New Aqueon QuietFlow 55/75

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fouldsy

Aquarium Advice Activist
Joined
Mar 18, 2011
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158
Location
Seattle, WA
I was wandering through Petsmart to pick up some stuff for the missus' cat and was going to pick up a pack of filter media for my 55g. I'd gotten a steal on a 55g set up last March from Petsmart for like $80 when the Marineland heaters were getting recalled, so they had pulled them from the package and gave a 50% discount to keep selling the rest of the package with only the heater missing. I wasn't complaining, but always wanted to upgrade the Top Fin 60 filter. Today I got my chance when the Aqueon QuietFlow 55/75's were on sale or $35 :brows: I've ran the QuietFlow 10 in my 20g SW and really liked it, and I'm well pleased with the 55/75 so far. It's so much quieter, and with the extra flow, should help keep the tank a little cleaner.
 
fouldsy, my 55 aquarium kit has the Aqueon 55/75 filter, too. I'm still cycling my tank, but for future reference, what have you been doing with the filter cartridges when they need changing? I have read here never to throw away the filter and replace with a new filter; keep the old one until it is literally falling apart, just replace the inner "stuff". But it seems to me that the only "stuff" inside the cartridge is carbon. How are you managing yours?--thanks.
 
On all the filters I've ran, I'll rise the filter media with water taken from the tank. Yes the carbon, as far as I know, will have a useful lifespan, but the media itself will still help remove particles from the water. If you let it build up, then you'll end up needing to replace the media as you can't really rinse of what's on it and so it reduces water flow and how effective the filter really is, but I find rinsing it off every couple of weeks keeps them running pretty well. Maybe others can chime in on this practice, but this is what I've heard recommended as being best practice. Just don't pull the filter media out and rinse it under tap water, as that will cause problems by removing/killing the 'good' bacteria that builds up in it.

Any plans on what the 55g will become :) ?
 
These are usually $35-40 on Amazon. I run them on 2 of my 20's. I find they aren't sufficient for a 55 gal, so I'd watch your parameters closely. I do add nylon bags stuffed with extra filter media like polyfiber and ceramic rings to the open spaces in the filter, which is helpful. It provides more surface for the BB to live on, and slows the flow through the filter slightly, which makes it more effecient.

@sammybelle, these filters take two carts, so you would just replace one at a time, and you don't have to worry about losing all your BB, if you add extra media as well, which I recommend, then you need to worry about this even less. The carbon inside is useless after a certain amount of time (I can't remember exactly how long), and some believe actually leaches toxins back into the water. In any case, carbon is usually only needed if you are removing meds from the tank, so it does not need replaced, but many of us remove it all together.
 
Fouldsy: on our setup are you referring to the "filter media" as the white "fabric" that covers the plastic frame, right? Because I see nothing inside that cartridge but carbon.

Siva: so, the thing to do is this (and please correct me if I'm wrong): cut open top of the dirty cartridge, empty out carbon, rinse the cartridge in tank water, stuff in some clean polyfiber--doing this to only ONE cartridge at a time? And you're saying when I put in the new cartridge, should I put in some extra polyfiber in there, too?

Thanks to both of you!
 
That seems like a lot of flow for a 20g! I'm pretty religious about water changes, I'm not overstocked, don't overfeed, and always read 0/0/<30 on water tests, so this should be a comfortably-sized filter.

sammybelle: Yes, that's the filter media/cartridge you would buy as replacements. As siva pointed out, as it takes two, most people just replace on at a time when they do need replacing. Inside it's pretty much just carbon, but the white fabric is what the water flows through and so helps remove waste. Other filters use a foam filter media which essentially does the same thing, and they often have no carbon at all.
 
I have an Aqueon 55 also. I run it in with an Aquaclear 50 on my 55gal. I ran the aqueon for over 2 and a half months before i swapped the cartridges out. My original plan was to just to replace the carbon and keep the fiber but I think the purpose of the blue "cages" for lack of a better word serves as surface area for BB.

Anyways I stagger filter maintenace between the two and I'm still using the original biomax insert in the aquaclear and plan on replacing only one insert at a time as needed for the Aqueon. When I replace the biomax insert I plan on dropping some of that material into the aqueon.

Overall I like the Aqueon's quietness and good water flow. It provides great surface agitation so I'm forgoing an airstone set-up.
 
Fouldsy: on our setup are you referring to the "filter media" as the white "fabric" that covers the plastic frame, right? Because I see nothing inside that cartridge but carbon.

Siva: so, the thing to do is this (and please correct me if I'm wrong): cut open top of the dirty cartridge, empty out carbon, rinse the cartridge in tank water, stuff in some clean polyfiber--doing this to only ONE cartridge at a time? And you're saying when I put in the new cartridge, should I put in some extra polyfiber in there, too?

Thanks to both of you!
At any time you can cut open the cart and remove the carbon as it's really not necessary. Personally, I wouldn't worry about leaving it in, but some do feel it's better to remove it all together.

You don't need to stuff the cart with polyfiber, though not bad idea, you can simpy use it as is until it's falling apart, and then replace with a new one. Let's say you were using a similar filter that takes only one cart, like the Aqueon model for 10 gals..in that case when it's time to replace the cart you could rip the fiber off the old filter and shove it in pressed against the new cart, and this will quickly seed it with BB and you shouldn't experience any kind of mini cycle. Even in the 10 gal model, there is a little space on one side where I add a nylon bag with extra media, so when it's time to replace either the cart or the bag, I don't have to do anything special and don't have any probs.

They sell nylon filter media bags that you can use to add extra media to the filter, I have a bag with ceramic rings shoved in at the front, and another with polyfiber shoved in the back. There is plenty of room inside the filter for additional media, and the more of that space that is filled up, the better. :)
 
Interesting concept. I hadn't thought of doing that. So what would the problem be of leaving carbon in past it's usefulness? And isn't there potential for problems by moving filter media between tanks? I know it can be useful when seeding a tank and starting from scratch, but in terms of not potentially wanting to introduce illness from one tank to another once they're stocked and with different fish environments?
 
Some feel it can leach toxins back into the water that could be potentially harmful.

I'm not talking about moving from tank to tank, but yes, there could be potential for problems. As long as you are moving filter media from a tank that doesn't have any new inhabitants that have not been QT'd, it should be fine.
 
The are very porous and provide a lot of surface for BB. Their are best placed as close as possible to the outflow.
 
Wow, on another thread someone said ideally I should have enough filtration for double the size tank; i.e., I should have enough for a 110 gal tank, so I at some point should consider upgrading or adding another filter. What determines how much filtration is enough? The whole conversation started when I posted that after a WC I noticed some detritus worms after I had stirred up my sand. I don't even have fish yet; therefore no "excess" food at the bottom. BTW, it's supposed to filter 400 gallons/hour, according to Aqueon.

I was just reading about sponge pre-filters for HOBs like this. Anybody have any experience with that, in particular, the FilterMax?
 
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