German equipment manufacturer Eheim has launched three new internal filters for three different applications.
Named the miniUP, miniFLAT and skim 350, the three pumps are designed to filter a nano aquarium, terrarium or paludarium or surface skim aquariums of up to 350 l.
The powerhead looks to be identical throughout the range, pushing 300 lph of water and for 5 watts of energy.
The miniUP (pictured above) is a conventional style internal canister filter with the powerhead sat on top of a foam cartridge. It's aimed at volumes of 25-30 litres and either fresh or saltwater applications, although tropical freshwater nano tanks will no doubt be its biggest market.
It's small, slim and unobtrusive, and being Eheim the pump itself will probably last for years. With Eheim's track record for innovation however this new filter model does seem somewhat under whelming and appears to be built to be similar to models coming from China, not the other way round.
The miniFLAT has an even thinner filter cartridge, the aim being to place the filter on its back, on the tank base, in shallow water situations such as terrapin tanks. Again no massive innovation as this has been done before, but this is also in response to market trends and an expanding reptile market, and for brand loyal aquarists making the transition to reptiles or amphibians that reassuring logo will go down well.
The skim350 sees that universal Eheim powerhead turned upside down this time, and another cartridge design, this time designed to poke out of the water surface and draw in the oily film floating there. Both planted and marine tanks commonly suffer from surface film so a surface skimmer will be a welcome product for both communities. Proteins accumulate at the water surface, especially in marine tanks without weir boxes or protein skimmers, and gaseous exchange will also be improved.
Prices are to be confirmed.
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