Aquaclear maintenance

[Brookster123]

Tired of losing the flow in your ac filters? Im sure this has been discussed in great length already, I'd just thought i share my procedure.. my 50 and 30 were barely moving water last night so I broke them down and gave them the business.. first was getting the motor clean, I took the impellar out and using and old kids (small) toothbrush I scrubbed it down, i than scrubbed out the inside of the motor.. so much crap was in there!
Next I reassembled the filter, minus basket, media and intake, i filled it in the sink with pretty hot water and plugged it in, i let it run with the hot water for a minute, dumped and repeated.
End result was a filter running like new.. I was extremely ro have it working so well again..


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[BBradbury]

Hagen AquaClear Filters

Hello Brook...

I follow this cleaning procedure every week when I change out the tank water. Heavily planted tanks will produce the dark organic material (detritus) constantly and if your filter is worth anything, this material will build up in the motor area and slow the water flow. Long, narrow bottle washers with heavy bristles work well to clean this part of the filter.

I've used the AC 50s in my tanks for better than 10 years and with weekly maintenance they'll last just about forever.

Good choice of filters!

B

 

[Brookster123]

Yah B, I can't believe how much crud gets packed in there.. I'm going to fine me one of those bottle brushes too.. it's nice firing up the filters and see that proper flow returned to the tank!

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[Bichir Bro]

I don't use an Aquaclear but it seems I'm one of the few that don't! I'm curious, are they superior to other filters out there? I currently use the Marineland Emperor 400 and it's great, don't use the charcoal stuff only filter floss and Bacteria ball, things lol. Does the Aquaclear just work better or what?


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[Brookster123]

I run a penguin 200 and it seems to work fine with the media mods.. i like the ac ' s because they're easy to clean, media options and the flow adjustment comes in handy during feeding. I'm not saying they're better or worse than any other filter out there, just why I like them personally.. this thread was meant to share tips in cleaning and maintaining these filters specifically not to promote or demote them

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[clarkm]

I use the marineland filters and I have to give them both a good cleaning every other week or lots of crap builds up on the top of my substrate when the flow is slowed.


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[DragonFish71]

And pipe brushes to clean the inside of the intake tube as well. A toothbrush also works well to clean the intake tube cover.

 

[BBradbury]

HOB Filtration

I don't use an Aquaclear but it seems I'm one of the few that don't! I'm curious, are they superior to other filters out there? I currently use the Marineland Emperor 400 and it's great, don't use the charcoal stuff only filter floss and Bacteria ball, things lol. Does the Aquaclear just work better or what?


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Hello B Bro...

If you like what you're running, then stay with it. The Hagen product is simple to clean and reassemble and I've yet to replace one. The chemical medium (charcoal / carbon) isn't needed if you're a good water changer. The water change will do the same job.

B

 

[Mama Karoti]

I also do a similar cleaning routine every couple weeks on my AC70's in my heavily planted tank. I also gently squeeze/swish the gunk out of the sponge or that, too, slows down the flow, alternating filters so I don't create a mini-cycle. I also have to clean the intake tube every few days to keep plant matter from clogging it.


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[tali931]

I clean all my ac filters on weekly basis.. A q-tip works great for cleaning the motor. To clean the tubes I use long piece of string with a nut or a small screw tied to one end. Drop the screw in the the tube and once it's all the way through I tie a paper towel to the other end of the string.. Pull it through the tube and as clean as new

 

[Brookster123]

I clean all my ac filters on weekly basis.. A q-tip works great for cleaning the motor. To clean the tubes I use long piece of string with a nut or a small screw tied to one end. Drop the screw in the the tube and once it's all the way through I tie a paper towel to the other end of the string.. Pull it through the tube and as clean as new

Like cleaning a paintball barrel! I like it!!

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[tali931]

Lol exactly