litres Average koi pond = 1kg per 150 litres You may be disagreeing with the above figures but remember that they are for a FULL CYCLE not half a job - achieving 0 ammonia and 0 nitrite is quite easy since aerobic bacteria grows freely on any surface but the anaerobic bacteria responsible for COMPLETING the cycle needs more a specialized habitat. Size a filter properly, set it up sensibly and you will have perfect water - it's that simple....and your filter won't be the dreaded 'Nitrate factory'. This series of videos is all about trying to improve the filtering capacity of internal and external aquarium filters - If you have a filter you'd like me to feature in a video then please contact me on: sales@filterpro.co.uk 07772848730 (Richard) Anyone who sends a filter (UK only at present) will have it upgraded and returned to them for free and the only cost you will pay is how much it costs to ship it to me - I'm helping to boost your filter and the resulting videos will hopefully be useful to viewers all over the world so it's a win/win. The following videos will be useful to anyone interested in learning more about filtration, bacteria and making the conditions for your fish as good as possible: Sizing a canister properly and filter set up: goo.gl/om19un Looking INSIDE different filter media: goo.gl/hZWS6c Bacteria and filter media: goo.gl/123gAF How to clean an aquarium: goo.gl/bPMhvh Aquarium tips / filtration playlist: goo.gl/pXgqVj Check out my channel for hundreds of videos on a wide range of my hobbies - many of the videos have educational content so if you have enjoyed any give them the thumbs up and share. This channel is purely a hobby for me so I will never ask viewers to donate money for any of my projects or charge anyone for information - information should be shared freely and I certainly don't consider myself an 'expert' in anything I pursue as a hobby so please do your own research, never accept anything as 'fact', reject anyone claiming to be some sort of authority or 'expert' and make your own minds up about anything you wish to study. We all are on a long path of learning......... RECOMMENDED PRODUCTS ON AMAZON: goo.gl/jMaBWy INSTAGRAM: instagram.com/pondguru_outdoors/ FILMING EQUIPMENT: Panasonic HC-VX870 HD camcorder geni.us/3UwE +Rode stereo microphone: geni.us/4OL +Rode 'deadcat' mic cover: geni.us/1pmn JVC Everio quad proof HD camcorder: geni.us/e09e +Rode 'deadcat' mic cover (opened up and held between tripod and camera base) geni.us/dee24 Zomei Z666 tripod: geni.us/1a1af3 Manfrotto MTPIXI-B PIXI mini tripod: geni.us/87f7 If you've enjoyed this video please check out the playlists on my channel for hundreds more - on a variety of subjects. Feel free to share or link any of my videos on facebook, twitter, forums etc. for the benefit of anyone you think may also enjoy watching. See you next time. Pondguru

coming back to this video 4 years later to say that when i saw this review i bought this filter and set it up exactly like you said and its now running for 3 and a half years with 0 problems and i love it, nothing broke

Looks a brilliant filter. Its amazing what companies can do when they listen. great stuff Richard

Richard, thank you for this review, it helped me make the decision going for this filter. I bought the Ultramax 1500 for my Juwel Rio 180 tank, and it performs admirably. It's quiet, easy to install and performs great, good flow through the entire tank. I used the Eheim install sets for intake and outlet from/to the tank, much better than the included bits (they're not bad but not very practical or good-looking), spray bar on the outlet. In line I have a Hydor ETH heater (200W) connected to the inlet of the canister filter, and a JBL Proflora CO2 diffusor to the outlet, and it's an impressively effective setup. The 1500 has 4 baskets instead of the 2000's 5, they're the same size though, 1,9 liter each. Course and medium foams AND a fine pad in one basket were a bit too much a squeeze imo, so I put the fine pad in the tray above the course/medium foam tray. Put a piece of plastic mesh on top of the pad, and filled it up with media. Enough room for 2KGs of Biohome plus which came from my old filter, plus 2KGs of Biohome Ultimate, which should be more than sufficient for a 180 liter well-planted tank with about 35 smaller fish. 6 weeks in, water chemistry values are excellent so far, the water is absolutely clear and there's hardly any algae. I clean the pre-filter sponge once a week, the other sponges once a month. It's important to, before opening the pre-filter cover, first close the in-valve, then unplug the power cord, then close the out-valve. I found out the hard way doing this another way, you end up spilling a lot of water everywhere when you undo the pre-filter cover latches. Ye be warned! Anyway, this filter is awesome and I can recommend it to anyone with a similarly sized fresh water tank!

Good to see a lot of praise for Aquael. I've been impressed with Aquael. I wasn't sure at first when I bought a small filter but I've added a few more of their products since and have had a very positive experience with them all. Good well made products.

Hi Richard. Thank you for you time to properly inform newbies to the aquarium hobby about the does and don'ts! I recently purchased one of these aquael 2000s and fitted it out like you had but I ended up stacking the biohome vertical then another layer horizontal took a while but was well worth it as around 8kg in there! The filter itself like you said it is very well made and super quiet! Will go great on my 450l cichlid tank. Keep up the great work! Cheers Vic

I have the Aquael 2000 up and running on my 400 litre south american cichlid tank for a month now. Very impressed with this filter. As you say very well made and as you did on your video, I too replaced all media that came with this and set it up very similar. I did a full water test on my tank a few days ago and water quality was great. My filter is under tank and has to pump up just under a metre and i would say im getting over 1200 litre flow rate an hour. I think what i like most about this other than prefilter was the price, its a real bargain compared to other makes. I give it 10/10 so far. Love watching your videos and I set my filter up the way I did after watching your pimp my filter series, so a big thank you for your videos . Thanks Pondguru

It's incredible how much I learned watching your videos. I have a small tank with internal filter and managed to boost the bio-filtration capacity and flow 5-fold, using your filter assembly principles. Water quality is comparatively better, too. I will be ordering Biohome products soon.

just got the ultramax 2000 and absolutely loving it! Thank you for the great review on it!

Good to see you back and great content as well👍

I have this Filter but I haven't used it yet...saving it for a new 125 gallon tank. But from what I've heard, they work perfectly. A friend of mine said that the pump is as powerful as some of the big Fluvals. I am so glad that you gave this filter the thumbs up. "High recommend"....I love that Sir. Awesome review.....and Charlie The Cat is an added bonus. Very cute. Thanks Sir Richard.

Good day Richard, Thanks for sharing this video, thumbs up and best regards from New Zealand.

Got the filter about a month now running on my 75g. Followed exactly the same set up with biohome ultimate. So far, its doin great. Thanks richard! Filter is doin pretty good. .

Absolutely amazing filter and with the required setup with BioHome Ultimate and I agree with Richard that the quality of the filter is top notch; have substituted the internal filter in my Juwel Vision 280 and 450 (the intake fits perfectly in the orginal pumphouse ), and the water has become crystal clear and the inhabitants are super happy. My Vision 450 has ciclids which basically puts too much strain on the original BioFlow filter even in the XL version causing clogging and bad water flow, but installed the Ultramax 3 months ago and apart from cleaning the prefilter I haven't even considered cleaning neither foams or the BioHome and still the water flow is on a high level. Love this filter, highly recommended and kudos to Richard who makes these amazing Pimp My Filter series; my fish are equally grateful :-)

Looks like a really good filter. Thanks for the great video Richard. Had to laugh at you STILL festering over the Eheim lol.

Just bought one of those, really like how it looks in your video and seems like way better solution than Fluval plus cheap to buy... Probably gonna be ordering more filter media soon 🙈

I have this filter in my 325L south-america tank :) and I love it! I Also have stocked it like you and just using the bottom tray for Mechanical filtration and the rest for bioceramax :) It pumps very vell and I will buy another one if I want to upgrade tank size :) I will give it 10/10! Best value, super silent, efficient and so easy to clean and stock. And very good quality

Have been using the unimax700 and ultramax2000 in my 220gallon ,loaded with 13KG of biohome ultima. In one word they are great

Yet again a great video from a genuine good hearted northern boy 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

I have 1500 version of this filter since a year now and have no problems at all. Works in a 200l aquarium and does the job. The filter comes from my country, but finally someone explained how to properly set it. Thanx Mate. Greetings from the Polish coast.

Have one running 1.5 years, pre filter works a dream. Good flow I had just set up using the sponges provided and plenty of room for most of the media from my old unit

This is the coolest and most well made filter I’ve ever seen

Always look forward to these pimping videos. Thanks !

Bought this one. really good filter. no sound at all. Running it on my 400liter amazon biotope

Another fantastic video Richard many thanks

I purchased this filter after watching this video. Its a fantastic filter. High quality filter. Thank you for this video.

Straight to the point and no craps. Love your video

I actually ended up purchasing this filter because of this video. Nearly 4 years later, it's still going strong. 🤞 For my setup I placed a thin layer of ceramic media at the very bottom. In the bottom tray I used the sponges that came with it, but cut them in half, as they are quite thick. Plus you end up with 2 spare. Then I topped these with filter floss. The next trays were filled with porous media and biohome. The only issues I've had include the prime plunger not working properly (this could be the depth and distance of the pipes). When checking the prefilter, on occasions, there has been some leakage. I think this might be due to the pressure remaining on the grey clips, as the seal with both black and grey is tight. The filter itself is quite strong, easy to take apart and put together. The handles on the tray are sturdy enough. Overall recommended.

Love Your Videos! I can not find any good big filters here in the US big enough for my 125 gallon tank, So I made one out of a 5 Gallon Bucket and filled it with 10kg of your Biohome ultra. Great Job. Keep up the good work Sir.

The impeller is perfect that's the first thing I checked, I bought a spare one and swapped them over but got same result, when I get home later I am going to play around with it a bit and if I still can't get it going I will contact Tetra, thanks for the help.

Great filter. Had mine just over a week and is working fine. The only issue i had was priming it.

Besides the fluval 306 or things like that series, This filter looks like a great must have. Thanks for the video. Helps to see the one for my useage.

Just ordered the 1000 ultramax for our 200l tank, our 20 year filter gave up this morning barely pumping anything, thanks for the review and like you for years I've been running sponges with the bobble side towards the flow. Looking forward to setting up, and by the looks of it my established filters should be able to fit under the new sponges without a problem, to help build up the good bacteria for the crossover.

Just ordered the 1500 for my tank. And plan to set it up as you described. Will let you know how it going Great video, and really clear instruction keep them comng

I've got one and love it. It's almost silent. So much quieter than my old cheap APS one. And it's powerful enough for me to ditch the wavemaker. I clean the prefilter once a month, it takes 5 minutes. And I do a proper clean every 4-6 months. I would recommend it to anyone..

Quality info as always!

another great pimp my filter video today Richard !!

Enjoy your Pimp My Filter series ............ quite impressed with this filter for sure........... sad that is not available here in the US. Once again a great video, thanks for all your efforts !!!

had mine running for nearly 4 weeks in a 350 litre tank (has a 1000L an hour built in filter as well) only cleaned it as I wanted to see what it was like, still loads of flow from spray bar, set up as by Richards way, over the moon with it. so easy to prime, ive also got fluval and eheim running as well but this filter is better, thinking of buying a second one

I use this on my 310 litre tank can’t fault it very efficient keeps tank spotless and extremely quiet in operation too would highly recommend it excellent value for money

Very interesting filter. I see Aquael also do the Maxi Kani 500 which uses six of the same trays, but without prefilter and a lower flow rate. Probably going to end up with an Aquael canister later in the year.

Its an amazing filter, especially if you are looking for a soundless filter. Its also probably the most easy filter to maintain, you dont need to open the filter very often, only the pre filter. Five stars from me to this amazing #aqualultramax2000 .

Thanks man. Great review. Planning on a purchase soon to replace fluval 507. Would love if there was a bigger version to do a 800ltr + . That prefilter .. 🤩

Hi Sir Richard. I love your videos and I jut love Aquael. I bought the recently released Aquael Maxi Kani. I have been using the Midikani (Cobalt EXT Canister in the USA) for three years now and they have been performing perfectly. Now Aquael has the BIG brother. Maybe somewhere/when down the line, you will review this filter. I love this review of the Ultramax 2000 and I was devastated by the one the EHEIM Pro 4-600. I've stopped using that although it served me for a year and a half. The Maxi Kani is the filter that I would love to try now. I love my fish and I would love to have the best for them. Thank you Sir.

I have one EHEIM 1200XLT together with one Aquael Ultramax 2000 on my 560 liter Akvastabil Move. Both filters are of high quality and hold a lot of media. The heater in the EHEIM is very convenient. Both have good prefilters but prefer Aquaels that are more easy to clean. The Aquael is VERY silent and has almost no vibrations in comparison with the EHEIM which is silent but make vibrations which is very hard do isolate or dampen. I dont know what Aquael has done to make the UltraMax so silent but it really working. The EHEIM has a stronger flow but its not a radical difference. I have had the EHEIM running for a year and the Aquael for a month. Unplugging the EHEIM make my aquarium almost dead silent... Very tempting to change the EHEIM for another UltraMax 2000 but i stay on this setup to evaluate the UltraMax and how it perform in the longrun. Update july 2022: Still very impressed with the Ultramax and especially with the prefilter function that works amazingly well - if its done right - but as soon you get hang of its done without any spill or overflow!

I use 1500 model. Ill adress some hacks down in the comment. Flow is constant, and around 70 % of what they say it is when full of materials, which is basically case with all filters. Filter is ultra silent! Even when you have air after maintenance..There is not one canister more silent then Ultramax, and i tried like 30,including Biomaster, Eheim 3,Classics, Fluvals etc etc.. One problem people have is spilling water when cleaning pre filter, that is not a factory mistake, they just dont do it right, when you clean pre filter you need to CLOSE IN valves, let the filter run, DO NOT SHUT OFF POWER, open 3 large clips around the pre filter and one grey one that holds pre filter and just open it, then you won't spill a drop off when you open it. Second issue everyone has is that they say priming doesn't work, it works just fine if you do it right, firstly to prime it, leave filter EMPTY OF WATER, and it has be with power off, you just open the prime button and tilt the filter 30 degrees, water will start running into it, after its full, turn the power up. Parts are not expensive, but kind of hard to get, depending where you live ofc, so i suggest when buying filter order a spare impeler and rubber rings (even though they do not break fast) .. Also, transparent in and out plastic pipes! Finally somebody who puts a transparent ones and not freaking black, green and dark browns! Overall apsolutly best filter you can buy for that money. All Aquael filters are great, i was using Aquael Maxi Kani 500 before this one, a beast! Check that one also.

I owned it for a week now and I LOVE IT super well made

I just bought the Ultramax 2000 and 6KG of the Biohome Ultimate for an as yet unmade 125 gallon malawi cichlid tank.

Again ,,,,great vidio,,,with very good information,,,masters opinion,,,so there’s no doubt,,,,u r always bang onnn,,,,

I am going to buy this today, after I sow your video. Thanks for good info.

Ive been running a sunsun filter for years and recently got a matten corner filter from swiss tropicals. and decided yesterday to just bench my canister. it never did a good job of mechanical filteration. the muck just got through somehow. and i have just as much biological with a corner filter. and i have a lot of plants so there's my full cycle right there. but i will say this looks like a very nice canister.

The pre-filter is great. I cut the coarse sponge that comes with the filter in half and cut half fine sponge to go on top. I replace the fine sponge every two weeks and never have to go inside the filter which has one course sponge that never gets dirty. The rest is filled with bio home media. In the pre-filter I also fit two Seachem SeaGel 100ml to polish the water and control phosphate. I put it in the pre-filter as its the best fit, however, it doesn't seem to affect the bio media doing a full cycle and I just change 25 litres of water per week from a 500-litre tank.

Its a fantastic filter .loads of room for media ,i needed a filter with a strong flow for another set up (Heavily stocked cichlid tank) I turned to Richards channel for a proper heads up before buying. Yes you actually can get a high flow ,low wattage ,high volume of media capacity , well made filter ..and this is it. A further bonus, there is no need for a power head to push the water in the 260 saving more on your bills. Once again the channel came up trumps for research no matter what level your at .i would recommend the filter all day. Another great video, pointing everyone in the wright direction and sourcing real world comments and use of products .cheers thanks again for the channel All the best RICHARD . O YES its very quite .

Hello Richard It is a very good filter just not easy to get spare parts but very quite . Thanks

Brought one and It works did first canister change Hardly any mess in sponges

I love all of your videos and have learned so much thru your videos. MUCH LOVE #PONDGURU!! Was hoping you could do a video on sunsun filters. I bought the 3 pack of filters (corse, med, fine) and installed an in my sunsun. Even made a video on it and gave you a shout out. Keep up the awesome videos!!

Wow, that filter is a beast! Great job as usual. I still laugh at your video on the Eheim Pro 4+ series lol. I laughed even louder when I saw them on sale at my LFS (Petsmart) for half price!! Yup. 50 percent off! Probably saw your video. Well done mate. Cheers.

Really good filter . Running it for two years in my 220g with a unimax700. Both are really silent and flow is great

Great video, Richard. Aquael make solid products. I've got their nano 30 tank and I'm very impressed. They're a good up and coming company. You've got to love Charlie too. Let's hope 2019 is his breakout year. More cameos please!

Hello there, thanks for all your great videos. They are truly appreciated. I was wondering if you have been contacting the manufacturers of these filter systems to ask they why they suggest the orientation of the filter media be what they are. It might be interesting. Thanks again.

I've given this filter some serious thought just for the pre-filter. i currently have the Eheim Pro 3 and because of my tank length at 68" i do like the fact that i have the 2 inputs means i'm getting a good flow round my tank

another great insight on how to pimp a filter. would love to see your thoughts on oase thermos filter 200.

Arrived yesterday, the cost was about 190€ shipping was free to my country overall its a great filter with the great flow I'm running it with 4kg of mixed biomat ( matrix, and aquael's 1200 rings gonna replace it with biohome later). I actually managed to put the whole bag of Tetra's bio balls in the bottom that I had laying around not sure if they gonna make any difference but at least they can pick up some more mock if it passes the prefilter but I'm not sure about that, they can't hurt in any case. I just moved from Tetra's EX700 that I had for years and this is like a space ship compared to Tettra. I am not saying that Tetra is a bad filter its build quality is superb and it never let me down for years. I'm planning to get a bigger tank (a lot bigger) in a month or two and what I had in mind is to combine this new Ultramax 2000 with Maxi Kani 500 (which is basically 16L bucket with a lid and external pump it uses same media trays as Ultramax 2000, it basically is a dumbed-down simplistic Ultramax 2000). In theory, adding a pump in series will increase the pressure and basically, the flow rate won't take a big hit if any. Great video Richard keep it up and best regards from Croatia!!!

It was my favorite next purchase until reading on UK forums about its reliability issues . They had to release 3 different versions to fix issues(v1,v2,v3) . Current one is v3 with 6 blades instead of 5 !! The one reviewed here is v1 . Apparently flow has been reduced to ~700l/h . Some major air been trapped issue, is reported. Hope version 3 have fixed most of the issues !!

Great filter! I replaced my eheim 2075 with it and got much cleaner water. The flow rate in Aquael Ultramax 2000 looks like roughly double the rate of the eheim 2075. I had to throttle down for my 180 liter tank not to create a water storm. :-) I have the medium course black sponge in bottom tray, then fine blue in second. Both of them are pretty massive, fills up each tray. In third tray I use some of the Aquaels tubes in bottom with a thick layer of JBL floss on top. Top two trays stuffed with different eheim substrate (already cycled). Works like a charm. I have seen quite a few of pondgurus reviews. I think the theory is fine, especially the part of understanding the flow direction in the canister filter. But maybe a bit to much focus on Biohome stuffing (concealed commercial? ;-) ). The medium and fine foams also doubles as biological, but with a physical cleaning ability. Cheers!

Hello from Romania. I have this filter, actually the newer version with 19/25 mm fitings for tubes. Power consumption is 22 watts, which is great. I use this filter in a pretty particular way... I have a tank that is very heavily planted(75-80%) and with pretty much fishes. I have a custom made external extra prefilter, with 5 pieces of 10ppi foams, 4 pieces of 20ppi foams and I put in the prefilter section of the Aquael filter a piece of 45ppi foam, for fine filtering before the water hits the biological filtration(3 trays with Matrix that I managed to buy for a very good price + 2 trays with black lava rocks - 1-1,5 cm in diameter). The tank has around 90 liters of usable water, the rest being the substrate and the plants... until now, I'm very pleased with the results. I started this tank about 4 months ago and last week I cleaned the external prefilter for the first time. The fine sponge of the internal prefilter from the Aquael filter was 95% clean ! The flow rate is great ! I think that was reduced to around 60% because of the external prefilter. So, the flow in the tank is pretty strong, but having so many plants, is not causing a huge water curent for the fishes ! The intake is near the front of the tank(right side) and the outtake is in the back of the tank(also on the right side). So, the water curent is taking all the possible fish waste from the back of the tank to the intake in the front. The water is crystal clear, the plants and the fishes are doing great. I make a weekly water change of around 1/3 of the capacity. So, this is the way I set my Aquael Ultramax 2000. I'm very happy that I bought this filter. I paid for it around 143 euros in romanian currency, with free delivery to my door. Great ! Ohhh, and I have to say that is extremely quiet ! Many times I need to put my ear very close to the filter in order to be sure is working ! I hope this comment will help. Thanks and keep up with the good work. When I'll have time, I'll make a video with my filter. Cheers ! Marcian from Romania 😉🙂👍👍👍

I probably has maintained about a dozen of this for my customer. The newer version has better flow due to using bigger pipes and centre drain hole in the baskets. The older 5 blade impellor spoils easily but the new one is updated with 6 blades. seem to last longer.

Well a couple of weeks ago I baugth the Eheim Pro 4+ 600 filter, Then a few days later I looked att your video when you pimped that filter. I can say that I wished I had watched your video before I baugth the Eheim Pro 4+ 600 :) Well I did pimp it they way you do so I think its gone do ok as a filter. I agree about the filter baskets, they are week and irritaiting to install. So today I ordered the Aqua El Ultramax 2000, and som more Biohome Ultimate, and A Eheim pre filter the modell you put inside the Aqvarium, on the outlet pipe. Love the accent an all the usefull info about how to get the best out from the filters. Cheers!

I did run their heater that fitted in the same space as the UV-filter it was sweet until the controller board fried when the lightning hit.

Imagine this filter with a heating somewhere between the prefilter and the in of the canister and an UV on the out of this filter... filled with bumpy foam and biohome ultra (in the proper order ) . Perfection ? 😊

i saw your last aquael unimax 700 and was impressed enough with it that i went out and bought one. so far its good but the look of this has many beneficial factors compared to that of my 700. 1/ i love that the water flow now goes opposite way (bottom up) compared to top down. this allows an equal level of water distribution on the pads instead of pooling in one spot as in the unimax 700 model 2/ great feature is the prefilter, i wonder if they did this for a reason. as you may recall in your 700 model video you hypothesised that maybe they made the it a top down flow for the ease of getting that first basket to clean that contains the mechanical filtration. maybe they listened to you suggestion from the last video and turned this models water flow upside down, however included the pre filter to continue that ease of cleaning purpose. 3/ thing i like about this model is the fact that it has one inlet and one outlet, having the 2 in and 2 out in the 700 is just fiddly and nuisance. are the hose diameters bigger because the 700 used 4 lengths of the skinnier hose not the bigger type, 4/ lastly the riddance of the uv space is great, i don't use the uv part and keep a spare bag of filter media in their for my hang on back filter when needed for quarantine tank. but in my opinion i think this one wins

It looks really good Richard , have you considered contacting aquael and seeing if they would do a co operation on this filter with your media inside ? Worth a suggestion 👍🏻

Can I just Thankyou for being so clear and unbiased in your reviews, sticking to facts rather than the blurb stated on the box. I bought the 1500 version of this excellent filter based on your recommendation and managed to squeeze 6kg of Biohome ultimate into it by using an add on ALLPONDSOLUTIONS booster canister to house the foams. I use the pre filter basket in the main canister for fine wool to protect the Biohome and this can be easily and quickly replaced. It works like a dream and gives me a perfect full cycle on my 450 litre discus tank, with room to spare. I even use a second booster canister on the out pipe for chemical filtration, as and when it might be needed.. of course it restricts the maximum flow even more but it’s only connected occasionally. So, cheers for all your advice. 👍

I purchased the 2000l for my 350l discus tank about 4 months ago. So far it’s great. The only downside is that when you remove the top there is A LOT of water that comes out. To counter this I have placed the filter inside a plastic container. I also added the Eheim pre filter that fits over the inlet pipe so I have a double pre filter. I let the filter run for one month and it was spotless inside and then I’ve left it 2 months and it was so clean again inside and I have a heavily stocked tank. What I also did was cut the sponges that come with it in half across the wide length and then the two fit nicely in the bottom tray. Very happy overall

I think I am one of the few who have a Aquael ultramax 2000 in the netherlands.It is very quit and the pre filter works perfectly. I clean the pre filter once a week, but I couldt do once a month. I have a aqualantis evasion 127x60x85. I have a tetratec 1200 on it running to. They work very quit and easy to clean. I have them stacked like in the video’s. Not on biohome, that was to expansive, I use aan other recomended rings. Works perfect.

This is the best filter ever!

I've been waiting for two years now and this filter is finally available in the US.

The symetric lid (you can rotate and will always match) in this one is intentional. Aquael designs it the same way in other filters (I have older Midikani 800 with same feature). Quite comfortable. PS: Aquael external pumps are not the quietest since the propellers are not perfectly ballanced (I have MK800 and Unipump 1500). But they do the job well. @Pondguru, There is one absolutely unique Aquael's filter that you'd probably be interested to see , not to review though :) Great idea behind the build but quite uncomfortable to mainain due to number of gaskets - it's called Aquael MultiKani. Check it out :) Best regards

I have now Ultramax 1500 (P/N ‎120665). Pipes are 16/22 with seal nuts as any other filter. And, OMG, It is SO SILENT. I had JBL e1502, it was so noisy I can't tolerate working next to it, this one I almost can't hear. Another benefit is priming button, works a lot better. I think this filter is probably the best on the market for the money. Highly recommended.

What do you think about putting coarse, medium and fine sponges in the pre filter only? Then I could easily clean the pre filter once a week. That way all the trays could be filled biohome ultimate.

just bought this filter to replace my old Fluval 406 for my new 200 l tank, heard and read a lot of good things about it, and I love the 5 trays, the prefilter is a game changer for me I loved the 406 for yrs great filter but those aquastop valves after a while start to get harder and harder to open and when I start having to use pliers and screwdrivers just to disconnect the aquastop valve its time for a change. really looking forward to taking delivery of this.

i got the 1500 version for christmas and its doing great for now, very well designed, no leaks, yet i had a few difficulties priming. Its my first canister filter so i guess it might just be me lol.

Based on this review, I ordered the Ultramax 1500 and your 5 kilo fresh water filter pack to replace one of my Eheim Pro 3 350's. Set it up exactly as in this video. First impressions: I feel there's a bit too much in the bottom tray (had to keep the white real thin to fit). Flow is as strong as the Eheim (very slightly less even) so not the hoped for gain there (filter is in the closet straight under the aquarium). On the other hand, it contains MORE filter media so not bad I guess. I do like the prefilter a lot though. This should really make maintenance easier and faster. Let's wait how it performs in the long run (and how well the biohome media does as well). Will keep you all posted!

Aquael make some cracking products I was tempted to get their glossy aquarium when I was looking for mine, saw it in a store and looked the business. That home built filter (if that’s what it is) you have on the right of the shot, have you done a video on that ? Nice guest appearance at the end 🐱

Charlie apparently likes chewing on the foam, so he's living the dream. 😻🐈

thanks for the tips for the medium, will definitely try it

I bought the Ultramax 1000 and it is excellent. The only thing I would say is that the hoses were a little tricky to get onto the tank side fittings. What type of hose does pond guru recommend? On the upside the flow rate is fab and it is whisper quiet. It took a little while to purge trapped are but once it did it was near silent. I have binned my Eheim Pro 4. Hose suggestions please.... Rob

I have an expert questioN!! How much gph flow is needed to flow into 1 cubic foot of fluidized media (k1) to maximize its effectiveness (Dont know if my pump is powerful enough)

I do like the Aquael stuff, I've been using their 'gold' heaters for years. I'm not a fan of that central tube though, looks very narrow and restrictive of flow? Love your pimping series, would be great if you could measure the flow rates of them after you have pimped them though with an average sort of 4ft head height floor to to tank setup? Perhaps a tank divided in half and you could pump from one side to the other to measure rate?

I've been running this filter for about a year now and it's a good filter, it does get trapped air every now and again though which can be a little irritating if it's in a quiet room.

Damn good looking filter. Too bad I can't get my hands on one over here. I'm building a 120 gallon turtle tank and I was wondering what easily available in the American market filter you would recommend for a planted turtle tank that size.

just ordered this filter and a 5kg fresh water set from yourself :) hope it goes well just need to figure out what fish I want then lol :)

What are your thoughts on cutting down the prefilter foam down and adding a fine sponge,would this restrict the flow? Even less cleaning Just a thought

HI Richard would you recommend a pre cleaner in the tank as well?

Plz plz make video on "Pen-plax 500" canister and "Sicce whale" filter or give your suggetion which one is good?

had a problem with my ultramax 2000 cleaning it the other day, cleaning the impeller and motor, I broke the rotor shaft like a doyle, panic set in after 5 minutes calmed down and took the motor out and tried to drill the ceramic shaft out which didn't work had a good look and its actually pushes out, I managed to put the holder in a pan of boiling water and push the remaining bit out and push the larger bit in enough to get it away again, then to find a new one in the UK (no chance) luckily I had bought a spare impeller from Poland and he had some from a power head which has the same shaft in so they are on their way from Poland, so a word of warning be careful cleaning the motor

Would like to see this filter for smaller tanks. Smallest version is the 1000. 750 and even 500 would be nice

Great filter, although the flow rate is probably closer to 1000 liters. Although would not recommend it for the US, had to buy a converter to go from 220 to 110v and from 50 to 60 htz. Which was almost as much as the filter itself

Even looking at a video of this filter you can see this is quality kit. I love the prefilter. Looking at their site, aquael.pl (click the translate bottom) there are three models 1000,1500,2000 all the same. Their site gives comprehensive specs. I would love to get my hands on one.

I prefer the two hose solution compared to the 4 hose solution of the previous models.