********
Yep ....... that water is undeniably "polished." What a great demonstration of the fact that you don't need the expense and mess of a canister filter to have pristine water !!!!!!
Looks like you made the right choice between fluval & aquaclear going with your "gut."
Hey, in your other post, you stated:
"First is the original sponge it came with, Second is that blue backin' stuff. I wasn't real sure but I put the blue side down,where the water hits it first. Third is filter floss,Then my purigen. On top is another layer of filter floss, then I took the plastc blue thing (bio-filter) from my aqueon and laid it down. It was covered with the BB,thought I could use that for seed.Then on top I laid the Bio-Max. Thoughts?.....Advice?..."
Three questions for you:
1) What is the "blue backin" stuff you are referring to? Is this the equivalent of a polishing pad that comes with the aquaclear? Or do you think you are getting the "polished look" from the filter floss.
2) Does that aqua clear sponge have the same level of "coarseness" throughout or does it go from coarse to fine as the Fluval polyfoam pads do:
Aquarium Advice - Aquarium Forum Community - Paul1792's Album: Paul1792's 29 gallon - Picture
3) What is the distance needed between the back of the tank and the wall for an Aquaclear 70 ? I have heard 4.0 inches. Is that correct?
[The reason I ask is that although my Fluval C3 on my 29 gallon keeps the water polished, I am thinking about replacing it with an Aquaclear 70 when I put in a new filter system on my 38 gallon. I have exactly 4 inches of room on the 29 gallon and only 3.5 inches on the 38 gallon and I plan to use a two filter system ........ the Fluval C3 from the 29 gallon plus a new aquaclear 50.]
I am going to replace my aqua-tech 30-60 on the 38 gallon in the not too distant future. Although it keeps water polished with assorted home-made media & pre-filter ... I am tired of the absurd level of time and "pain" it is to maintain ..... over an hour of frustrating/water spilling/messy maintenance per month vs 5 minutes with aquaclear or fluval.]