HOB Filters

Sarcastic · October 19th, 2007

How long should a motor last on an HOB (Aquaclear) filter?

The longer story: I change 50% of the water in my 46G tank every 7-8 weeks (don't stress, I change 25% weekly) which lowers the water to a lever that I have to prime my filters (I run 2 HOB type filters) after refilling the tank. I notice that this most recent time it took a lot longer than usual to prime the filters as if the motor was really struggling. One is over a year old and the other is at about 6 months. I'm just wondering when I should expect to by a replacement motor.

What is others' experience with this?

jsalemi · October 19th, 2007

Are you turning the filters off when you change the water?

Neither of those filters is particularly old, and I've read of folks using the same filter for years and years without having to replace them. Maybe you just need to clean the impellers off -- they might have gotten clogged up, and I do remember reading in my Penguin manual that the impeller should be taken out and cleaned at least once every 6 months - 1 year. Your filter manual should have instructions on how to do it.

Sarcastic · October 20th, 2007

I turn off the filters whenever the water level drops to the point that they might be chugging air, otherwise they run all the time. A 25% change allows me to leave them on.

I don't actually have the manuals anymore, but I will go off and google them. Thanks for your insight.

Barbrella · October 20th, 2007

I"m still using a filter I"ve had for over 15 years! It doesn't look so hot, but still works fine.

jsalemi · October 20th, 2007

http://www.hagen.com/usa/aquatic/manual.cfm -- all the aquaclear manuals are available here for download.

Butterfly · October 20th, 2007

Yep all good advice

also when you take it apart to clean the impeller just swish it around in used tank water and pick the stuff off you can't swish off. Also give the body part of the filter a good rinsing with used tank water occasionally. Your filters will thank you by working much longer.
Carol

Isabella · October 22nd, 2007

I've had my Aqua Clear filter running for about 2 years now without any problems whatsoever.

jeme · October 25th, 2007

I've got an Aquaclear that's at least six or seven years old, never had a problem.

Julie

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