Tetratec Power Filters

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physicsdude

Aquarium Advice Freak
Joined
Feb 11, 2005
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New York State
Hi all- A few days ago the filter I have running on my ten gallon tank died. Last nite at around 6 am, the air pump started to make a noise similar to a bulldozer going thru my room! So, after unplugging it and thankfully putting it out of its misery I started out this morning to the lfs to look at filters and replacement parts for the air pump.

I was puttering around the equipment section and noticed this filter I have not seen before called the Tetratec PF150. It pretty cool- I really like what the box said about the living chamber idea- that seemed really new and sounded like a great idea. Its on sale for something like 30 dollars or so and I'm thinking about getting it. But I thought I'd do some research first before jumping into it.

I did a little research online here and on epinions and the reviews are mixed. Is it true that its really noisy? I mean that would'nt bother me; I could just unplug the thing at nite and let the foam soak in a bucket or something or would that defeat the purpose. Also, is it true its built cheap? I would'nt run the advertised heater; thats still working strong. Most concerning though is some threads that told how the filter overflowed onto people's floors! I think thats more of a case of not caring for the filter than anything else, but its kinda...concerning. Is that a real danger or is it just cases of mis-management? Also, why would it overflow to begin with? Does the aquarium water level need to be dropped to prevent this or something? Any thoughts from owners would be helpful. Many thanks!
 
Well, I don't know about this specific model of filter but I can tell you from experience that Tetratec stuff is not built cheap :p It's very good quality; I use their canister filter series on all of my tanks (the EX series), and have had them a long time without any problems whatsoever. I'm guessing a PF means 'power filter' so it's an internal one right?
If you're after an internal power filter I'd recommend the Eheim Aquaball series, which are almost like miniature canisters inside the tank with various media baskets and so on (modular design). But, Tetratec is a reliable brand too, IME.
 
I personally like TetraTec filters. Right up there with AquaClear if you ask me, maybe better because they are self priming, where as I have to prime my AC filters.
 
I have a PF-300 on my 26 gallon. It's built very well and one of best HOB filters I have used. It was able to absorb all my daughter's fish from her 16 gallon tank she has in her dorm during the Christmas holiday. There was enough room in the filter to place a new filter cartridge for her tank, so I could seed it with bacteria for the move of the 9 fish back to the dorm 3 weeks later.

It does make more noise than the average filter. About every 5-6 seconds there is a gurgling sound as the drain tube looses siphon and air fills the flushing chamber. The design is similar to a flushing toilet. The chamber fills with water, covering the large bio-sponge, then quickly flushes to expose the sponge to air. The siphon breaks and the chamber fills up with water again.

Also, make sure you have enough room behind the tank as this filter is wide. I had to move my tank another 1 1/2 inches away from the wall for it to fit. I would buy the PF-500 in a second for my 150 gallon if it wasn't for the fact that the DIY stand I built wasn't attached to the basement wall, making it impossible to move the tank forward.
 
I forgot to add my comment about the risk of spilling water on the floor. The filter has a multi-width disc on the side of the filter box (same as the Aquaclear 110) that is used to level the water in the filter. Also, the back of the filter box is higher than the front. So I don't know how it could spill any water over the sides. I read the same reviews that mentioned the water spilling, but if you noticed, the post dates are over a year ago. Maybe they redisgned the new units. When I first set it up, I had two very dirty filter pads placed in the front of the four cartridges, to kick-start the bacteria growth. There were so clogged that the water flowed up and over them. However, I did not have one drop of water come out of the filter for the two weeks I had them in.
 
Do you think you can make a short recording of the sound? I just want to make sure so that it might not be too loud.

EDIT:
Also, is it possible to let it have a constant flow?
 
I have a camera that takes small video/audio clips (.mov). I need to know how to post it. The sound is every 6 seconds and most of the time it is two gurgles in rapid succession that breaks the siphon.

Regarding the output; The PF300 has three output tubes for the water return. The one on the left is a constant flow and has the highest flow rate. The center tube is the run off from the adjustment knob. This has the lowest flow rate and the flow rate would vary depending on where the adjustment knob needs to be set in order to get the continuos flush cycle going. The tube on the right is where the flushing water exits. It has a very high flow rate (about the same as the left tube) for about 3 seconds then has no flow for about 4 seconds.

Both the left and right tubes have movable elbow joints that can be used to direct the flow in any direction. They really agitate the water surface, and with this tank, I don't need a surface skimmer to remove my water film. My two other tanks need a skimmer running constantly to remove the film (even with a bubblewand and an XP3 spray bar the film is still there) . The elbow joints can be removed to sent the water straight down into the tank.

I like the ease of changing the media on this filter far more than the AquaClear110. Since the bio foam is behind four filter cartridges, it doesn't seem to get dirty. I'm guessing it will run about a year before I have to take it out to clean it. The cartridges are designed to be changed in pairs. You toss the front two, move the slightly dirty back row to the front (preserving the bacteria), and install the new ones in the back row. There is extra room in the filter chamber to keep a couple sponges for bacteria seeding in case of an emergency (hospital tank, moving my daughter's fish back to school, etc).

So filter changes are quick, virtually no water spilled, and no need to rinse anything in a bucket of tank water! My AQ110 is a pain in comparison.
 
I think I will buy the 150 model. It would go in my bedroom, where I sleep. Is it noisy enough to interfere with sleeping or is it tolerable? I could just turn it off at nite or would that be a bad idea? Thanks!
 
You can have the output flow steady on the left and right tube by adjusting the flow in the center tube to prevent the siphon cycle. This would also eliminate the gurgling sound. The down side is it defeats the purpose of the oxygen rich "living chamber"; it becomes more like an AquaClear submerged sponge.
 
well, for my 38 gallon, I was planning to have a AquaClear 50 in conjunction with a 150 or 300. I just wanted to know if I could cancel the additional wet/dry stuff because it would gas off CO2 for the plants.
 
Well, I shopped on ebay and won an auction for a Tetratec 150 filter. Price was 7.49 with 12 dollars shipping. It is used, coming with the original bio sponge cartridge used on his tank. My question is whether I should replace the sponge with another medium or go with it, even though at most it was just rinsed out with water, thus there may be alot of dead material in there.
 
I would still replace the bio sponge, even though its been rinsed out... Foam stuff "looses" its structure, and starts to fall apart over time.. but thats just me
 
Yes, this thread is back! LOL
Seriously though, I bought the Tetratec 150 filter for 25 dollars used on ebay. It was 25 cause he sent 2 filters- that's right 2 tetra pf150s for the price i paid of one! Turns out both work fine!

Also, I had to mod the filter some after getting it. There's 2 outlet tubes on the 150 model- one with the plastic cap and another for siphon control. First, what I did was stuff some filter floss into the left outlet tube to build up a siphon. Then, I set the flow to maximum and allowed the filter to run. It now rises and falls easily. The flow rate to the tank is a little slow because of the inability of the water to rise above the water outlet tubes cause of excessive amounts of water flowing out thru them during start up. Its difficult to get the siphon going without the one of the flow tubes stopped up with floss. yet, while I have it in the left tube, it does not need adjustment.
Any ways, I love it! Its wet dry filtration! Kinda glub glubs every six seconds but its great! I thought I would just update waht's going.
 
well, i figured out how to get the siphon started and keep it going, vene after turning the right dial. works great. i just don't understand why this filter never seemed to catch attention. its truly a revolutionary idea.
 
Physicsdude, can you see if it is possible to keep a steady flow on your 150 (without destroying it (hehe))? I just want to see if it is possible, because I MAY be considering this filter.
 
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