# filter recomendations.



## tropicoolfish (Oct 18, 2012)

Hi everyone . my aquarium came with a filter but i think its not doing a good job .
i currentlly have the penguin 150 with bio wheel. problem is it keeps backing up and watet falls down the small overflow spout . i check the filter media and its not that dirty . maby a design flaw?? I have used biowheel filters in the past but they had a controll knob to turn down the flow of water . any sujestions? i just feel I'm doing more work to the filter then its cleaning the tank.
I have 20 gal tank. to small if you ask me .:fish5:


----------



## gar1948 (Jan 25, 2012)

If you want a hang on back filter than I would favor aquaclear 50. It's quiet, plenty of room for additional media and the sponge is reusable for a very long time. I have used these for 15 years in many sizes and keeps my tanks crystal clear.


----------



## Gizmo (Dec 6, 2010)

gar1948 said:


> If you want a hang on back filter than I would favor aquaclear 50. It's quiet, plenty of room for additional media and the sponge is reusable for a very long time. I have used these for 15 years in many sizes and keeps my tanks crystal clear.


+1

I have an AC50 on my ten gallon  Overkill, I know, but with the right amount of stuff in there and the flow limiter on, it's not too bad.

It can be noisy compared to, say, a canister filter, but it's affordable and very versatile. It's got a flow limiter option, large media storage capability and ease of being able to fabricate your own media inserts, and it's easily cleanable. Only downside aside from the noise is that when you turn it back on it needs to be primed or the impeller will cavitate and won't pump water. To prime, just fill the filter housing before you turn it back on. Easy breezy


----------



## goldie (Aug 4, 2012)

Me love Aquaclear too & they keep my water A1


----------



## tropicoolfish (Oct 18, 2012)

Thank you much . ide hate to say it i guess the filter has gone thru its bio cycle becauss my water is almost drinking water clear. and all the amonia is gone .so I'm recon its doing what its suposed to . but i still may upgrade . don't wanna make any sudden changes . gotta just let the aquarium work itself. out. mini eco systen.


----------



## tropicoolfish (Oct 18, 2012)

:fish5:


----------



## goldie (Aug 4, 2012)

Ah i didn't know your tank was cycling with the filter you have right now. I agree i wouldn't change filters for quite some while yet.


----------



## Gizmo (Dec 6, 2010)

You can still upgrade, and just put the used media from your old filter into your new one...


----------



## FishFlow (Sep 13, 2011)

x2 on ac50. Got one on a 15. No noise.


----------



## majerah1 (Oct 29, 2010)

As guy said you can upgrade the filter. Just move the media to the new one. Thats essentially the only part of the filter that is hosting your bacteria colony. That and the substrate.


----------



## dregan29 (Oct 3, 2012)

I recently got a Fluval C2, it has a lot of the same features as the Aquaclear and about the same cost. The C2 is good for up to 30gal, if you plan on using the filter on a larger tank down the road I would get the C3 it's only a couple dollars more. I was actually looking at the Aquaclear but decided on this one for no real reason other than to try it out


----------



## tropicoolfish (Oct 18, 2012)

Just did a water change so the fish are hideing . my tank thusfar . i have come to the conclusion that I'm going to have to spend the money on a new filter that doesent get backedup so easy.


----------



## Gizmo (Dec 6, 2010)

tropicoolfish said:


> i have come to the conclusion that I'm going to have to spend the money on a new filter that doesent get backedup so easy.


Unfortunately, the vast majority of HOB (hang on back) power filters get clogged up pretty quickly. I've just gotten in the habit of wringing out all the filter sponges in old tank water during my weekly partial water changes. Only type of filter, in my experience, that hasn't clogged easily are canister filters. They're quite expensive though.


----------



## tropicoolfish (Oct 18, 2012)

Petco sells the aqua clear filters . I read up on them . Nothing but gteat reviews all across the board. My filter had the same issue with other owners. Going with aqua clear . Gonna buy one next week . Just worried as my tank is going thru a heavy cycle. Nitrites verry high. Doing manny water changes.


----------



## tropicoolfish (Oct 18, 2012)

:fish5: Just bought a aqua clear 30 filter but again with most hob filters spotted a design flaw that was easylly moded. Ok the filter media is located on the bottem water is sucked into intake routed under filter houseing shot up thru sponge carbon and biomax material. Wich is nice but heres where i see design flaw. This would be a perfect filter system except the intake houseing isnt isolated from the spout. Water actually freely flows atop of all the media makeing the system useless as far as mechanical filteration goes. I easlly fixed that problem by cutting a small pice of filter media to fit where the water overflows from the intake houseing. If only i could produce a filter for you guys. Heres a picture so you can see what i did.:fish5:


----------



## tropicoolfish (Oct 18, 2012)

Also to note the aqua clear is a tad noisy becauss of the lid but nothing that is noticeable unless the room is absolutely silent.


----------



## Gizmo (Dec 6, 2010)

That's actually a recirculation chamber. Notice that the impeller is housed in that left-most (in the photo) chamber, but is under a grey plastic plate. The plate has a slot for the inlet tube to fit into; when the tube is all the way to the left the impeller pulls directly from the tube (the tube covers the hole through the grey plastic plate) and flings the water out to the sides, from which it is directed down to the bottom of the media basket.

The recirc function works when the inlet tube is slid to the right and the hole is partially exposed to the upper part of that chamber (the recirculation area). Water is then pulled BOTH from the partially open inlet tube, and BACK from the outlet of the filter into the recirculation chamber. This translates into lower output from the filter, without putting excess strain on the motor by partially blocking it's suction inlet.

The foam won't hurt anything by being in there, but it's not necessary IMO.

You can also get around that noise by rubber banding some plastic wrap to the top instead of using the lid.

Hope that helps (if it makes any sense at all).


----------



## Fishy Bob (Oct 22, 2012)

Gizmo said:


> That's actually a recirculation chamber. Notice that the impeller is housed in that left-most (in the photo) chamber, but is under a grey plastic plate. The plate has a slot for the inlet tube to fit into; when the tube is all the way to the left the impeller pulls directly from the tube (the tube covers the hole through the grey plastic plate) and flings the water out to the sides, from which it is directed down to the bottom of the media basket.
> 
> The recirc function works when the inlet tube is slid to the right and the hole is partially exposed to the upper part of that chamber (the recirculation area). Water is then pulled BOTH from the partially open inlet tube, and BACK from the outlet of the filter into the recirculation chamber. This translates into lower output from the filter, without putting excess strain on the motor by partially blocking it's suction inlet.
> 
> ...




Gizmo is totally correct! The water at the top is just like an over flow area so that water doesnt run over the top. The water is directed to underneath the filter then up. 

When you clean it, you will see the foam on the bottom being much dirtier than other parts of the filter for this reason. DO NOT THROW OUT THE SPONGE AS THEY SAY! Keep it and simply squeeze it out in the old water you just changed so that you dont kill the good bacteria with clean tap water. They do clog kinda easy, but to me that is just saying it is cleaning alot out of my tanks since they are planted. You will notice if you do not clean them the media and holder in the back will start to expose itself. Just clean it and it will go back to normal, it is just the water pressure pushing up on the clogged media sponge.

The extra sponge wont hurt anything but is 100% useless. I have had NO ISSUE with noise on any of the three i own, but i heard people do have that issue sometimes. However i think it is saying something when one of my filters is an actual aqua clear 200 (original model, over 20 years old now) and have had no issue and never had to even replace the motor yet*w3

These are def the best HOB filters and keep my water looking like it came out of a bottle!! (i do use carbon every so often for the buffering). The only complaint i have is the filters sell for around 25 dollars for an aquaclear 30 here, but if you want to buy a tube to extend the filter deeper into your tank, they cost about $8 EACH!!! Just for a simple, hollow plastic tube.

One last tip it to take it totally apart about every 4 months and clean out you motor and all that. It saves you from looking at your tank one day and seeing that your filter has stopped working and burnt out. BTW it is NOT hard at all. Maybe 10-15 minutes per filter!!


----------



## tropicoolfish (Oct 18, 2012)

Normally i would agree with you guys but the water is flowing over the greay plastic divider . I could see if water was only flowing from the bottom but water is shooting out the impeler hole mixing with water from the intake tube and flowing over the whole media cage. Its minimal but still qualifyes as over flow in my book its like saying you drink a glass of milk and some squirts out of your nose not turned into pee. maby the carbon bag is caussing this issue i have read of other people haveing the same issue. The biowheel filter i have none of the water misses the media when it isnt clogged up. At least i know that the little pice of filter pad is straining this bit of over flow of derbits. I know that a filters main task is to produce bacteria wich i belive the aqua clear is superior to the biowheel. But i belive that something is not correct with my AC30 . What am i doing wrong . Ill remove the blue pad and show you guys. Canister filters have a seprate intake layer that forces all the water to flow thru the media . you see what im getting at??*c/p*


----------



## Fishy Bob (Oct 22, 2012)

Well, I looked closely at mine and i mean i guess a lil water is may be getting back into the stream, but if you notice, it is very small and by the amount it is sucking up and throwing back into the tank, i would say less than 2% flow back. Things is that it will be sucked back into the intake and eventually make it into the filter. Plus your tank always need a lil dirt to keep the system going (look at the positive side, lol) But i have always used them and seriously, if it was an issue it would of been corrected or people wouldnt keep buying it. It is a top selling filter, and i see it used more commonly among people than any other filter. I have tried aqueon and other types (not canister YET...) but as for HOB filters, Aqua clear is def the best choice! I can take pics and shows you the pristine water

And as for your milk metaphor, you are corretc.... BUT in the aquarium, the "spilled milk" goes back into the tank and has a chance to go back through the filter, unless you drink the milk off the floor that came through your nose, i would say it is not comparible, lol.

Good luck with the filter and im sure im not the only one who would almost guarantee the aquaclear is fine as long as it is the right size for the tank, not over stocked and cleaned properly!!

But in the long run, if you wanna keep the sponge there, it is perfectly fine and wouldnt hurt nothing. I do things for peace of mind myself that other people say in not needed. It is ok as long as your doing more for your fish and not less!!!


----------



## tropicoolfish (Oct 18, 2012)

Thanks bob . The 2 filters seem to be working fantastically the water looks beond clear and i dont have any carb
on in either

Also i gotta ask . I was recently haveing a huge problem with nitrites . I buy the extra filter remove the old carbon incert from the biowheel filter and 2 days later all water levels are perfect . Do you think the carbon was leaching the nitrites causs it was a 4 week old cartrage ? And does carbon remove the chemical prime wich is what i added when i removed the carbon? *old dude


----------



## Fishy Bob (Oct 22, 2012)

Carbon does not take Prime out of the water as it is just conditioner for the water. I dont know what all prime does besides condition it, but when i first started my tanks i had a nitrite issue's as well because of a stalled cycle. I went and got prime and same as you, within two days my tanks balanced out. I think it, as i do for Excell, have alternative features that they dont say. I wont swear by it, but every product i use from Seachem seems to do somethig else that is wonderful besides what they are made to do.

Now the old carbon you had may of been leaching nitrites back into the water, but only because it may been full out old material but ive never heard of that before being an issue. I tend to rinse my carbon out as well when cleaning my tanks (in the old water of course) but i wouldnt think it would be in a huge amount if it was going back into the tank some, but again i could be wrong as i have been before (i'm human)

The Bio wheel may have been the tipping point as well for your tank, i cant say one thing did it since you did multiple things, so you will never know. Honestly i think prime is a big factor because of my personal experience with it and seeing what it does first hand.


----------

