Which brand of top hangon filter is good?

[gu2high]

I am looking to buy an aquarium power filter, the kind hangon the back of the tank. I want that its maintenance is easy and it can last long long time and it is quiet. Which brand is the best?

[rich311k]

I have an AquaClear 20, 50 and 70. They are good solid peices of equipmment. They are easy to clean and have plenty of room for media. The only noise involved is the sound of the water returning to the tank, which can me minimized by raising the water levels in the tank.

[gu2high]

Yes, I use a AquaClear Mini on my 10 gallon tank and it has run for about 3 years. I like it. I also had another AquaClear before used on 55 gallon tank but is about 10 years ago. I have just never used other brand, so I don't know how good they are compared to AquaClear.

BTW, I use 'Snow Cover Fluff" in the filter to save money. This is 100% Polyester, non-allergenic to human (I figured out it is non-allergenic to fish long-times ago, the pet stores sell those expensive floss which is also 100% Polyester, no difference. But now the filter manufactures may not use floss in filter anymore, and they use other expensive things instead). They are very cheap and they are used for decoration as snow on your Chrismas tree. Now it is the season to buy them.

When you change the floss in the filter, you just rip off some bottom messy part (about 30%) which trap most of food debris and fish waste and keep 70% of them for reuse so that you still keep most of good bacteria in the floss. Just add new 30% Floss on it (wash in tap water first before you add it on).

In this way, a bag of pillow size floss cost about $5 (not sure as I haven't bought it for a long time) can be used for a long time. The effect is very good on aquarium.

[Burks]

Aqua Clear filters rule.

My only complaint is they seem to clog more easily than my other filters. Two minutes of cleaning with a Q-tip each month and that's it.

[BillD]

Ditto with all of the above., except the clogging part. The sponge inserts last for years.

[ksfishguy]

I use an Emperor 400, depends on the size of your tank though...

[JeffreyL]

I love Aqua Clears, too. I also have several Penguins (pretty good) and an Emperor (better) that came with used tanks, but the only filters I have spent my money on are ACs. lol As for clogging, only one, on a tank with a lot of algae & assorted plant debris. Once a week with a brush, especially around the impellor and it was good.

[Fishyfanatic]

AquaClear all the way.

[son2fu]

for an aquaclear, you dont need a pump or anything else right?

[severum mama]

Not at all. You just need to pop the foam block and ceramic rings into the media chamber and it's ready to go.

[TomK2]

I tried an aquaclear based upon the many, many recommendations I saw it get on AA. I was not disappointed, it really does live up to the hype. Only issue I ever had was a few times it did not restart back up after a power failure. Every time I simulate a power failure myself, it starts back up.

[Fishyfanatic]

We have two AC filters cycling on a 10 gal tank. We had a power outage last weekend for a few hours. When the power came back on one restarted on its own while the other needed help. I don't know why one re-started and the other didn't. I also have a marineland running on another 10 gal and that one didn't start on it's own either. I had to dump water into the filter.

[Burks]

Fishy sometimes mine starts just fine and others times I need to pour water in. No idea why.

With an AC you won't be disappointed. If you do get on you can always order the replacement foam things off www.petsmart.com and get free shipping. Cheaper than going to the stores too. Those foam blocks have a lot of uses too. They make a great prefilter to stop shrimp from being sucked up.

[7Enigma]

I believe it depends on the tank water level. If the level is too low, a sudden power outage can cause a reverse syphon effect which will drain the water out of the filter. When the power comes back on there is nothing to start the suction back up with again and you have to add water.

I have an AC50 and after having this happen a couple times took BOTH intake pieces and daisychained them together. This makes the intake piece twice as long, and I don't have the reverse syphon effect (because the pressure of the water into the intake is high enough that it doesn't let the water out).

I purchased an extra 3 foam pads for ~$2, and use foam--->ceramic media--->foam. It gets cleaned about 1-2 times per week. Normally once a week just for the intake, and about once every 2-3 weeks for the pads. Just sqeeze them out in PWC water and your good to go again. VERY satisfied!

EDIT: Just wanted to mention I'm pretty heavily planted so lots of plant debris causes it to be cleaned much more than someone without plants.

[Sicklid]

How big is your tank going to be?

[Zagz]

I have several AC filters and 2 emperor filters. I like the AC's because of the large media basket.

[tropicalfish]

7Enigma is right. Since the AquaClear has a low height, the tank's water level needs to be kept high (at least above the gray block above the motor) for it to restart after a power failure. Otherwise, the filter will have all the water above the gray block siphoned back into the tank, and the gray block is the area where the impeller is.

[iceywater101]

I have 2 ac filters and I took the carbon that comes with them out. In one of the filters I am using a bag filled with peat and the other I am using an x tra spounge. works great never had a problem with them.