AC 50 filter power issue?

So I have never had this issue before. On my tank, I have two Aquaclear 50 filters. Recently the power accidently got knocked out. Ever since then, one of them won't work. It makes noise when plugged in, but won't hold water to prime itself to start the filtering process. Not sure what to do here. Any ideas?

 

Sounds like the impeller is stuck. Try lifting up the intake tube and gently touch the impeller with a toothpick or finger tip.

 

Agreed with the above. And if that doesn't work, take off the motor housing and check the impeller. You may need to manually spin the impeller to get it back on track. Check for any loose debris that got caught in the impeller well.

Let me know if you get it working again, curious to know.

 

Yeah... weird... Neither one of those things worked. I dont understand it. The filter makes noise when plugged in.. It just doesnt do anything. I think I am going to have to replace it. Also... weird how this only happened in one of the filters and not both. I have never had this issue with the 70 model which is what I have used for years before this.

 

gray18 , I owe a couple of Aquaclears.,

Have you taken it off the tank, removed the motor and pulled the impeller all the way out to clean it?

Also, use a q-tip to clean the impeller shaft.

 

Yes I have done that. Still nothing.

 

Can you take it into the bathroom or kitchen and place it in the sink?

If so, remove the media basket and intake tubes, fill it with water and then plug it in.

See if the impeller spins freely.

 

The impeller is garbage on aquaclear. Just throw it out and buy a marineland biowheel 350. Way more media room and they run like a tank. I have one that's been going continuously for like a decade with literally zero maintenance. Wait that's not totally true, I replaced the bearings for the biowheel for a total cost of 5 bucks. But even if those stop spinning it's still a superior filter any day.

 

Lol, My Marineland Emperor 280 Bio wheel
has been up & running 22 yrs. I discarded the replacement cartridges years ago & filled the media box with sponges.
It still works great & is much more quiet than my AC 110'S.

 

This is a regular occurrence with the AC filters, I'm afraid.

The above posters are correct, your impeller is stuck. Prime the filter by filling it with tank water, slide the intake tube to the side, then use a chopstick or straw to "jiggle" the impeller until it gets working. Once you do so, my advice is to slide it back over to full blast until it's running comfortably again.

To the wisecrackers above me , I picked up a Marineland filter to set up for our class tank for the fall (to replace a defunct Top Fin filter) and that thing hasn't gone for a week without a problem.

I haven't encountered any brand of filters that doesn't have some quirk...except for my sponge filters. I just don't trust those to do the job sans an HOB doing the heavy lifting for very long. Plus I like the option of using Purigen, Phosguard, Carbon, etc.

 

IMO, The Marineland Emperor Bio Wheels are better than the standard Bio Wheels.
The Emperors have a spray bar, which keep the wheel spinning.
The Emperor's quirks are the need to brush the gunk out of the emergency over flows & off the spray bar every week.

 

I've been really impressed with the Aquaclear filters. They're surprisingly low maintenance, which is probably why it's so annoying when they require maintenance.

Back to the OP, it's worth removing the motor and dissassembling the impeller/shaft assembly and giving it an inspection/cleaning. Over time, your impeller is going to wear on the shaft and, the more worn down it gets, the more likely it is to stick.

There really aren't that many filters out there that won't require priming and fiddling after a power outage. The Tidal is self-priming, and I heard the new Marineland filters will be as well? That said, if you plan to have small fish/shrimp and/or fry in your tank, then those are no good as they have parts that are not small animal safe...without modding, at least.

 

I've been running two AC 110'S on my 120 gal. for seven years. Other than the irritating vibrating lid noise that occassionally pops up, no problems.
Easy maintenence.

 

Like I said.. I have been using Aquaclear 70's for years and never had a problem. I dont care for the Marineland filters. They are way too noisy.

 

Like I said.. I have been using Aquaclear 70's for years and never had a problem. I dont care for the Marineland filters. They are way too noisy.

I wonder if they each have like 1 assembler that sucks at his job, because I've had the exact opposite experience with the same complaint about noise with the AC lol

 

So... I found out what the problem was finally. Or at least part of it. I picked up another AC 50 filter and switched the propeller into the brand new motor unit... I don't know how, but some way the propeller got screwed up and no longer functions properly. When I took the new propeller and put it into my existing motor unit, it worked fine. Go figure. Next time this happens I'll just buy another propeller.

 

Probably just got gunked up. On the bright side, AC 50 impellers are only about $10, so you have a back up filter if you need it.

 

No it was still pretty clean. I really don't know what happened to it lol it's very strange.