AC500 killing my fish left and right!

[rdelbalso]

I just started a 55 gal tank with an ac500 filter and have had some significant problems with it killing my fish. At first I thought my fish were jumping out of the tank, then I saw a white cloud in the filter box and a pearl danio stuck in the intake. I realized they were too small for the filter so I returned them and bought giant danios instead thinking they would be big enough to avoid the perils of the filter. I turned on the light this morning to be horrified that one of my giant danios had been killed by being sucked to the filter intake. Is this normal with an AC500 or is something seriously wrong? How can I stop this from happening? I was planning on moving my angels to this tank after cycling and now I am not going to risk it, but then what can I do with this tank?
Please help!!

p.s. sorry to post this here and the general freshwater. I posted it there first and then realized it should be here and can't delete it from there.

[rdelbalso]

To add to the above post. I have also been having problems with the impeller vibrating. It almost seems like it has excessive flow. I turned it to the low setting and it still seems excessive. I am worried it is also going to hinder my plants. I definitely can't plant any where near the outflow of the filter because the plants get thrashed around. What is wrong with my filter?

[auxout]

Mine sucked in my fish also, I fixed it by borrowing a filter basket attachment for the intake from an eclipse system. I had to use some adapters but now none of the fishies get sucked in.

[Hebdizzle]

you can put a sponge filter over the intake of the ac500, this will slow down the current being taken in, and also give them a chance to stay out if they are being sucked in.

[rdelbalso]

Yeah, I actually put a sponge filter on the intake a while ago now and it has worked well. I just have to make sure I clean it off every once-in-a-while or it slows the flow.

[thom336]

glad to hear you got the problem sorted...i was a little confused to see this thread appear again! lol.