cleaning your filter - aquaclear 110

[HeatherW]

OK, so here is a newbie question for you. how exactly do I clean my filters? I have an aquaeclear 110

do I just take the little basket part out, take out the spongy thing and swish it in used tank water?
or do I take the whole filter container off the back of the tank? take out the basket, dump the water, swish etc and then replace?
not quite sure how I am to do this? thanks so much for answering my newbie question!!

 

[blert]

Rinse the media (little basket parts) every PWC, so once a week. Clean the whole filter assembly as needed or maybe once a month. Don't forget the intake tube, it can get funky up inside there.

 

[HeatherW]

so just leave the whole thing on the back of the tank and remove the basket to clean on a weekly basis and then remove the whole thing more on a monthly basis?

 

[Terrance]

Take the whole thing off your tank. If you take out all the media, then you can see nasty water inside your filter. Pour it out. Be careful when laying down the filter. I dropped mine because I was not careful.

 

[HeatherW]

Take the whole thing off your tank. If you take out all the media, then you can see nasty water inside your filter. Pour it out. Be careful when laying down the filter. I dropped mine because I was not careful.

should i take the basket part out first, then take off the whole thing? how do you keep from spilling the water that is already in there? do I detach the extension tubes?
sorry for so many questions, but I know that you guys have done this hundreds of times and there is an easy way and a hard way. I want to learn the easy way!!

 

[Terrance]

Here are my steps:
1. unplug the filter
2. Then I take the whole filter off.
3. Take off lid and let all the condensation drain down my sink. Place the lid next to the sink. You will still be holding the filter. It's not heavy at all.
4. take the media basket out and place it on top of the lid.
5. Pour the dirty water out of the filter and then place it safely next to your sink.
6. Rinse the sponge in a bucket of aquarium water.
7. Put all your media into the basket, then basket inside filter.
8. Put the whole thing back onto your tank.
9. Pour some aquarium water into the filter (enough to get the filter started again).
10. Put the lid back on and plug in your filter.

All of this should take less than 10min to complete. Very easy.
6.

 

[HeatherW]

thanks Terrance! I guess I was thinking that it would be heavy and akward with the extension tubes still on there and all the water in the filter. so I am not going to have to worry about spilling the water out of that filter?? I will try it and see how it goes. thanks so much for your help!

 

[Terrance]

No spilling should occur. When you unplug it, the water level should drop dramatically inside the filter. Very light when taking it off. No water inside the filter makes it lightweight when putting it back to your tank. You might drip a few drops of water in this process. You'll refine this process when you see shortcuts after doing this for a while.

 

[Hobgob]

With an aquaclear, they have been designed so you don't clean all sections at once. This is so it can preserve it's BB. If you just pull the basket out with out unplugging it, your tank water gets nasty. All the water will flow threw the sponge and all the waste will get washed into your tank.
When you unplug the filter, it syphons the water out. At least all my aquaclears do. I currently am running a 110 as well and a 30 on another tank.
I just pull out the sponge and clean rinse that part out. I barely clean the rocks that sit on top. Tbh I don't think I have even done it on my 30.
In the instructions it says to clean the motor and the impeller assembly should be cleaned every three months. This is important to keep your filter running at it's prime for many years to come... I have to do mine now lol

 

[HeatherW]

With an aquaclear, they have been designed so you don't clean all sections at once. This is so it can preserve it's BB. If you just pull the basket out with out unplugging it, your tank water gets nasty. All the water will flow threw the sponge and all the waste will get washed into your tank.
When you unplug the filter, it syphons the water out. At least all my aquaclears do. I currently am running a 110 as well and a 30 on another tank.
I just pull out the sponge and clean rinse that part out. I barely clean the rocks that sit on top. Tbh I don't think I have even done it on my 30.
In the instructions it says to clean the motor and the impeller assembly should be cleaned every three months. This is important to keep your filter running at it's prime for many years to come... I have to do mine now lol

OK, so I knew to turn it off (unplug it) before I did any cleaning.
so you just pull out the basket and rinse the sponge? I saw the part about cleaning the motor - glad you mentioned that because I was going to be back on here in about 3 months asking if people really do that or not.

will it put too much of a strain on my engine if I add another extension tube? I have a 90 gallon tank and the tube doesn't go down as far as I have seen on other filters. should I add another one? I have the two that it came with connected together already. I was thinking of adding a 3rd

 

[Hobgob]

OK, so I knew to turn it off (unplug it) before I did any cleaning.
so you just pull out the basket and rinse the sponge? I saw the part about cleaning the motor - glad you mentioned that because I was going to be back on here in about 3 months asking if people really do that or not.

will it put too much of a strain on my engine if I add another extension tube? I have a 90 gallon tank and the tube doesn't go down as far as I have seen on other filters. should I add another one? I have the two that it came with connected together already. I was thinking of adding a 3rd

Ya I just cleaned my motor and holy smokes. I have to do it more often. You can clean the whole thing at once if you want. I just do it section by section. Do you still have the carbon in it?
Also I don't think the 3rd tube will matter. The head space will still be the same as I see it. It has to do with how high the water travels from the water I believe so it should be fine.

 

[guppyboy62]

The best way I've found to clean the 110 foam filters is to lay them on a concrete sidewalk, then use a hose with a nozzle set to hard stream. I spray them on each side and both ends. Then I hold one end so that it's hanging down and wring it from the top down as tight as I can. Then I repeat. This will get all the junk out of the insides too.
Then I take the 110 filter off my aquarium and pour out the water and clean it.

 

[HeatherW]

Hmmm... I thought you didn't want to clean your foam filter with chlorinated water... Won't this kill off all your good bacteria? I was always told to gently swish with old tank water

 

[guppyboy62]

re: cleaning foam blocks

I have had reef tanks as well as freshwater tanks. The hollow ceramic cylinders are the best for bacteria. Bio balls are great too. I place the bags they are in in the aquarium when I clean the filter....then back into the clean filter. The foam blocks I use strictly for filtration. I always use Aquarium Solutions Ultimate water conditioner after setting the cleaned filter back up.
take care