Fluval flex review.

[maligne]

Last November I purchased three fluval flex aquariums. There are definitely some things I don't like about the tanks however there is a lot I like. I'm going to mostly focus on the positive. If any one is considering a flex and has questions you can message me.

So I purchased the fresh water 32 gallon and two 15 gallon set ups. They do not come with Heaters.

They come with a sponge that allows room for a modest amount of media. The don't pull water off the surface very well so I cut the middle and top portions of the sponge out so I could stack them full of media. This solved the problem on the 15 gallon tanks and my surface water is crystal clear. If I where to by just one tank I might get somthing different but having multiples that all use the same filter sponge allows me to tear done and restart a tank instantly just by swapping filter sponges. The back compartment is like a sump so you can put lots of stuff back there. The lighting on the 15 is decent for a kit package.

The 32 is a bit different, I stocked decently and found that water wasn't being drawn through the sponges strong enough. I don't cut the sponges on that one. I added a small canister filter in the back filter compartment. It pulls water through the filter sponges at a faster rate but does not increase the out flow in the tank. I had to slow the out flow in all three tanks. I purchased a pack of filter intake sponges from Amazon and placed them over the out take nozzle. This is recommended by fluval. The 32 aquasky light I'm really happy with. It's been growing fire moss really nicely. It can be controlled from your smart phone as well it is programmable.

All in all I'm happy with these tanks. They have a sump pump style filter that I put on a switch and I can just turn them on and off with no fuss or priming.

The surface water gets scummy in the filter compartment on the 32 so I added a couple air stone from one pump on a splitter and the problem was solved.

Out of the box the system needs a little tweeking. Once you play with it a bit they do a really decent job.

Fluval does not make a anything as far as upgrades go for these tanks. Of you want an upgraded feature you can't just go into your lfs and get it. However there are tines of upgrades available on etsy.

All in all some day I'd like a waterbox set up but the flex have done a really nice job for me for now. I currently have Bolivian rams breeding in my 32. 

The lids suck. I wish they would have built in a larger hinged feeding door across the front of the tank. It's really easy just to lift the lid up though. You can purchase lid props for them. Iv been meaning to get some. Right now when I work on the tank I use a 12 inch gravel vacuum to prop the lid up so I can work with out removing the lid and I can keep the lights on

They are not perfect but they do a fairly decent job and look super clean with no equipment In the tank area itself.

[maligne]

Keep in mind if purchasing a flex your also going to have to buy a heater and you may end up spending some money on an air pump and other accessories to get it dialed in.