The aquariums all got filter upgrades this season after another round of failed Chinese junk and the realization that I simply can no longer handle the unit in the big tank. It’s a Marineland C530 that weighs probably aroud 60lbs full. Getting it in and out of the cabinet was never easy, and became excruciatingly difficult after the back surgery last year. The C530 has been discontinued by the manufacturer and I have two – one with low miles and both still working fine. So that model now gets run on the goldfish tank from which I can roll it around on a floor dolly in the basement. The goldfish needed more filtration anyway, because one of the two mid-sized Marinelands I had on them just quit for no apparent reason, after being in service for only a couple years.
The crazy Firemouths got a new, smaller/lighter Fluval FX-4, which is actually rated for a little more water and clearly a much higher quality unit, weighing only about half the C530’s mass. The filter upgrade process began when I tried to start up an old Hydor cannister on the small tank with the new baby goldfish. I thought I had two working units and enough parts to make three, but nothing would pump a drop. They are made in France, go figure. So the babies got a little Fluval. The goldfish pics were from last Fall, right after they came inside.
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