Questions/Concerns Regarding my AquaClear 110's "Flow Control" Valve...

[Kaskade10729]

Hello, Friends!

First-time poster and new member here; hope to make some new friends along the way! My first post/question here revolves around the AquaClear 110 HOB filter and its so-called "flow return control valve" that the AquaClears have...

First, let me explain my setup: I'm running a 60 gallon Marineland "Heartland" tank which houses three fancy goldfish and which is filtered by an Aqueon QuietFlow 55 (good for around 325 gallons per hour, rated) and, on the other side, an AquaClear 110 (good for around 500 gallons per hour, rated). Here's the question I have: When playing with the "flow control" knob atop the 110, it doesn't seem to make any difference in terms of how much water is returning to the tank -- I am concerned with changing the flow only because my goldfish don't seem to care for the heavy current this thing puts out (the Aqueon spits out a ton of water too, but its flow can be better "controlled" based on the level of the water in the tank) but in attempting to lower it, I noticed that there's not much difference between "max" output (the "+" position of the flow lever) and "minimum" output (the "-" position of the lever). Now, depending on who you talk to, some AquaClear owners claim there is a MASSIVE difference between low and high settings on these filters, while others agree with me and say not much is actually "reduced" when you move the lever over to "-"...

Then, there's the flow rate issue -- from what I understand (though this is hazy too) the design of the AquaClears are so that if you run the filter at lowest output, there is more contact time with the media in the basket and the water coming in is continuously re-filtered over and over, thus leading to more polished return water. But I'm concerned that by lowering the flow to minimum/low, those flow rate numbers are going to get reduced from 500GPH to whatever it would drop to, and I need good filtration for my goldies...

Can anyone shed some light on any of these questions/issues for me? Is it normal for me not to be experiencing any visible water return flow difference when switching from max to min on the 110 model? It DOES reduce a BIT -- but it definitely doesn't become a "trickle" like many people told me it should. Further, if I keep it on the minimum amount of flow, will this "decrease" the filtering ability in my tank? Where should I be leaving this lever set to then?

Thank you, in advance...

 

[ktrom13]

Now that you say that, ive noticed with my aquaclear30 it reduces to about a trickle and my aquaclear70 does actually trickle but i think it greatly reduces. Good question maybe some more veteran hobbyist could give some good insight on the topic. Oh and Welcome to AC!

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[Glabe]

I'm glad this got brought up! I've been planning on modding my AC 70 to be able to have a more adjustable flow, partly because the low flow doesn't seem very low, but MOSTLY because I hate having to prime it after a WC, and it's a pain trying to unseat/reseat the tube to break the siphon. The mod is just a hose and valve that allows recycling through the filter, but it also allows you to break the siphon to eliminate a step of the WC process.


Rough drawing, I know the intake of the 1/2" tube should be higher than in the drawing. Open the vale, and the water recycles and slows flow. the more you open the valve, the stronger the flow. For big water changes that would normally drain it, just unplug the filter and open the valve. The hose should allow air to break the siphon so the filter stays full. when your tank is filled and ready to go, just close the valve and plug the filter in without priming.

I haven't tried this out yet... but hopefully it will work. If it succeeds, it's getting named after me :thm: unless it's already been invented which would make me sad

 

[authmal]

If you're concerned about the amount of current/strength of flow, you can also apply (zip tie would probably be easiest) an AC 70 or 110 filter sponge to your output to diffuse it. Other than that, you could consider switching the Aqueon (since it's the smaller and less effective of the two) filter for a canister filter of some sort, and then you have more control over how strong the current is on the return, but it won't be as easy to switch it up if you want to increase/decrease the strength of current on a regular basis.

On my AC 70, 20 and C2, there is a significant difference going between the + and - settings. Make sure your sponge media is clean and that your tube is well seated and that the plate over the impeller is level. It's possible you may need to lubricate your impeller shaft, but that doesn't really seem like the source of your difficulty. I wouldn't say any of those filters ever goes down to a trickle, but it's probably a 40% or so difference.

Glabe, I don't understand. You actively move the tube to break siphon when doing a water change? Why? I never do. I do, however, unplug my AC 70, and fill a 6 ounce cup (kid sized cup from kids meals at restaurants) up with new water while draining the water via my canister filter. I turn that off, disconnect the hose from the spray bar, plug the opening with my finger, hook it over the lip of my draining bucket, and let it drain while I do other stuff. Plug up the opening and hang it back on the tank when I go to empty the bucket, and repeat 2-4 times, usually 3 so I get about a 40% change. It gets very slow if I go for a fifth bucket. When the water level is refilled high enough, I'll reconnect the return to the spray bar, and plug in the canister. When it's high enough again, I'll pour the cup into the AC 70, and plug it back in. At that point, it usually primes itself the rest of the way (I'll use the cup for more water if I'm in a hurry, or if it seems to stall), and I don't have to reprime my canister.

 

[Kaskade10729]

Now that you say that, ive noticed with my aquaclear30 it reduces to about a trickle and my aquaclear70 does actually trickle but i think it greatly reduces. Good question maybe some more veteran hobbyist could give some good insight on the topic. Oh and Welcome to AC!

Sent from my SGH-T989 using MonsterAquariaNetwork App

Thank you very much, trom!

 

[Kaskade10729]

If you're concerned about the amount of current/strength of flow, you can also apply (zip tie would probably be easiest) an AC 70 or 110 filter sponge to your output to diffuse it. Other than that, you could consider switching the Aqueon (since it's the smaller and less effective of the two) filter for a canister filter of some sort, and then you have more control over how strong the current is on the return, but it won't be as easy to switch it up if you want to increase/decrease the strength of current on a regular basis.

Hello, auth, and thanks for the reply...I would rather not switch out the Aqueon as I happen to like its simplicity and the strength of ripple it creates across the surface...it has been actually working quite well for me, and I like Aqueon's products. I had a QuietFlow 20 on a 10 gallon that worked very well in keeping the water clear for four goldfish in an emergency crisis (of which I also performed daily 50% water changes on, but that's a story for another time)...

In a nutshell, I'd like to stay away from the canisters and stick with HOBs if I could...

On my AC 70, 20 and C2, there is a significant difference going between the + and - settings. Make sure your sponge media is clean and that your tube is well seated and that the plate over the impeller is level. It's possible you may need to lubricate your impeller shaft, but that doesn't really seem like the source of your difficulty. I wouldn't say any of those filters ever goes down to a trickle, but it's probably a 40% or so difference.

Interesting, and concerning at the same time; indeed, my sponge media is very clean and the tube is seated along with the impeller plate. Some AquaClear owners I have spoken with have reported their filters going down to almost a trickle, which I too thought was suspicious, but I was merely stated it to get some feedback...the flow from this filter is just too strong for my fancy goldies...

At any rate, if I keep the flow set to the "-" side, will this reduce filtration efficiency, or do I not need to worry about this? I couldn't even get a straight answer from Hagen on this one...:uhoh:

 

[Kaskade10729]

Hello Again Everyone,

Just wanted to update this thread a bit because I'm still experiencing the "no difference between max and min flow" phenomenon with my 110 -- we recently went away on a vacation and before we left, I made sure to do a 60% water change and a thorough "cleaning" of the media and media chambers in both my HOBs (of course, the media pieces were "dunked" and "rinsed" in removed tank water during the water change). The sponge block in the AquaClear rinsed fine and clean; now that we're home (the fish did just fine for the five or so days we were gone, fed with Wardley Goldfish Vacation Food blocks) I am keeping up with the tank's maintenance once again, and just this morning I did the routine 50% change, again taking out the carbon cartridge media from the Aqueon and the sponge, Purigen and BioMax from the AquaClear and dunking/rinsing all pieces in removed tank water. The sponge in the 110 remains clean and nearly new, so I don't know why my 110 filter is behaving the way it does when I slide the flow control from "+" to "-" or vice-versa; at any rate, I have decided to leave the filter at full max flow unless it's feeding time, when I have decided to put the flow to minimum setting, based on some tips I read online...

Can anyone give me some good insight here with regard to where the flow control on these filters SHOULD be set? Should I just leave it set to the MIDDLE position being that I can't make my mind up?

 

[ktrom13]

I change mine up often too. But when i change mine its a little different than yours. You said during feeding you reduce the flow and i do the opposite. I have both my HOBs ( AC70 and C4) set on the side of my 40B as to create a bit of a "river effect" the fish i have dont mind the current because they come from rivers where the water can flow quite fast depending on the season. I just set it on max so the floating pellets get pushed along the current amd go next to the fish so they can just grab them as the pellets come by. I dont think there is any recommended setting but you should have it where your fish are comfortable and not having difficulties swimming.

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[Kaskade10729]

I change mine up often too. But when i change mine its a little different than yours. You said during feeding you reduce the flow and i do the opposite. I have both my HOBs ( AC70 and C4) set on the side of my 40B as to create a bit of a "river effect" the fish i have dont mind the current because they come from rivers where the water can flow quite fast depending on the season. I just set it on max so the floating pellets get pushed along the current amd go next to the fish so they can just grab them as the pellets come by. I dont think there is any recommended setting but you should have it where your fish are comfortable and not having difficulties swimming.

Sent from my SGH-T989 using MonsterAquariaNetwork App

Hey 'trom!

Thanks so much for the prompt reply; are you a Patriots fan? I'm a diehard OLD SCHOOL Pats fan...when "Pat the Patriot" was on the helmet...

Anyway, I see what you're saying about there being "no recommended setting" for these filters; I am assuming you keep some sort of Chichlids based on your explanation of fish that prefer a stronger current? Goldfish, especially the fancy varieties like I keep, prefer stiller, calmer waters so I'm thinking that maybe the 110 model was overboard for my 60 gallon...the thing is, I noticed that when I keep the flow reduced to "minimum" the bubbles being sucked into the intake of this filter from the bubble bar beneath it (bad setup, I know; I'm working on doing something about it) makes the noise even GREATER (that "box of rocks" noise from the air being sucked into the 110) as compared to keeping the flow on MAXIMUM, when the noise is actually REDUCED as weird as that sounds...

 

[Observer54]

The Aquaclears allow adjusting the flow by changing the position of the inlet tube over the impeller...minimum flow means maximum re-filtration as filtered water replaces inlet tube water. I can't explain why you wouldn't see a 50% difference in flow between the two extremes.