I have owned Fluvals, Eheims, Jebo, and other filters over the years I have to say the Filstar XP4 is not a bad choice if you need volume and flow with a lot of media capacity and are willing to spend in the mid range of price. I had one of these delivering water over six feet vertically into a tall tank on a tall stand and honestly it did the job. Maintenance wise these are very bonehead simple. It is hard to get anything wrong. There is generous capacity in each Media basket and they interlock simply. The quick disconnect never gave me any trouble and parts can be had for these should the need arise. Impellers can and do go bad. Price wise the impellers are not as harsh on the wallet as other brands of filter replacement parts. An equivalent Fluval is $200 and the equivalent Eheim is $250. The Jebo 838 BARELY comes close performance wise and the hose disconnects on the Jebo leave a lot to be desired trying to save money in that manner over the cost in the long run of ease of maintenance. Yes Jebos are cheaper and YES they work but their smaller and the hose disconnects are a pain in the butt. The one thing I am not happy with in the Filstar is the rim of the canister is not any thicker then the material of the canister itself. This may have changed in recent models but I like a thick rim to my canisters more or less because filters are under pressure and taller tanks and especially bottom plumbed tanks can cause a lot of pressure on filters. While this is a small issue it is worth mentioning. I never had a Filstar canister fail but its the possibility that bothers me more than anything else. I have seen what happens when you break the nipple off the side of the "Classic" Eheim filters and it is "replace the filter" time. The replacement canister is almost as expensive as the whole filter. Overall these are decently built. They will serve in fresh and salt but I would recommend keeping a close eye on the impeller magnet with salt water. I have had to deal with more then one impeller failure with salt water applications (magnet "rusts" causing the impeller to freeze in the head and makes it very difficult to remove without damaging the head). Honestly if you MUST use this type of filter for salt water go Fluval! Those handle salt water much better. These will work in a pinch if money is getting a little tight. Just keep a close eye on the impeller during maintenance time. Replace it if you see any swelling, cracking or rusting on the magnet. Overall I do recommend this filter and do so with praise for its ease of maintenance and its versatility. Its price point is competitive. For the years of service I got out of mine I can say I was very happy with its modularity. I have a Fluval 404 and comparing the two there are small high and low points against each. 3rd generation and before Fluvals absolutely are the worst when it comes to priming themselves and can Air lock themselves. Filstars were not as much of a bear to prime. The trick was filling them up enough to tilt the filter and allow the pump to suck air and water till all the air was gone usually within a minuet or two of gradually lifting the filter. Dirty trick number two is to take a submersible power head (like the Hagen or Marineland) with the filter empty remove the inlet strainer and stick the nozzle of the power head into the tube and force water into the inlet until it could siphon itself full (make sure the valve on the quick disconnect head is open and ready for filtration or you will feel pretty stupid when this doesn't work. Once the filter is filling itself the discharge should either spit water and then air or just start spitting air like mad. Siphoning will take over and do the priming for you. Once you have a full canister turn it on and shake it a little to help it purge all trapped air and you are go. The same drill for Fluvals or any other canister filter. Make sure to put the strainer back on the end of the filter tube and you are good to go!Read full review
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Have xp3 love the new Xp4
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Easy set-up, work efficiently and effectively!
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WORKS GREAT!!
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