Fluval Aquaclear Flow

[jc102]

Hey guys,

I am setting up my new 75 gallon tank and I bought a Fluval Aquaclear 110 HOB filter for it. The water was pretty cloudy, despite washing the sand for what seemed like 2 hours.

I started the filter with just the sponge in it to try to clear up the water. It has been running for about 7 hours, and I just noticed that the outflow is slowing down and then speeding back up. I also tried changing the flow using the flow control, but there was no visible change in flow.

Should I be worried that some sand may be blocking the impeller? Also, has anyone else had trouble with the flow control not doing anything?

 

[Fresh2o]

If there was sand in the impeller, you’d probably hear it.
The flow control should make a big difference in water flow. Is there a chance that the input tube in not pushed all the way to the filter body?
I would add polyfil or similar fine filter media and possibly a pouch of Purigen to deal with the cloudiness.

 

[ZxC]

I'll second the filter floss idea,

I always keep a spare aquaclear laying around for setting up new tanks, I pack it full of filter floss and leave it for a day, usually the water is mostly clear after the first 24 hours.

Fluval also sells an intake sponge that will fit most smaller HOB filters, I'm not positive it will fit your AC110 but it's something to look into (especially if there is sand stirred up in the water column)

 

[jc102]

I ended up doing a 90% water change and after another 24 hours the water was crystal clear! The aquaclear filter still makes a lot of noise, so I'm guessing that is just how they are made. Surprisingly, once I added the rest of the filter media, the flow control started to work!

 

[smallfry53]

Aquaclears are normally pretty quiet. Much quieter than other hobs imo. Maybe need to lube the impeller a bit?

 

[Reygan2]

Mine was noisy at first too. I even returned the first one I ordered because of the rattling. The second one was a little better, but still noisier than my AC 70’s. It’s gotten better with time though.