Review on 2 Piece Bio Foam Fluval Aquarium Filter by Nadine Willoughby

An avid Ehiem fan for 35 years, it was a slow transition to the FX5, of which I now use three. The filter is a beast, especially if you are keeping dirty fish you will see that it pays for itself almost immediately. I'm still an Ehiem fan and swear by their build quality, but if you can buy three FX5s for the price of one 1200 XL - and that's without a strap, that's no problem. They both have their pros and cons. Filtering, when these chunks of foam become loaded with debris, not only does your GPH suffer, but your water parameters become unstable. In an established aquarium there are enough nitrifying bacteria in the medium and substrate to support the delicate ecosystem in your aquarium. However, the foam should simply be discarded and replaced. Remember that TWO packs are required to completely replace the foam. Hagen, which owns Fluval, has been known for decades for over-publicizing uncertified spending, trying to replace and sell media, and positioning products like simple replacement foam that leads the consumer to think it's a package deal. Why don't they give you all the foam you need and increase the price or vice versa and tell you up front that only half of what you need is included. Thanks to another reviewer I knew I should order two packs per X 3 filter - you do NOT want to leave half the dirty foam in the filter. Clogged foam will only increase water bypass, trapping air and significantly reducing flow rate. In addition, the foam is of good quality. If I had the patience, I would just buy Styrofoam sheets and cut them myself. I do the same thing with 800 micro buffing pads, but for me it doesn't save a few bucks, it saves crystal clear, pristine water. Revain's price is by far the best I've seen. I added a few boxes or blue and white coarse and fine pads and the total with free two-day shipping through my Prime membership was less than $100 - about 20% less than the big aquarium e-commerce sites.