AquaClear owners, wanna talk media/maintenance? [Archive]

cohazard

08-17-2005, 6:37 PM

Hey fellow AC owners. I have 2 110's, and I've asked about what your preference is for media and most people keep two sponges in their AquaClears.

A lot of people detest the biomax stuff, calling it junk, but I honestly don't see why. It's just like the bioballs in a wet/dry filter, only they're more porous which equals more surface area for nitrifying bacteria to grow on.

Currently I have 1 sponge and a bag of biomax in each of my 110's. I've been thinking about either adding another sponge to the mix, or another bag of biomax.

Which do you think would be a better combo, and be honest. I know the more experienced aquarists can be a little jaded, but try to see past the marketing ploy behind the biomax and think of it's true usefulness, before you answer.

Basically I'm asking because I want to maximize the biological efficiency of my filters. I get the feeling I'm killing a ton of good bacteria when I rinse the sponges, since I clean them under tap water.

El Barto

08-17-2005, 6:43 PM

Kasakato

08-17-2005, 6:45 PM

2 sponges with BioMax.

cohazard

08-17-2005, 7:01 PM

here's what i do. i got filter floss on the bottom , a sponge on top and the ceramic rings on top. once month i put in some carbon to remove tanins from the driftwood . this is working great for me so far.

Does your sponge become a poop brick? or does most of it get trapped by the floss?

2 sponges with BioMax.

Any reason in particular why you use that combo?

Kasakato

08-17-2005, 7:09 PM

NO real reason other than it works well. I some times toss in some floss if I have the time. The sponges take out the big things, the floss takes care of the little, and the BioMax grows my bacteria.

El Barto

08-17-2005, 7:22 PM

same here

SCU33ZE

08-17-2005, 7:29 PM

I have 2 AC minis on my 12g
One crammed with 1'' bioballs
and the other one has two sponges.
Works greeat and the bioballs dont clog in a looong time

Kasakato

08-17-2005, 7:33 PM

Here comes JA with his BioBall fiter :D

cohazard

08-17-2005, 8:59 PM

I have 2 AC minis on my 12g
One crammed with 1'' bioballs
and the other one has two sponges.
Works greeat and the bioballs dont clog in a looong time

That sounds like a good idea. I plan on buying two more large AC filters, so I could use 2 of them for heavy duty mechanical/chemical filtration, and the other two for optimal biological filtration (maximum flow through the ceramic rings, by eliminating the sponge).

I guess it's something I'll have to experiment with, but I get the feeling that ultimately, all the combos equal out when maintained properly.

-max-

08-17-2005, 10:42 PM

Raskolnikov

08-17-2005, 11:06 PM

I'm currently running 3 AC 500s, 2 AC 300s, and an AC 200. The only media that I'm using is the AquaClear sponges.

I tried the biomax for a few months, but the sponges provide plenty of surface area for the beneficial bacteria to colonize (no need for fine-pore ceramic media that clogs quickly) and have much better mechanical filtration capacity than the biomax.

YoFishboy

08-17-2005, 11:15 PM

I like the AC's because you have so many choices, depending on your needs. I generally use just the sponges, but i will add floss from time to time if stuff gets stirred up more.

blitzen25bm

08-18-2005, 1:30 AM

i used to use two sponges and the cell pore cartridge, those cartridges had so much room for bio but they dont make them any more. my tanks are heavily understocked so when i broke my cell pore i just threw it into my other tanks wet/drys sump and ive been using just the 2 sponges, seem just as good for my tanks load.

cohazard

08-18-2005, 12:45 PM

cohazard

08-18-2005, 12:49 PM

Geez, I like ACs, but the pastic is too britle. One of the sides of my 500 has a peice broke off of it so I can't really use it anymore. :( I've always put a sponge or two in it. It's just great for bio filtration and circulation.

What were you doing to your filter? I honestly don't see how they could break unless they were dropped or stepped on.

Maybe a manufacturer mistake?

Raskolnikov

08-18-2005, 3:14 PM

How do you clean your sponges once they are full of gunk? Or do you clean them before they reach that point?

I don't typically let the sponges go so far as to get unsalvagable. Every other week or so I rinse them vigorously in the changewater from my tanks, and some of the sponges are still doing fine after a year.

As another note, two of my AC500 cases are cracked (I repaired them, though). The plastic is quite brittle.

MargieMay06

08-19-2005, 5:05 PM

The first tank I had (and still have) was a 10 gallon that belonged to my dad. It had an old AquaClear 610 on it. (610 preceded the 200, which preceded the 50.) I haven't used it for a while because my dad said you couldn't get filter media for it. Now I have a Penguin bio-wheel (which I love, short of the expensive re-fill media) on the 10 gal so I don't need the 610 right now but I'm wondring if the sponges for the 50 will fit in it. It looks to me like the basket is the wrong size, but I'm not sure. Does anyone know?

kees&fish

08-19-2005, 11:10 PM

I use the default, sponge, biomax and carbon. As we have well water, this works the best for me and my levels are all in the normal range and rarely flucate even. I have not lost any fish since the first few days I put them in. I do rinse thoroughly the media about every two weeks and have replaced the carbon so far. The previous owner whom I bought both setups from only used the sponges and biomax but she kept different fish than we do as well had Lake Michigan water. Big difference in water!

Aqualung

08-20-2005, 3:01 AM

I use 2 sponges and Biomax, plus a prefilter sponge over the intake. Works great!

-max-

08-20-2005, 4:24 AM

What were you doing to your filter? I honestly don't see how they could break unless they were dropped or stepped on.

Maybe a manufacturer mistake?

Yeah, I ordered it about 5 years ago from BigAls. The first one arrived cracked and they replaced it. I think I broke it the first time when I was cleaning it and managed to seal it up with silicone. I had it on a 10 gl tank in my dorm and it worked awesome. Somehow it broke in the same area the original crack was-probably during transporting it back home. I guess I could superglue it back togeher. I really like it. That thing really moves the water. I've got an Eheim 2213 and Whisper 30 on my 29gl and those two filters together don't move much water as the AC500. I put my finger by the intakes and feel barely any suction.

And yeah for rinsing the sponges, I just ring them out in a bucket with some of the tank's water.

Madness

08-20-2005, 8:46 PM

I only use the sponge that came with my AC 500. Though it's hard to call it a sponge. It's pretty darn porous. It's more like a block of screening than a sponge. I used the carbon bag that came with it for about a month then tossed it.

I like the AquaClear because I like to keep my costs down where I can. The AquaClear is a nice plus since it doesn't have cartridges that have to be replaced. Just rinse the sponge in tank water as needed.

cyberbeer65

10-25-2005, 9:32 PM

I use the default,even spent carbon is a nice place to harbor the benifical bacteria,the carbon bags also trap debris.

patoloco

10-26-2005, 1:54 PM

I had a Cascade 1000 canister filter, and I put filter floss media in all three baskets, along with activated charcoal in the middle one. Also, I had the sponge in the very bottom ourside of the baskets, and it traped all the debris. Normally, I only had to clean the black sponge with used water from the aquarium -not tap water- to avoid killing too much bacteria and replaced the filter floss in only one basket. I did this every 2 weekends and worked great for me, in a 70gl. tank with 2 rays and some gouramis.

flyfly

10-26-2005, 5:21 PM

in one ac i run two sponges and the biomax. in two others i run one sponge and the biomax. The main reason i dont run two sponges in them is because i never think about buying them when im at the store. But one thing Ive noticed about running two sponges is it really slows down water flow, therefore you are filtering less gallons per hour. Youll know its going slower when water is draining from the overflow spots by the intake.

Trade-off? Maybe

So, socal, what did you end up doing?

Holly9937

10-27-2005, 11:52 AM

socal, why do you rinse in tap water? I use 2 sponges in mine, but I'm having a problem with the top sponge not being totally covered in water (when it flows out). I actually had algae growing on the top of it b/c I had not rinsed it out in a couple of weeks!! Still trying to figure out if I'm going to do something to fix it, if thats even possible.

Oh, and I think the plastic on them kind of sucks too!! I took the whole thing apart to clean it a while back and when I tried to put the middle intake tube back on the stupid thing cracked!! I really thought I was being careful too!!

TommyR

10-27-2005, 2:58 PM

I run 2 in my AQs (a 20 & a 30) AND have a pre-filter sponge on the intake tubes to protect the smaller fish from being sucked in. Lost one Rasbora that way a few months ago. Outflow from the filter seems fine to me.

Tom

OrionGirl

10-27-2005, 3:36 PM

The only time mine floods over the sides is when the sponges are clogged and need to be rinsed. Otherwis,e I run 2 sponges and a bag of biomax. I used to use just the sponges with not problems--one was cleaned very well or swapped out for a clean one, and the other was swished and rotated down each week.

Captain Hook

10-27-2005, 5:42 PM

To those using biomax/bioballs/etc in the ACs: do you do this on planted tanks? I just use 2 sponges, I assumed that biological filtration would take away from what's available for the plants to use.

fung88

11-01-2005, 8:39 PM

2 sponges and biomax!

billie

11-03-2005, 9:26 AM

but it's the biggest one. I have 2 of them in one tank. They are older, so the dimensions of it are different than the ones they sell today. I've never used the biomax(I can't figure out how...) The sponges in mine are way diffrent than what they have now. They are bigger and denser. The bottom of it turns into a "poop brick" so I lightly rinse it in tank water I've removed, put it back in(turning it over each time), and clean the other sponge under tap water. I switch each week which one gets the thorough cleaning. On top of the sponge I have a bag of carbon/zeolite but I don't think I need it, I want to try biomax. Tank is clean enough and I feel I need more biological-but there's no where to put it! I bought the new replacement sponges and they are so less dense that my carbon bag was getting solid waste build up!One or two days before cleaning you can smell the sponge when you stand over it. My oscars are way too messy for a thin sponge like that. Needless to say, I put the old ones back in. Compared to the other filters I've used though, this one always beats them in ease of operation, clean up, noise level, reliability, and costs! I wouldn't trade my vintage AC's for anything.

CrownMan

11-03-2005, 6:14 PM

I have 6 aquariums from 10 to 40 Gallons and have 6 ACs of various sizes. I use 1 sponge and a filter bag with small ceramic rings on each one. The oldest one I bought 22 years ago (model 610). All tanks are heavily planted, half with CO2 injected. I rinse the sponges in tap water half the time and old tank water the other half at every other weekly water change. I also use a sponge prefilter on all of my ACs input tubes and rinse them whenever they look dirty.

In one of my 10G tanks, I have my co2 diffuser directly under the intake tube and use the AC as a reactor. Works great. In the larger tanks (30 and 40), I use an Internal Duetto filter in addition to provide extra water current, backup filtration and CO2 diffusing.

Mike

turtlefish

11-22-2005, 8:06 PM

I have a question for those using filte floss. I put in a little bit of filter floss, say a small layer and the impeller/motor gets real loud. The noise gets quite irritating. Once I pull the stuff out its all fixed. I asked a hobbyest and they said AC's dont work well with fine mech. filtration. Does this happe to you? I just use the sponge, bag my own carbon, and biomax.

tbone-ike

11-22-2005, 8:47 PM

I love AquaClears!! :thm:

I have two AC 50's on my 55 gal. I run the foam (sponge), a bag of biomax rings, and filter floss on top. It's quick and easy to often swap the floss on top for a new batch to help keep the water pristine. I also use two extension tubes on one of them to get closer to the bottom and keep the other's instake at the default upper level. The two extention tube AC has a slightly lower throughput due to having to hike the water higher and longer, but it still moves more than enough water. I really like having intakes at two very different depths, exspecially in a 55 (or larger).

I haven't run any activated carbon in a while, but I'm going to remove the filter floss on one of my AquaClears and start using carbon between the foam and biomax on a regular basis, just in case there's occasionally anything harmful in the water. I've got a few AquaClear carbon bags, but I'm going to end up buying activated carbon in "bulk" and using a media bag. That's one thing I love about the AC's is the flexibility. I also keep a couple of Hagen's Amrid media bags around too in case of an ammonia emergency. :)

I thoroughly clean mine every other week/water change by rinsing in a bucket of tank water or dechlorinated tap water. I change the filter floss about once a week.

I also have an AC Mini on my 10 gal q-tank.

Turtlefish,
The AC's rattle when they aren't getting enough water (or maybe flow). It's not practical to run more than 3 types of media at a time. It should run fine with the foam, biomax OR carbon, and floss. If your trying to run foam, carbon, biomax, and floss, you may have a problem - thats alot for the water to push through. You could try removing some of the biomax rings to compensate (if this is your setup). I would start by removing the rings all together (by emptying the bag) then add a few at a time until you get as many as possible. Keep the filter floss minimal - the biomax rings are more important!

TommyR

11-23-2005, 5:20 AM

I love AquaClears!! :thm:

I have two AC 50's on my 55 gal. I run the foam (sponge), a bag of biomax rings, and filter floss on top. It's quick and easy to often swap the floss on top for a new batch to help keep the water pristine.

I like my AQs too, the ONLY thing about them that stinks is the impeller freezes up when there's a power outage. You have to kick start them to get them going again.

Tom

tbone-ike

11-23-2005, 8:36 AM

Yeah, once they're off, the water drains out from the intake and you have to prime them (by adding water into the media/intake chambers) to get them going again. As I don't experience many power outtages, I fortunately haven't had to think much about it, and haven't experienced the propeller freezing. I know your not supposed to run them dry, but it sound like you haven't had any long-term coplications due to the power outtages. I assume they are freezing up after the power comes back on and they are running dry for a period.

I keep a small plastic cup nearby, fill it from the tank, pour it into the filter, power it back up.

I do like their simply design, electromagnetics and all. There's really very little that can go wrong with them and their easy to disassemble and thoroughly clean.

turtlefish

11-23-2005, 1:16 PM

Thanks for the info! Thats funny because my AC has no problem startting up on its own after a power outage, or if i simply unplug it. If you have a good water level not all the water will drain out of the filter and that is enough to keep the filter going again once the powers in, its one thing I love about it!

tbone-ike

11-23-2005, 1:27 PM

Cool - sounds like Hagen should recruit us both for AquaClear sales people! :dance:

nikko2007

04-11-2006, 2:17 PM

I have a emperor 400 duel bio wheels and duel baskets
.....whats the best stuff to put in the baskets...

justintoxicated

04-12-2006, 5:23 PM

I use a sponge Pre-filter, 2 sponges, and bag of biomax on top (won't compleatly submerge).

This is with an AC50. It is the noisiest filter I own, but does have good flow. My Fluval 204 flows more though, allows for more media, and is much quieter, and my zoomeds canister flows less but is alot quieter as well as my whisper.

It does not matter if I have media in it or not it rattles, I tried 3 different AC50's with the same results. I don't think they areall that great but most HOB filters seem really junky and I don't like the way you put media in others...

Noisiest of:

Zoomeds Turtle Canister Filter.
Fluval 204
Whisper 10i
And biowheel filter in eclipse 3 gallon tank (especialy with the lid closed)

turtlefish

04-12-2006, 5:46 PM

THe AC's will start rattling if you put too much media in them or the media is clogged. Normally running mine are quite silent, just a quiet hum of the motor.

justintoxicated

04-12-2006, 6:03 PM

THe AC's will start rattling if you put too much media in them or the media is clogged. Normally running mine are quite silent, just a quiet hum of the motor.

Well when I pull out all of the media the noise is still there, and this was the same for all 3 of the ones I purchased...

Perhaps they are making them cheaper these days. These 3 were also purchased from 2 different petsmarts...

The are not the quietest filters by a long shot.

cyberbeer65

04-12-2006, 6:05 PM

I recently switched to 1 sponge then a layer of polyester quilt batting then the sack of biomax on top of that.Now my water is nice and polished all the time.

tomdkat

04-12-2006, 8:05 PM

Great thread! :)

Peace...

turtlefish

04-12-2006, 8:30 PM

Iv struggled with the filter floss. I currently have about an inch-two inch layer in there that gets really dirty every week. as long as i maintain it once a week (just the floss) its fine.

kooter

04-14-2006, 8:28 PM

TommyR

04-14-2006, 9:25 PM

so if carbon isn't used by very many people, why does the Aquaclears come with it? What is the REAL benefit of carbon?
1.) What is the advantage of carbon
2.) What is the disadvantage of carbon.

thanks in advance........

1- It removes meds and bad odors. If you have bad odors you have biggers problems.

2-It does nothing else but number 1.

Tom

turtlefish

04-14-2006, 9:34 PM

Depends on your tank. Carbon removes tannins and phenols, which cause yellowish water and smelly water. If your bio load is heavy and your water smells bad carbon might benefit. If you have driftwood or something that is discoloring your water carbon would help. Carbon removes dissolved organic compounds (tannins+phenols) and helps the biological filter perform better. Basically, it gives your water a "polished" look. Personal preference. When I do use it I bag my own in a media bag. I buy a huge box of marineland black diamond and it costs 15 bukcs online, lasts for almost a year!

new2tanks

04-16-2006, 6:02 PM

joephys

04-16-2006, 6:14 PM

while we are on the subject: I have a newbie question never having owned an AC filter or any filter as i am a complete beginner...
What does the AC filter come with? in terms of media?
should i be purchasing the inserts,etc seperately?

thanks.
They don't come with everything I need, since I prefer two sponges instead of the carbon, but they come with 1 sponge, 1 bag of carbon, the bio-max stuff.

TommyR

04-16-2006, 6:53 PM

while we are on the subject: I have a newbie question never having owned an AC filter or any filter as i am a complete beginner...
What does the AC filter come with? in terms of media?
should i be purchasing the inserts,etc seperately?

thanks.

It comes with a sponge,carbon and Biomax inserts. Get an extra sponge (get the right size for your model) and run just the 2 sponges. Rinse the sponges out in removed tank water, NOT under the tap! Tap water will kill any beneficial bacteria if it contains chlorine or chlorimines. I just got word that MY water company is switching to Chlorimines this year sometime.

Tom

turtlefish

04-16-2006, 6:59 PM

Currently Im running one sponge, one biomax, thin layer of floss, and a AC70 biomax bag in my AC110, depends on what you want. If you want two sponges then purchase an extra. I like biomax cause its small and offers large amounts of space for bacteria, easy to swish and clean.

new2tanks

04-16-2006, 7:59 PM

Thankyou TommyR and Joephys for your expert opinions.

Is this what you mean by sponge:

http://www.bigalsonline.ca/catalog/product.xml?product_id=24141;category_id=1721;pcid 1=2885;pcid2=

Thanks.

joephys

04-16-2006, 8:40 PM

Yup, that is what we mean by sponge. Thanks for the vote of confidence, but I am no expert, I have only been at this about 8 months.

fishieperson321

04-18-2006, 5:13 PM

I have thought about buying an aquaclear from petsmart this weekend, but I ahve already tried it once, but the electricity went out causing it to backsiphon which caused it to overheat when the electricity came back on. I have a 10 gallon tank with 2 2inch fantail goldfish in it. I thought I should get the model 20, but wasn't for sure. I know my tank is small for the fish I have, but I will give them away when they get a little bigger. Can someone send me pics of the filter from the back side? Is the impeller cover extended all of the way to the top of the sponge on the media basket?

rahimsach

02-10-2007, 1:46 AM

I see that lots of people use two sponge and ceramic rings. In what sequence do you put these. Right now I have one sponge and a bag of ceramic ring and I was planning on buying another sponge but wasn't sure if I should put it below the ceramic rings or above.

cohazard

02-10-2007, 2:21 AM

Well, with two of the standard AC sponges, there isn't much room at all above them for ceramic rings, so I think most people run just the two sponges (my fault, I should've edited the question better).

However, in the area where the input tube connects to the filter, theres a small area of space around the tube where water goes, so you can buy a bag of any small ceramic media (the AC stuff too chunky for this purpose), and let it sit in there. Keep up with reg. maint, and that would provide extra bio filtration albeit a small increase.

mooman

02-12-2007, 2:30 PM

cohazard

02-12-2007, 2:49 PM

Everybody should keep in mind that bio-filter refers specifically to the conversion of ammonia to nitrite and then to nitrate. If you are showing no ammonia or nitrite then your biofilter is functioning properly. There really is no such thing as "extra" bio filtration. You either have enough surface area covered with bacteria or you dont. I personally have never found a situation where sponges did not provide enough surface area for my tanks.

Extra by deffinition means more than required. If sponges are all that's required for establishing an adequate bio filter, then any additional media added for the bio filter to use, is extra.