Aquaclear 50

[Jetstorm369]

What are your guys' experiences with the Aquaclear 50, or aquaclear in general. Do you think it'll suffice for a 55g freshwater tank? Should I get two? Thanks!

 

[Christopherlh84]

Aquaclear filters are great! I would get two or get a 70 for a 55 gal

 

[Lexilove]

I have the 50 and it is great!

 

[azmodan]

AquaClears are great! I have the 50, although I use it for my 20gal. For a 55 I'd probably get two 50s and put one on each side.

 

[calfishguy]

They are excellent filters i'd put two 70 on a 55 gallon. Have you looked at the fluval c series? They are an uprgraded version of the aquaclear and IMO easier to maintain. Two fluval c3 or c4 would do a great job on a 55.

 

[Bbarb27]

I agree with the others that recommend running 2 filters or at least upgrading to the 70.

I have a 50 on one of my 29g and don't think a 50 alone is enough for a 55g.

 

[reefdiver]

+1 I had one in a 36 and i felt it was to small. Had some cloudiness in my water. Also my foot print was only 36" and im guessing you will have a 48" foot print. More room needs more water movement

 

[maxwellag]

I have an AC20 and AC30. Both of them work very well and are the best HOB filters I have had. I personally like the hidden look of canisters better than HOBs.

 

[severum mama]

They are excellent filters i'd put two 70 on a 55 gallon. Have you looked at the fluval c series? They are an uprgraded version of the aquaclear and IMO easier to maintain. Two fluval c3 or c4 would do a great job on a 55.

I would also put two 70's on a 55, or one 110. One 50 isn't nearly enough and I think one 70 would be questionable as well.

The Fluval C series look nice, but last time I checked they were quite a bit more expensive. Not sure I'd spend the extra cash when the Aquaclear is already a very nice filter for the money.

 

[Aski247]

+1 for the 2 70's, or 1 110. I have 2 55's set up. One has 2 110's and the other has 1. Bigger is better. So if the money's there go big as you can.

 

[Zevyn]

I have two 50's on my 55. Don't do a single larger filter on a 4 foot tank. A pair of 50's is good enough.

Edit for clarification:

On a longer tank, you'll end up with a lot of dead spots in the water column due to the lack of water movement if you run a single filter on it. Anyone that's owned a pool can verify this. Certain spots on my pool will be well over 90 and others in the mid 80's. You can clearly feel the difference as you swim through the pockets. Some people run their HOB's on the sides of the tank for this reason if they can accommodate it.

You're looking to turn over 8-10x the water volume per hour. An AC50 does 200GPH. x2 that's 400GPH. Divide that by 55 and you get 7.2. Remove 5 gallons of space from the substrate and the deco and you're right about where you want to be. If you have cash burning a hole in your pocket, then by all means, get a pair of 70's, but I'd steer clear of a single 110 on a 4 foot long tank. You are better off with an outflow moving water on each side.

 

[severum mama]

Have you used a 110? That thing moves water like a boss and you're not going to have dead spots in a 55 (speaking from experience here). I would also prefer the two 70's to the one 110, but IMO either would be preferable to two 50's- remember, they aren't going to be moving 200 gph each with media in them.

 

[mconigs78]

I love my ac110's I'm runnin 2 on my 55g great filter and easy to maintain.

 

[Cichlid Kid]

I agree with severum mamma. Either 2, 70's or 1, 110 would work well. I have a 110 on a 40b and its flow rate at full throttle is too much for my plants. Placed at the middle of the back or on one of the sides on a 55 there will be no "pockets". I also have several ac50's on 20gal. longs and they are a perfect match. Like everyone says GO BIG! you won't regret it in the long run.

 

[Brox]

I also have a 110 on my 50B and on full blast it pushes my plants and fish a lot. If your worried about still water, what about an AIRstone?

 

[Aski247]

Yeah the single 110 will certainly offer no "dead spots" as it is by far the strongest flow rate of any hob filter out there. Again there is a large diffrence in tuning a single 110 in a "pool" and in a 4' tank. Lol...

 

[Jetstorm369]

Thanks for your opinion guys! So right now I'm deciding whether to get two AC 50s, or a single AC 110. Any more opinions? Thanks again!

 

[Quest84]

I have the fluval C4 and the aquaclear 70 on my tank they are both good filters. The fluval c4 is basically the newest aquaclear and it has a mini wet/dry filter built into it. IMO one AC 50 isn't enough for a 55 gal tank. I try to turn the volume of my tank 10x /HR , that is over filtered but better to have more filtration than not enough. The AC 110 is a good choice, or go with two AC 70, or if ya have the $$ look into canister filters

 

[Jetstorm369]

I have the fluval C4 and the aquaclear 70 on my tank they are both good filters. The fluval c4 is basically the newest aquaclear and it has a mini wet/dry filter built into it. IMO one AC 50 isn't enough for a 55 gal tank. I try to turn the volume of my tank 10x /HR , that is over filtered but better to have more filtration than not enough. The AC 110 is a good choice, or go with two AC 70, or if ya have the $$ look into canister filters

What about just a fluval c4 on a 55g? Do you think that's enough?

 

[Quest84]

What about just a fluval c4 on a 55g? Do you think that's enough?

I like to turn the water volume over 10 times per hour, so a 55 gallon tank x 10 = 550 gal /HR needed

no don't think just a single fuval c4 is enough..it flows 260 gal/HR

if your gonna go with 1 single filter go with the AC 110 or a canister filter.

if you want to use two filters, 2 aquaclear 70's they flow 300 gal/HR each giving you 600 gal/hr total