# Aquaclear 70 issue



## dvantuyl (Apr 26, 2012)

Hey guys......purchased an Aquaclear 70 about 2 weeks ago and it was fine for a week or so and now i noticed some water running out around the pick up tube instead of all of it going through the media. I assumed dirty media so i took the foam block out and cleaned it (which it wasnt very dirty) and did a quick cold rinse on the carbon. Still does the same thing. Anyone else ran into this? Its not a huge deal except for the fact that i bought an Aquaclear 70 but its only filtering like a 50 since not all the water is running through the filter!


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## claygriffith01 (Apr 24, 2012)

I have a smaller aquaclear and have a little bit of water coming out of the space around the intake tube as well. It has never caused any issues for me, and I noticed it started when I added finer filter media to the basket. No harm no foul IMO. If it really bothers you, turning the volume control down a tiny bit will stop it.


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## navigator black (Jan 3, 2012)

It's a standard aquaclear flaw, but usually does signal a clogged up media. I use a sponge over bio media in mine, and it doesn't take a lot of gunk in the sponge to start the backflow. The filters are still very efficient though - my far and away favourites of the three brands I use.


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## FishFlow (Sep 13, 2011)

Flaw? Funny, always thought it was an engineered safety measure. 

Also, bunch of glass halve empty up in here. Your Brand New pump is pumping at a AQ 110 level, and as such, all that extra water has to flow out the bypass! (Glass 1/2 full right there!)

Pull the media, pull the bucket. Turn it on. Water should only come out the filter(less) side. If it's still coming out the overflow safety thingy, check that you have it on the tank correctly. It does need to be somewhat level, to tilted into the tank a tad.

Check that all packing materal was removed ? 

My AQ70 will physically lift up the media basket before it spills out the engineered safety overflow spout.


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## BBradbury (Apr 22, 2011)

*Re: AquaClear 70 Issue*

Hello d...

Had the same issue with the AC 50s and 70s. It's the bag media that causes the problem. The filter gets clogged with plant and fish material and there's no place for the incoming water to go and it comes into the filter too fast.

I did two things to stop the problem. I starting cleaning the filter a little more often and substituted the bagged media for polyfiber pads. They're much thinner, so they don't take up much space in the filter.

Also, if you do larger and more frequent water changes, then you can leave out the chemical medium (carbon).

B


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

It has nothing to do with being clogged. On full flow it will almost do it with all the media removed. I've owned from AC30 to AC110 and they all did it. Reduce the flow and it may go away.


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## dvantuyl (Apr 26, 2012)

I appreciate everyones mixed responses! Whats the point of turning down the flow to make sure all the water goes through the media.....basically that is flowing less gph then what its capable of therefore not filtering as much. So basically if i want to use an aquaclear filter for a 70 gal tank i would need to buy one for a 110 gal tank and turn the flow down. Hmmmm....sounds like a pretty crappie design to me IMO.


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## Tiari (Apr 25, 2012)

I've found this only happens for two reasons.

A: the media is crammed in tight (even their media that comes with it)
B: Filter not tilted correctly slightly into the tank.

If the media is too snug in the filter sitting, it blocks up flow, which then runs out over the intake tube. Sometimes its snug fit will not allow the case that holds it to snap down into place as well causing the problem.


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## FishFlow (Sep 13, 2011)

Tiari said:


> I've found this only happens for two reasons.
> 
> 
> B: Filter not tilted correctly slightly into the tank.
> ...


x2

My aq70, is on max flow. is filled to the top with sponges, bags of media, on both sides. And I'm not experiencing any issues mentioned by other members.


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## dvantuyl (Apr 26, 2012)

Yeah so i just put a new bag of carbon in the filter (i used a new sock and put a little less carbon then whats in the factory bag) and STILL had to turn the flow down to keep it all contained. The filter house is sitting level to the tank. Its got to be some wierd flow issue because like i said earlier....the first week it was fine!


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## navigator black (Jan 3, 2012)

What's really fun is that if the media really clogs, the sponge gets driven up, and the filter begins to flow onto the floor. You have to neglect the device for that to happen, but it is a mess.
It may be an engineered design, and it makes sense, but it takes so little for water to flow back into the tank unfiltered that you have to question the quality of the engineers' problem solving. The first aquaclear I owned was reliable, never backflowed and amazingly, ran without problems for 17 years. The current model probably costs a few cents less to manufacture with the easy and annoying flow back design. That said, they remain brilliant little filters, the best of the HOB type. Nothing's perfect and they have their flaws, but they are excellent filters.


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## BBradbury (Apr 22, 2011)

Tiari said:


> I've found this only happens for two reasons.
> 
> A: the media is crammed in tight (even their media that comes with it)
> B: Filter not tilted correctly slightly into the tank.
> ...


Hello T...

I think your explanation is accurate. The filter works fine, it's the bagged media that's too tightly packed and doesn't allow for proper water flow. The polyfiber pads work much better. I haven't had the flow problem since I started using it and tending to the media a little more often.

Thanks T!

B


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## BBradbury (Apr 22, 2011)

dvantuyl said:


> I appreciate everyones mixed responses! Whats the point of turning down the flow to make sure all the water goes through the media.....basically that is flowing less gph then what its capable of therefore not filtering as much. So basically if i want to use an aquaclear filter for a 70 gal tank i would need to buy one for a 110 gal tank and turn the flow down. Hmmmm....sounds like a pretty crappie design to me IMO.


Hello again d...

Do large, frequent water changes and remove the carbon bag. A good water change routine will take the place of the chemical medium. You should then have room and be able to increase the flow of the AC 70 to the maximum and save the cost of the larger filter.

If you commit to an aggressive water change routine and replace half the tank water every week or so, you don't need to over filter your tank. The filter is simply filtering water that's already clean. Good filtration is needed, but the system is just taking in very toxic water and replacing it with water that's a little less toxic. The dirty water must be removed weekly and replaced with pure, treated tap water in order to guarantee stable water conditions.

Just a thought.

B


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

If you have a 70g tank, IMO an AC70 is not enough filtration. Your water change schedule should not dictate the amount of filtration you should have. I would suggest at least double the filtration, so for a 70g tank at least 140g of filtration or 4-5 times of water turnover in a hour.

If you want to get an extra filter I would suggest that you do. HOB filters have very limited space to hold media. This media is what keeps your tank safe from ammonia spikes or most other things that could happen for one reason or other. You can do 90% water changes weekly, but if on day two of your 7-day schedule you decide to put in too many fish at once or now all of a sudden your tap has ammonia in it, etc.., water change amount or frequency will be irrelevent. It will be the extra media from the extra filter that helps you through it the most. I agree with heavy water changes, but never consider filter choice based off of whatever schedule I have. They are two separate and distinct items.


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## Tiari (Apr 25, 2012)

FishFlow said:


> x2
> 
> My aq70, is on max flow. is filled to the top with sponges, bags of media, on both sides. And I'm not experiencing any issues mentioned by other members.


In your instance seeing the filter it isn't "crammed". The two side finger holes to pull it out, its not crammed up against those. Sometimes with the media they give you, I swear some bags are filled more than others and you can barely fit the three items, sponge, carbon and bio beads in and its jammed against the top piece, almost coming over the top of those two tabs. When that happens that's when I see that overflow issue.


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## BBradbury (Apr 22, 2011)

*Re: AquaClear 70 Issue*

Hello Shipmate...

I agree with your post to a point. If you follow a sound water change routine and have filtration roughly 6 times the volume of your tank in place, additional filtration is really unnecessary. By flushing large amounts of pure, treated tap water through the tank weekly, there's no time for pollutants to build up in the tank before the next large change. 

The companies that make filter systems rely on the fact that most tank keepers are unwilling or for some other reason are unable to commit to large, frequent water changes. Those individuals must depend on a lot of filtration to keep the tank water a least somewhat pure.

I'd wager, if one was willing to commit to large water changes two to three times a week, no mechanical filtration would be needed at all. But again, I know only one tank keeper in 10,000 would be able to commit to such a routine.

B


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## dvantuyl (Apr 26, 2012)

I was using those numbers as an example....i have a 46 gal with the AQ70 and an Ehiem 3032.


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## BBradbury (Apr 22, 2011)

*Re: Aquaclear 70 Issue*



dvantuyl said:


> I was using those numbers as an example....i have a 46 gal with the AQ70 and an Ehiem 3032.


Hello again d...

That seems like the issue I was getting at in an earlier post. I too have a 46 G. Mine is a tall, 24 inches tall and I use two Hagen AquaClear 30s. If you follow the filtration recommendation of filtering 6 times the volume of the tank, you'll need to move about 275 gallons per hour of water to filter your tank sufficiently. The AC 70 filters 300 gallons of water per hour, so that filter alone is enough.

Just a thought from a water keeper on a tight budget.

B


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