Aquaclear Power Filters Question

qquake2k

qquake2k

AC Members
May 3, 2006
121
1
16
Northern California
Hi All,

I see that a lot of people here prefer the Aquaclear power filters. I've been poking around the forum for over an hour now, but I can't find any specific reasons that they're so popular. Can you tell me exactly why you prefer the Aquaclear over other power filters? I currently have an Emperor 280 on my 46g bowfront, but I'm afraid it's under-filtered, and would like to upgrade. I've looked at the Emperor 400, Penguin 350, and a couple of others. Any opinions on why the Aquaclear is better than the Emperor or Penguin?

Also, I've seen a lot of references on the forum regarding filter vs. tank size. It seems like a lot of people here recommend larger filters than what the manufacturers recommend. Any reasons for that? Is it possible to over filter a tank?

My tank isn't planted, and has just a few fish in it right now. I would like to add some more fish. Any thoughts on how long I should wait after replacing the filter? I know it will take the filter some time to build up bacteria, but isn't there also beneficial bacteria in the tank itself? (On the plastic plants, in the gravel, on the rocks, etc.)

I know I've asked a lot of questions, and I appreciate all your patience and expertise.

Jim Lane
Northern Califonia
 
I like aquaclear filters because they have good versatility of media, either by using theirs (sponges, ceramic rings, carbon) or by making your own (I use pot scrubbers and polyfill). This makes it easy to seed new tanks by robbing media that will fit alot of other filters. They also have an adjustable flow. I don't think you can over filter, just provide too much current. In my opinion, the more filtration the better. I also like AC filters because they are quieter in my experience than alot of hte filters with biowheels.
Iwould run a new filter in conjunction with the old for at least two weeks. Why not leave your old filter on? I run two filters on lots of tanks, I like the redundancy and it also makes it easier when you need to do filter maintenance (less chance of a stress on your biofilter if they have alternate cleanings). There is beneficial bacteria on every surface of the tank as well.
 
A Couple More Aquaclear Questions

I'm sorry, I know I'm being a pain, but I have a couple more questions. I see in the Aquaclear manual (online) that they recommend you replace the bio-bag every three months. Isn't that defeating the purpose of the biological filtration? In my Emperor, they recommend that you never replace the Biowheel.

Also, what exactly is wet/dry biological filtration? I've seen the reference on a couple of filters (such as the Penn-Plax Cascade). I'm assuming the Biowheel is also wet/dry. I'm also assuming that the Aquaclear is only wet. Is that correct? Is wet/dry any better or worse than wet?

Again, thank you all for your patience and for taking the time to reply.

Jim Lane
 
Aquaclears' advantage over other power filters is that the media is easier to customize, and that it doesn't use any cartridges that needs to be replaced. I've found them quite noisy, though I seem to be the only one who experiences this.

The Biomax doesn't need to be replaced. I'm sure they say it just because they want your money.

Wet/dry filtration is where the water/media is exposed to and mixes with air. This gives the bacteria more oxygen to use. Cascade and and Penguin power filters both incorporate a wet/dry system.
 
I mainly use Penguin filters, but the AC 50 i have is very quite and as posted is adaptable for different media, the bio bag is original, about 2 years old, and still in use, i just had to replace the sponge recently, the carbon, which i prefer to use, is replaced about every 2 weeks. i use a refillable sleeve to cut down on the expence.......:idea:
 
I have an AC110 and AC70 (in my collection of filters). I like them for versatility as well. Also if anything goes wrong, there is a repair part for every single piece of it. I currently have an AC500 (pre 110) that is so old the plastic has turned brown and yet it still works!
 
I use an AC 30 (for about 2 days now) and a Penguin 150...and here are my thoughts:

AC 30's main Pros are the versatility of media and the adjustable flow. The Cons for me so far have been 1) I got an air bubble stuck going between the U tube and the impeller that the impeller can't seem to push out of the system, making a bit of noise. 2) I can't seem to get the water level high enough to prevent the waterfall from actually falling into the tank (My Penguin I can make it just push the surface of the water instead of falling in the tank). and 3) There's only 1 "level" of intake...you can't have the intake split between multiple levels of the water column.

The Penguin 150 is almost completely silent in comparison (as long as the water level is high enough to prevent the waterfall effect). The media choice is much more limited (gotta use their cartridges or modify their cartridge, which is limited), however, the intake can pull from multiple (2) different levels in the water column at the same time...a feature I personally like. The Bio-wheel creaks sometimes, but I don't notice it when I try to sleep 1-2 meters away...the ceiling fan is louder (unlike my AC 30).

I've run Penguin filters for awhile...and I've found them always to be silent. If I could get the air bubble removed (to fix the sound problem) and the water-falling into the tank, I'd probably like the AC a lot more. (*hint hint* any suggestions?)
 
i guess im sort of an oddball when i say i prefer the emperor filters over the aquaclears. if you take that media tray that comes with the emperor and put a bunch of bio media in there with a sponge filter on the intake, you got yourself one bad boy cleaning your tank. the aquaclears are good filters though, don't get me wrong, but i prefer my emperor.
if i were you quake and wanted to upgrade the filtration, buy an aquaclear off ebay or drfosters (if you do buy one off dr fosters, copy and pastew the cd-##### they have to the left of the item title and put YL instead of CD in there- you can significantly reduce the price).
this way, you get the best of both worlds.
 
vampie said:
I've found them quite noisy, though I seem to be the only one who experiences this.
Click to expand...

I've experienced that with the AC20 on my 10g tank. The lid would make a vibrating buzz that was annoying, so now I run it topless. (The filter, not me. :lipssealedsmilie: :silly:) Much quieter. A lot of people have mentioned that a misseated impeller can be a problem, but mine seems to be just fine. Also, I've noticed variations in noise level depending on the filter media used and how it's seated. Playing with it a bit seems to fix this.

Overall, though, I think it's a great filter, though the current, except at it's lowest, is perhaps a bit strong for a 10g.
 
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