Rant: I HATE AquaClear filters!!

[Convict2161]

With HOBs that is a tell tale sign you need to clean your media out. With canisters you will experience decreased flow when your media needs changed. Odor or water params going out of whack should not happen unless you let one run for a year straight with no maintenance.

To the OP, keep up on your routine maintenance and this shouldn't be an issue. I'm not saying that you're not doing routine work but maybe be a little more thorough in cleaning the pads.

My AC50 did it once, and that was when I left the country for a few weeks and it needed cleaned badly.

I agree 100% with this post. If you have a good routine you'll have little to no issues.

 

[bshenanagins]

With HOBs that is a tell tale sign you need to clean your media out. With canisters you will experience decreased flow when your media needs changed. Odor or water params going out of whack should not happen unless you let one run for a year straight with no maintenance.

To the OP, keep up on your routine maintenance and this shouldn't be an issue. I'm not saying that you're not doing routine work but maybe be a little more thorough in cleaning the pads.

My AC50 did it once, and that was when I left the country for a few weeks and it needed cleaned badly.

I think that is only the case if you have a manageable bioload. I think most tend to overstock but I may be incorrect on that assumption. Depending on your stock a year might be too long to see those effects. I think it also depends on the filter. With a fluval, they have that bypass system which I don't really understand, and it could hide that fact that media may be inefficient at that time. I like my Rena xp4 on the turtle tank because its clear and I can visually see the buildup. But again my experience and I certainly don't speak for everyone.

 

[Rare]

I believe I read a pet soultion mag that came in yesterday that they are doing the 1 year supply of free aquaclear inserts.....For anyone buying a new unit and is new to the hobby....Just sayin

 

[AndI3kAY]

I believe I read a pet soultion mag that came in yesterday that they are doing the 1 year supply of free aquaclear inserts.....For anyone buying a new unit and is new to the hobby....Just sayin

http://www.petco.com/assets/pdf/AquaClearFilterRebate.pdf

 

[bmckee727]

I have a Rena xp-2 canister, marineland HOB, and a HOB whisper sitting in the garage because my AC 110 has put them out of work. When I do my bi-weekly water changes I can gauge my water level in the filter by when to clean it. Also keep in mind, I do not use all AC filter media products so if you have your sponge, a bag of biowhatever, and 15lbs of carbon, it's not going to be able to cycle the GPH the pump is rated at without the water going somewhere.

 

[Convict2161]

I believe I read a pet soultion mag that came in yesterday that they are doing the 1 year supply of free aquaclear inserts.....For anyone buying a new unit and is new to the hobby....Just sayin

http://www.petco.com/assets/pdf/AquaClearFilterRebate.pdf

That's sounds all well and good but the only issue with that is... I haven't replaced my sponge yet, if you call them (Hagan) they will tell you every month or every other month. Which I 100% disagree with. It's a marketing gimmick to get you to spend money.

It's says you have to but them for a full year and then they will buy you a full year after the fact...

6 foam and 12 carbon? That's a lot for there "recommend annual replacements"

Am I understanding that right? You have to meet the requirements to get them? Like I said I haven't changed my sponge in over a year and carbon I haven't used in about 6 months, I don't even buy it.

 

[Rare]

You have to meet the requirements to get them?

If that the case then....lol Not sure how it works..but if it's simple & it's free others can zip lock all the carbon when the times is needed and save the sponges as well.

 

[bshenanagins]

In regards to efficiency, I find chemical filtration to be sub par compared to mechanical and biological and shouldn't even be needed. This is why I promote canister filtration because it allows for much greater surface area for beneficial bacteria colonies with several trays for potential growth. To somewhat contradict myself, I am now a huge proponent of seachems purigen and it out plays carbon tremendously in performance and price. It's an excellent finishing touch for polishing.

 

[Slade]

You don't have to buy a full year's worth of filters. They match what you buy. I bought 2 and they sent me 2 more. They're in the cabinet for when i need to replace them in a year or two.

Ive never had a problem with floating sponges. I clean them every other week but i also keep the bag of noodles on top to weigh them down.

 

[Convict2161]

You don't have to buy a full year's worth of filters. They match what you buy. I bought 2 and they sent me 2 more. They're in the cabinet for when i need to replace them in a year or two.

Ive never had a problem with floating sponges. I clean them every other week but i also keep the bag of noodles on top to weigh them down.

That's pretty cool, oh well... I just bought like 2 years of pads, sponges etc etc etc. it was all listed in a thread a out being prepared.

 

[ArtesiaWells]

Interesting viewpoints here; I, for one, have not had any issues like described with my AquaClear 110...I'm running just the sponge and two small sacks of BioMax on top of it...so still lots of room for more media/room for water to rise...

I am also running an Aqueon QuietFlow 55 on my 60 gallon fancy goldfish tank for added filtration, and I like this filter as well, though it takes a bit more maintenance in that its carbon cartridges get clogged and brown MUCH quicker than the large AquaClear sponge does. As for Marineland, I have no personal experience with them, but more times than not I hear stories such as JLK described with her Marineland HOB experience...more along the lines of the BioWheel being "overrated" and "breaking down"...

But I think, essentially, the core of this solution for this thread is that when mechanical filtration media -- such as the sponges in the AquaClears -- get really overstuffed with debris, it's going to push up or rise since the water can't flow through it any longer...perhaps more vigilant cleaning of the media, as suggested, would help here. I totally get being regularly annoyed by a filter that will constantly spill over and the flood the floor...

 

[ArtesiaWells]

That's sounds all well and good but the only issue with that is... I haven't replaced my sponge yet, if you call them (Hagan) they will tell you every month or every other month. Which I 100% disagree with. It's a marketing gimmick to get you to spend money.

That was EXACTLY what I thought too when I first looked at that offer -- it isn't like the AquaClears need constantly-replaced media such as with cartridge-types; I mean, a sponge AND the BioMax should last for a long, long, long, long, long time with just rinses...

On the other hand, there ARE times when media needs replacing -- such as what I experienced when my last tank came down with a nasty bacterial infection from poor water conditions; in this case, everything was so entrenched with this infection, I just threw all the media away and started over on both filters...

 

[AndI3kAY]

I understand what everyone is saying about the media being too dirty and the water cannot flow through it, so it gets pushed up. BUT my own filter issues happened 2 days after i had completely cleaned said filter out. Just my 2 cents and experience

 

[ArtesiaWells]

I understand what everyone is saying about the media being too dirty and the water cannot flow through it, so it gets pushed up. BUT my own filter issues happened 2 days after i had completely cleaned said filter out. Just my 2 cents and experience

Then I'm at a loss as to what could be "forcing" the media up enough for water to flood the floor...this sounds like some kind of mechanical defect on Hagen's part; my 110, as I said, hasn't behaved this way...

I think the best bet is to get in touch with Hagen and let them know of the situation and what they recommend to do...

 

[ArtesiaWells]

Just my (normally useless and ignored) two cents on the matter...

 

[BillD]

AC filters need to be set up properly on the tank. The back should not be lower than the front, which is why they have a leveler, or they may leak out the back. Impellers need to be cleaned occasionally, and the shafts can wear. Sponge inserts need to be really cleaned, not "swished" in tank water as often recommended. Placing a weight on the top can prevent the lift, although the matter needs to be corrected ASAP.I have some that are about 25 years old that are still running with the original impeller, and a few of the original model that are also still running.

 

[ArtesiaWells]

AC filters need to be set up properly on the tank. The back should not be lower than the front, which is why they have a leveler, or they may leak out the back. Impellers need to be cleaned occasionally, and the shafts can wear. Sponge inserts need to be really cleaned, not "swished" in tank water as often recommended. Placing a weight on the top can prevent the lift, although the matter needs to be corrected ASAP.I have some that are about 25 years old that are still running with the original impeller, and a few of the original model that are also still running.

When you say the sponge inserts needs to be "really cleaned out," what do you mean exactly? It's widely accepted that these sponges need to avoid chlorinated tap water of any kind due to their housing of some of the bacteria, so where are you suggesting they be cleaned out very well...do you still mean in the bucket of removed tank water?

When I remove my sponge in my 110, I don't just "swoosh" it (I "swoosh" the carbon cartridges of the Aqueon filter though) but rather really dunk and dunk and dunk and then squeeze and squeeze and squeeze until it seems like no raw debris is stuck to it...is this what you mean?

 

[Convict2161]

Clean your sponge in tank water really really good. Dunk it and squeeze all the gunk out. I'll admit I sometimes run the sponge under the water in the tub, BUT... Remember I'm running two AC110's and I never had a problem.

Carbon I don't use. I do however swish the bio max in tank water also.

It's been working for me. Maybe because I alternate one a month.

 

[ArtesiaWells]

Clean your sponge in tank water really really good. Dunk it and squeeze all the gunk out. I'll admit I sometimes run the sponge under the water in the tub, BUT... Remember I'm running two AC110's and I never had a problem. I do however swish the bio max in tank water also.

Right -- that's what I was pretty much asking Bill and what I do whenever I yank the sponge and BioMax out; just didn't know he meant something other than this when stating "clean the sponge out really well, not just swooshing it"...

 

[ArtesiaWells]

AC filters need to be set up properly on the tank. The back should not be lower than the front, which is why they have a leveler, or they may leak out the back.

This is an interesting and logical statement, as well -- most large HOBs from my experience have a leveling device to get them "parallel" with the back glass of the tank (I just scratched my rear glass with the Aqueon HOB's leveler trying to squeeze a wanna-be "background" onto the back without moving the two filters out of the way properly ). My AquaClear 110 never really "sat" right on my tank(s) because of the improper way the leveler was sitting, I suppose, with the back of the filter kind of "hanging" off towards the wall...this never caused any leaking issues, but Bill's statement makes sense now that I think about it in that the filter should be as perfectly level with the back glass as possible for efficient operation...

Needless to say, I have since adjusted the AquaClear's leveling knob at it sits parallel and straight with the back glass...