AquaClear vs Fluval

[caitlynnanne9189]

I'd personally just get the 70 and turn the flow down. Never hurts to have the extra power in case you need it.

Yeah that is true. I might as well for such a small difference in price!

 

[adadkins1]

Definitely get the larger one since you can adjust the flow. Once you pack a filter with media and you compensate for the amount of flow reduction it is always better to get the stronger one. I love my Red Sea Deco Art Nano's flow adjustment, as do my bettas.

 

[NYgiantsRP]

I have been running an aquaclear 70 for 4 years. I love that you can comstomize it the way you want. I use 4 stage. Bio, sponge, chemi pure elite, and I rotate API nitra-zorb, amrid, and carbon. I use each of those for a month. I havent replaced my sponge or bio in over 2 years, and my water params are always good.

 

[BillD]

the AC is a good filter choice because the ongoing cost of media replacement doesn't exist. The sponges will last for many years before they break down and the bio rings should last forever. I run mine with two sponges and and some form of extra bio such as the rings or plastic pot scrubbers. The sponges are not only mechanical filters but also biological. Prior to the renaming of the AC line, the sponges were the bio media. You don't need to run carbon in them . Just as tanks that use sponge filters don't have carbon, the HOBs don't need them either.

 

[rreekers]

go with the 70. definitely


I run the 50 on my 10g and it doesn't push them around. so for a 20g I would say go with the 70 for sure

 

[caitlynnanne9189]

Thanks for all the insight guys! I think after that I'm definitely going with the 70 and buying a second sponge for it do no carbon for me!

 

[caitlynnanne9189]

Ok so I found my filter buying it Friday. Now my questions

I know changing the filter should only happen if it's falling apart and I'm assuming that this was the carbon filter.

Now I want to do 2 sponges and the filter comes with a carbon a sponge and the biomax. I'm gonna buy more sponge to replace the carbon filter

Question is. Do I need to buy addition sponges and bio max? And how often do I change these?

 

[blert]

You should not have to replace them very often at all. Just rinse them in old tank water and put them back in. They should last a good long time. If you are splurging then just buy yourself one replacement of each to have on hand in an emergency.

 

[rreekers]

keep the sponges till they are falling apart. just rinse in old tank water..

the Bio, shouldn't ever need to be replaced

something you might consider is putting the Bio in the middle because when you do water changes the filter will drain the water out of its self. and if you refill it more than half it will drain. you need to keep all media wet but the Bio most importantly.

 

[caitlynnanne9189]

keep the sponges till they are falling apart. just rinse in old tank water..

the Bio, shouldn't ever need to be replaced

something you might consider is putting the Bio in the middle because when you do water changes the filter will drain the water out of its self. and if you refill it more than half it will drain. you need to keep all media wet but the Bio most importantly.

I'm not sure what that means but that's probably because I don't have the filter yet. Once I get it I'll try to look at what your talking about.

 

[caitlynnanne9189]

You should not have to replace them very often at all. Just rinse them in old tank water and put them back in. They should last a good long time. If you are splurging then just buy yourself one replacement of each to have on hand in an emergency.

Ok sounds good! I can buy a 3 pack of sponges on amazon for $6 or I can but 1 from petco for $4 I think I'll just get extra and skip on the bio for now.

Now my next question is I am currently cycling my 20 gallon and I don't want to throw it out of wack by switching filters so how do I do this correctly?

 

[blert]

Run them both. Or take your old media and cram it in the new filter.

 

[rreekers]

run them both at the same time for at least 3 weeks.
.
the Bio is the most important

 

[meegosh]

something you might consider is putting the Bio in the middle because when you do water changes the filter will drain the water out of its self. and if you refill it more than half it will drain. you need to keep all media wet but the Bio most importantly.

Jonathan taught me a nice little trick for dealing with this problem. When you turn your filter off, pull the intake up and out of the water, that keeps the water in your filter and doesn't dump it out the intake. That will keep your media wet for as long as you need. Try it the next time you do a PWC, it's pretty slick.

 

[adadkins1]

Wow, thanks for that! I hate priming my HOB's after I turn them off.

 

[gabysapha]

Jonathan taught me a nice little trick for dealing with this problem. When you turn your filter off, pull the intake up and out of the water, that keeps the water in your filter and doesn't dump it out the intake. That will keep your media wet for as long as you need. Try it the next time you do a PWC, it's pretty slick.

Whoaaa that just blew my mind. Now I WANT to do a water change just use this trick! Fantastic!

 

[caitlynnanne9189]

Jonathan taught me a nice little trick for dealing with this problem. When you turn your filter off, pull the intake up and out of the water, that keeps the water in your filter and doesn't dump it out the intake. That will keep your media wet for as long as you need. Try it the next time you do a PWC, it's pretty slick.

Thanks very much!! That excited me! I'm buying the filter tomorrow off amazon and as soon as I get it I'm gonna hook it up. Can't wait to do a pwc to try that!

 

[caitlynnanne9189]

Wow, thanks for that! I hate priming my HOB's after I turn them off.

I'm very scared of priming it lol! We will see how it goes!

 

[skywhitney]

I'm very scared of priming it lol! We will see how it goes!

Priming the filter really isn't hard, its just tedious. Just keep filling the resevoir with water until you see the intake has created a sustainable siphon. Usually take a couple min for my AC.

 

[Derekkaine]

Um id vote for a fluval
Internal filter for zero noise? And no sound like somone is peeing into my tank. U can reuse the sponges and u can cut after market poly pads cut to fit to save money.