Filters

[exodon king]

dr foster smith is a reputable online source.

if youre looking for a good price... eBay "for all your aquarium needs"

[exodon king]

if you want to go the DIY route, it really depends on a few things.

first, what do you have available on hand? any extra pumps or powerheads lying around? extra media (filter pads, poly fill, ceramic rings, bio balls, scrubbies, etc.)

next, and most important, how much do you want to spend?
there are tons of ways you could go with it. but basaically, if you have a powerhead, some nylon tubing, and a plastic container of sorts, you are well on your way to a diy filter.

[spartoecus]

Originally Posted by exodon king

if you want to go the DIY route, it really depends on a few things.

first, what do you have available on hand? any extra pumps or powerheads lying around? extra media (filter pads, poly fill, ceramic rings, bio balls, scrubbies, etc.)

i have none of that stuff. i was checking out powerheads and i might as well just get the aquaclear 20.

[exodon king]

or the ac30
that way if you upgrade to a bigger tank (up to 30g), you can keep the same filter.

[spartoecus]

i need to start a new thread on media.

[exodon king]

actually, even with media, the flow is pretty accurate thanks to the canister-esque design of the aquaclear HOBs. unlike cartridge style HOB's like the crappy marineland and whisper ones)

[spartoecus]

just picked up the ac20. man.

this thing is light years ahead of the filter i was using. my only concern is in the u joint there is an air pocket by the fan that i can't get rid of. it's like there isn't enough water pressure coming in to get it out of there. the whole time it's making a gurgling noise.

any suggestions?

[exodon king]

Did you put it in the right way?
Is your tank properly filled?

[spartoecus]

ah i just needed to do a little research.

the sound was coming from the impeller. it sounds like its' gurgling and scratching all over the place. some people fixed this by putting prime or some other water conditioner in the impeller workings. i tried it out and it's a little bit more quiet.

i'll let it sit for a day or two to see if it develops a better coat.

[exodon king]

I have never had one that didn't work out of the box.
Try turning it off. Emptying it. And restarting it.
Did you rinse all the dust and grit off of the bio-max before putting it in the filter?

Your best bet is to take it apart, and reassemble. Its probably something simple that got overlooked.

The impeller housing (black piece with the power chord) comes off. Twist the black box counter clockwise 1/2 turn. Then it will come out. From there you can pull out the impeller and see if anything got stuck in there.

sorry if it sounds complicated, but this filter is actually very simple to service once you've opened it a couple of times