Power Filter Question from 1980's

[JMcPhee]

This one has been bugging me for a while. Who made the power filter in the 1980's which:

- Used siphon tubes to draw water into the clear plastic filter box (as opposed to pumping it in) which hung on the tank like today's power filters

- Pumped water out of the filter box through a light brown plastic pump head (instead of using an overflow)

- Used media pads or plain polyester batting for the filter media (or you could put sacks of charcoal, ammocarb, etc in with the media)

Thanks,
JM

 

[Fresh2o]

From the 80s? Likely suspects include Supreme Aqua King by Danner and the DynoFlow Motor Filter by Metaframe


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[Brookster123]

Did Ben Franklin build it himself? Ac or dc? Does it have a crank start?

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[Fresh2o]

The Supreme Aqua King had a metal encased motor which sat directly above the return tube. The filter box had a generous capacity and used 2-4 siphon tubes to draw in water.
Ben Franklin did not use it. Neither did George Washington. Or Abraham Lincoln. It was AC.


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[JMcPhee]

Aquaking

Supreme Aquamaster PME. Well done, Fresh2o. It's off to Craigslist to see if any are still around.

It's sad they don't make these any more. As a chemical engineer, I find the particle filtration media depth in (what would be comparably priced) current filters laughable. In the Aquaking, $0.15 of polyester and $0.25 of activated carbon in a bag would do a lot more filtration than today's 3/8" thick, $5.00 filter cartridge. Moreover, pumping the water into the box (as is done with current filters) is a great way to make sushi out of fry.

Thanks again, Fresh20.

JM

 

[Brookster123]

Think you'll find aquaclear hobs a suitable substitute?

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[54seaweed]

I had them back in the late 70 s I loved them , but the 1 thing that annoyed me was they always lost siphon when a fish brushed up on it. especially the big fish
the other thing was they needed oiling every week , they also had a tendency to overheat every so often,

 

[PB_Smith]

I had them back in the late 70 s I loved them , but the 1 thing that annoyed me was they always lost siphon when a fish brushed up on it. especially the big fish
the other thing was they needed oiling every week , they also had a tendency to overheat every so often,

yeah one problem was no way to control the flow so you often had to have lots of siphon tubes in to feed it or the water level in the box would stay just at the bottom of the siphon tubes and yup, all it took was a fish bumping it.
this was especially a problem after putting in new filter material as it would allow faster water flow, but they kicked butt especially for big dirty fish.

 

[PB_Smith]

here is a pic of a supreme aqua king;

 

[Delapool]

Thanks for the pic on this. I had assumed everything was air-driven for all filters, etc (as that's all I had). Amazing to see.

Err, just wondering if the wiring was a bit exposed?

 

[Fresh2o]

The design did not protect the air cooled motor from splashing and salt creep. I could not afford one (and did not have a large enough tank at the time to warrant the use of one). I did have a Metaframe Dynaflow 410 power filter. Though it had a single siphon and was less powerful than the Aqua King, one advantage was the placement of the motor. It was located below the filter box and it powered a ~1.5" spinning magnetic disk. A corresponding magnet with fins (impeller) was inside the filter box and pushed water through the return pipe. The key to making it work was the alignment of the magnets which had to be done manually.
Breaking the siphon usually resulted in burning out the motor with this filter design. Unlike today's overflow filters, waste drawn into the filter was not churned into oblivion by an impeller but, rather, trapped intact by the floss.
Please, nobody mention glass wool. I get itchy thinking about it.


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[KenS-CT]

Supreme Air Pump

I remember that Supreme also made a piston type air pump that used the same motor as the filter. Does anyone recall what it is called or where I can find one? I am tired of the plunger/flapper-valve AC pumps that can not maintain air pressure after the "airstones" start to clog.
Also I have been using the long rubber airstones that have a large metal wire inside to weigh them down. When they are new they are great, but in my planted aquarium they seem to become clogged quickly and need to be cleaned or replaced. This usually disrupts the plants near the back of my tank.
Thanks for any help you can offer.
By the way excellent job remembering the name of the pump, hats off to Fresh2o!!

 

[Leeatl]

I had one of those air pumps in the early 80's , but can't remember the name other than it was a Supreme . Loud as heck , but could drive 5 tanks....lol

 

[Fresh2o]

Is this the pump? [youtube]

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[Leeatl]

That's it! Fresh2O you are the man.....lol

 

[Fresh2o]

That's it! Fresh2O you are the man.....lol

Yeah Google!
That pump is noisy.
We're showing our age in this thread.


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[Leeatl]

Not showing age , showing experience....lol Yea really loud . I had mine in a 55 gal cabinet stand with a cardboard box over it and a pillow on top of that and wife still complained and the bedroom was upstairs...lol