I forgot to say in the video! It does NOT purge air! wohoo 🥳 also, about the intake, I saw someone open it up and put a sponge inside to make it safe for small fish. I tried to open it, you could see that in the video, broke a nail and gave up to mourn the loss.. but you can give that a go :) I still don't like the intake much 🤭 Heeeey check out an entire playlist of NOT SPONSORED reviews on all sorts of aquarium products! https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLlWgHgr5ZZjvuP2srrLiYcpzFlUCHpIAT

Been researching this for weeks, this helped a lot

Aquael is a Polish company that has been there for 40 years. I remember using their hob filter in the 90's. That was something back then. For the record. The difference between 1000 and 1500 is additional media basket. Power and flow are the same. In Poland it's 140-150€. Recently they've also released a BT version of Ultramax.

I've had the ultramax 2000 for a couple of months and am very pleased with it
Very quiet
Had the same issues as you with the prefilter seal falling out, I now check it every time I clean the prefilter
Also I now fill the prefilter with water before restarting it
Totally agree about the fittings
I've hidden the ghastly input behind a tall bit of wood

I just went with lily pipes so the intake/outflow don't give me any issues.  I am a sucker for spray bar though so I love that they offer it.

I was cleaning this filter yesterday after 6 months of use and had same leaking experience as you did :-) I also knew that some people warned about leaks but didn't pay too much attention to it. So, same thing - prefilter gasket was not set properly.

Thank u for the honest review and being so transparent. Super appreciate it 🙏🙏🙏

Dear Danny thank you very much for your review of this filter. We took it after checking everything and your help is best one can wish for. It's best thing we ever had for filtration of our 25 years old red ear mischievous turtle. She can make lots of mess 😂
Today i cleaned prefilter for the first time after about 6 weeks. It went extremely smooth and perfect. Its silent, water was never cleaner. We do absolutely nothing and everything is crystal clear.
It was also bought through olibetta, never heard about it before you mentioned them. And today i ordered another one for sisters turtle, they're 30% off again right now (bought ours 2 days before sale started last time as I didn't know their sales can rock so much 😂). I don't comment usually but just had to leave one now because its amazing. Have a wonderful day!!!

I had an Oase filter, it was quiet at first, but after long-term use, its sound increased significantly, so I sent it back to the company, the company said that the sound flow should be 54db, but my sound flow was 60-62db, the company is currently investigating it, let's see what happens.

I'm honestly surprised that other brands haven't made their own canister filters with a built in prefilter. So far I only know of this and the Biomaster. You'd think there'd be more since it's such a useful feature

Nice video. Thank you for taking the time to do this review. Its good to have a sound review ( among the rest of the pros/cons).
Not a lot of videos showing sound level of filters which i believe is as important as any other feature.
Nice filter candidate for my next setup!
Can you share where you bought your aquarium from? I also live in cyprus but the size you have seems so expensive here where olibetta has it 450-500 but doesnt ship it

I have an Aquatop 400 I bought for $279 US dollars 5 years ago. I had a small leak problem a month ago fixed with a gasket replacement. Otherwise the filter is dead silent & powerful. I have a large prefilled sponge assembly in the tank so I have rarely opened the canister which is filled only with biomedia.

Great review and tips!

You could try a couple of types of plumbers Teflon thread take available. It is very thin and seals well.
I am just trying to decide on a new filter. Thanks for an excellent presentation!

As a whole, i agree with you on this video review. I changed to Ultramax 1000 this May 2026 from BM600 with exactly the same reasons as you. Priming didnt work, prefilter cleaning is too tall and cause dripping all over. Ultramax 1000 priming works right out, prefilter maintenance have 0 water drips, quiet.
I actually had 1 more complain, that is the prefilter sponge is too coarse, so i cut several layers of finer sponge and put it inside the prefilter and problem solved.
Next, during prefilter maintenance, i actually pour water from the prefilter basket right in the holding area... this way i can bring the basket to the sink without dripping all over, and i dun have to refill any water! You can try that next time. But of course filling it up manually after prefilter cleaning works so either way.
Lastly, i used my own stainless steel pipes so i didnt encounter that original intake issue but oh boy its UGLY AF... but overall, im really happy with this filter and i think its definitely better than the BM series unless you need the heater function.

very nice review, thank you!

Hey cool filter review, convinced getting one soon! So far I have had only Oase and soon trying this one you show and also will try a fluval 107 for a smaller aquascape, any experience with fluval? Cheers!

i would like to say that if you next time opening prefilter wait 2 seconds longer before closing second valve.  you will have no leak at all. using aquael utramax 2000 last 6 months and never had any issues.

Thanks to you, i could solve the leaking issue. The prefilter gasket, oops seal was the culprit. Once again thanks!!!

Great honest review. I'm torn now between the aquael ultramax, the tetra ex 800, or the JBL e902. I watched your tetra ex800 review too. Which do you prefer and why?