🔍 Fluval Intake Strainer with Checkball for Fluval 305, 405, 306, 406: Optimal External Filter Accessory Review

If your filter is having trouble starting even if you squeeze your soul out of the dam*, you need to replace this part. The control ball helps hold water for the filter when it tries to start. I found out the hard way lol. Don't waste your money on cheap other intake filters - your filter will not work properly! (Or start.)

I bought this inlet filter (#A20008) not sure if it fits my 407 pump. Great news - it fits perfectly! Easy exchange. I didn't give 5 stars because the plastic used is very brittle. In fact, the reason I'm buying it is because my new boxed 407 came with the factory intake filter cracked/crushed into tons of pieces.

I have used this in my river for my turtle tank and it has done a good job of keeping feeder fish and shell fragments from being sucked in, but my turtle decided to take some of this and now I can I can't find the plastic parts in the aquarium and my turtle won't eat. I'm afraid he ate the plastic and fear the worst. Don't risk it in a turtle tank.

The original Fluval inlet filter with test ball should be CLEAR so you can see algae build up and know more precisely when to disassemble and clean. The one I have is solid black so you can't see anything. In all my years of owning Fluval filters, I've never seen this part do anything other than transparent. The change is not acceptable to me. I have initiated a return with Revane.

I generally like Fluval products, but these filters are cheap and very difficult to clean well. I've had three of them and they all developed a crack in the throat where the screen meets the vertical tube. When there are algae in the aquarium, they grow into the strainer and sometimes block the ball. Algae are usually easy to remove but impossible to clean. I ended up getting a second one and soaked the one with the algae growing in it and turned it around to make it work at its best.

But can be disassembled and cleaned. It's frustrating and you still can't reach every nook and cranny. After trying to give it a final scrub, I gave up and decided to put it in hot water for a better cleaning. Big mistake. After that, it could no longer be used because it was not reattached to the tube. Glad to see I can order another one. However, it's weird how expensive it is. The product works great. Unfortunately, you're just paying too much for it. I'm trying a new way to keep it clean by