Advice! Disaster with AC 70.

So I have a new forty breeder. I had AC 30 from my last 20 long and used that in this tank for a few days. My tank is testing ph 7.4 ammonia 0 nitrites 0 and nitrates 5–10ppm. The tank at a new location so I’m thrilled the ph is the same as it was & that cycling is working. However clearly the AC 30 is not enough so I ordered an AC 70. Got it today and set it up with old media from 30 and new media combined. I had both running but it was a ton of flow. (I also have an AC 50 on another tank which I like and I like the AC 30).
The issue is the AC 70 IS HUGE. The jump from ac 30 to the 50 is not a huge diff but the 70 size and output is tremendous imho. I want the high filtration bc I plan to get a large acrylic tank in the near future so didn’t want to waste money on an ac 50 for now (On the 40 gallons) to have to replace shortly. I can’t stand the 70 tho. Here’s a pic of how much stuff I put in to slow the output.
Even without baffler sponges I still don’t like how the filter looks sticking up. There sadly isn’t room on an acrylic for both an AC 50 and 30 to run together or I would get an ac 50 now and use both on this tank and when I get acrylic.
What’s another good filter that is the equivalent of the 70 in strength?!
Also look at the tank! I had to beat and bang the heck out of the ac 70 to get it to prime so it got this brown bacteria EVERYWHERE IN the tank. That happened tonight. Are the fish safe until the morning? I can change water then. Or should I not change the water? I at least want to rinse the hides and ornaments off.
so I’m wondering about a new filter and if the fish are safe!i
Also I might have a mated pair and the female looks heavy and I now have no sponges to cover intakes so that’s also not ideal. I have lost and refound alive babies in a filter when a sponge fell off which isn’t good. I have a sponge filter but don’t have an air pump

 

I love the eheim classic cannisters. The 350 is rated up to 75 gallons. Very quiet and reliable.

 

I love the eheim classic cannisters. The 350 is rated up to 75 gallons. Very quiet and reliable.

O shoot ty for reminding me. So this tank is on a dresser so nothing can go under it. I would love a canister. Sad.

 

Can the cannister sit on the floor at the end of the dresser? The spray bar would go at one end of the tank instead of the back.

If it must be an HOB, what about the Fluval C4. Maybe someone on the forum has one and can comment.

 

I wouldn’t worry much about the gunk that came out. I’ve had that happen the other day when I was checking how dirty some poly fill j had stuffed in the filter was. The answer was REALLY dirty and most of that came back out and made my tank look similar.

it eventually cleared up and no fish were harmed in the process. It’s the same gunk you want your water to pass through. Unfortunately your filter threw it up back into your tank

 

I wouldn’t worry much about the gunk that came out. I’ve had that happen the other day when I was checking how dirty some poly fill j had stuffed in the filter was. The answer was REALLY dirty and most of that came back out and made my tank look similar.

it eventually cleared up and no fish were harmed in the process. It’s the same gunk you want your water to pass through. Unfortunately your filter threw it up back into your tank

lol okay phew. What filter do you have?

I wouldn’t worry much about the gunk that came out. I’ve had that happen the other day when I was checking how dirty some poly fill j had stuffed in the filter was. The answer was REALLY dirty and most of that came back out and made my tank look similar.

it eventually cleared up and no fish were harmed in the process. It’s the same gunk you want your water to pass through. Unfortunately your filter threw it up back into your tank

Can the cannister sit on the floor at the end of the dresser? The spray bar would go at one end of the tank instead of the back.

If it must be an HOB, what about the Fluval C4. Maybe someone on the forum has one and can comment.

I’m not one hundred percent I can check. Is it okay on carpet? And I’ve heard really good stuff about the fluval just no specifics. I really liked all the ac’s I’ve had up to now.

 

I put that pillow fluff stuff in my filter and it slowed it down so badly I had to take it out...I almost over filled the housing and dumped water every where.
Maybe try some of that stuff behind what you already have in there.

 

I agree about aquaclear.-I think they're great. Do you think your issue warrents contacting Hagen to tell them what happened and see if they'll help you out? I contacted them once long ago and found their customer care to be excellent.

Yes, canister can go on carpet. Just need a towel down when disconnecting hoses. I need that anyway on ceramic tile

 

lol okay phew. What filter do you have?

I have Marineland filters. I run them without the biowheels and I stuff some poly fill where the biowheels would sit and the cover helps hold it down / in place. I opens the lid and the wad of poly it flopped right into the water.

I’m really considering getting a canister as well. But I have a huge phobia of them leaking and coming home to a half empty tank and a wet living room.

 

I agree about aquaclear.-I think they're great. Do you think your issue warrents contacting Hagen to tell them what happened and see if they'll help you out? I contacted them once long ago and found their customer care to be excellent.

Yes, canister can go on carpet. Just need a towel down when disconnecting hoses. I need that anyway on ceramic tile

The main issue is just how strong the current is. I’m researching now but it seems to me that I’ll perhaps lose GPH if I get a filter with weaker output currents? I have no clue lol. I mean maybe it’s just too much bc it’s a 70 on a 40 breeder but one of my other ac’s I love is double the size of the tank and is fine (50 ac). I read the Seachem was good but I mainly see AC as number one. Which I agree with until now. Just bc of the tank. I am also looking at fluval bc it was recommended on this thread. This is a dumb question but do canisters have an equivalently strong output with the spray bar? Aka am I just doomed to this strong current if I want a filter that is for large tanks? THANK YOU ALL!!!!!

I have Marineland filters. I run them without the biowheels and I stuff some poly fill where the biowheels would sit and the cover helps hold it down / in place. I opens the lid and the wad of poly it flopped right into the water.

I’m really considering getting a canister as well. But I have a huge phobia of them leaking and coming home to a half empty tank and a wet living room.

Thank you! They’re quite $$$$ right?

 

With a cannister you can adjust spray bar directionally, shorten it, connect to another to lengthen...very flexible. Spray bar can also be removed all together.

FWIW, I've dropped my eheim from counter height, cracked the top, never changed the o ring...it's been running like a champ for years.

That isn't to say there aren't tales of woe but there's also stories of tanks busting, stands collapsing. There's always a chance of water drama in this hobby.

 

KribensisLover1 , here is a link to a thread, shows different options for putting media in your AC and for putting a sponge pre-filter on the intake. I think it has at least 3 different options for the pre-filter.

Diy Media Guide For Top Fin Silenstream, Aquaclear And Other Hob Filters | Filters and Filtration 385506

Also, try raising the water level up close to the lip where the water flows our of the AC. As it is now, when the water plunges into the tank, its causing the increase in current blowing everything around. With the waterline higher, you reduce the plunging effect and thus reduce the current.

Also, instead of whacking the filter into place, just cut the lip of the rim so the filter fits. I did this when I put the same filter on a Marineland 75g tank. I had to cut a portion of the lip away so the filter would fit on properly.

You asked about spray bars and their flow. You can always drill out the holes of a spray bar and make them larger. The flow is about the same but the pressure coming out is reduced, so less current.

Same principle with a garden hose. When the garden hose is flowing water and your thumb is covering half of the end, a jet of water shoots out. Remove your thumb and the flow is the same but instead of a jet of water, you get a solid but less powerful stream coming out.

I've done this to a spray bar myself and it works.

 

IMPORTANT. Is this part normal?

Before:: I had 2 carbons in the AC 30 bc I wanted to remove tannins. One of the carbons is a bit old, and the other Carbon I replaced about five days ago. So two carbons in the 30 one quite new.


In the new 70 I have :
The 30 sponge, the 70 sponge, the 70 Carbon, the 30 biorings and the 70 biorings.
I tried to put the 30 Carbon in too For BB BUT when I did the water would flow back out the intake side. The arrows point to the spots. And the basket didn’t have to be super full just a little and water would run over the top of the media side and back down around the intake valve. Bc this AC 70 was much harder to prime I’m wondering if this is a glitch or if that always happens.

KribensisLover1 , here is a link to a thread, shows different options for putting media in your AC and for putting a sponge pre-filter on the intake. I think it has at least 3 different options for the pre-filter.

Diy Media Guide For Top Fin Silenstream, Aquaclear And Other Hob Filters | Filters and Filtration 385506

Also, try raising the water level up close to the lip where the water flows our of the AC. As it is now, when the water plunges into the tank, its causing the increase in current blowing everything around. With the waterline higher, you reduce the plunging effect and thus reduce the current.

Also, instead of whacking the filter into place, just cut the lip of the rim so the filter fits. I did this when I put the same filter on a Marineland 75g tank. I had to cut a portion of the lip away so the filter would fit on properly.

You asked about spray bars and their flow. You can always drill out the holes of a spray bar and make them larger. The flow is about the same but the pressure coming out is reduced, so less current.

Same principle with a garden hose. When the garden hose is flowing water and your thumb is covering half of the end, a jet of water shoots out. Remove your thumb and the flow is the same but instead of a jet of water, you get a solid but less powerful stream coming out.

I've done this to a spray bar myself and it works.

THANK YOU! Okay you can see in the pics that there’s almost no space between the filter and the water level so I don’t think the splash is the main issue but perhaps I should raise the water level. The tank doesn’t have a lid and the water is fairly high and I was scared to raise it higher but I will if it’ll help!

Also the black sponge you see shoved in the output area is actually a fluval intake Presponge I used on the 30. I was testing that black sponge on the AC 70—on the end of the intake valve versus shoved in the filter output area—to see which position helped make the output flow weaker. I thought the output was weaker when the sponge was in the output area as opposed to being used as a prefilter valve cover but perhaps I am incorrect. Does using a prefilter sponge on the valve intake really markedly reduce the output flow? ive always wondered that!
And I made the whacking part confusing I’m sorry. I meant I had to whack the u valve into the hole inside the filter to hear the ‘pop’ they tell you about so that the filter would prime properly. I had to take the u valve on and off for hours trying to get rid of the last air bubbles and finally did. But the filter fits it was just whacking the u bar into place lol
thank you so much for all the info! I’ll read the article ASAP and great to know about the soray bar. Again for the AC 70 I could use a clear soap dish to spread the current but it doesn’t look that great so I was hoping there’s another high gph filter that had a calmer outshoot. This output shot clear across the tank LoL (inside the water but so strong!) even when turned low!

KribensisLover1 , here is a link to a thread, shows different options for putting media in your AC and for putting a sponge pre-filter on the intake. I think it has at least 3 different options for the pre-filter.

Diy Media Guide For Top Fin Silenstream, Aquaclear And Other Hob Filters | Filters and Filtration 385506

Also, try raising the water level up close to the lip where the water flows our of the AC. As it is now, when the water plunges into the tank, its causing the increase in current blowing everything around. With the waterline higher, you reduce the plunging effect and thus reduce the current.

Also, instead of whacking the filter into place, just cut the lip of the rim so the filter fits. I did this when I put the same filter on a Marineland 75g tank. I had to cut a portion of the lip away so the filter would fit on properly.

You asked about spray bars and their flow. You can always drill out the holes of a spray bar and make them larger. The flow is about the same but the pressure coming out is reduced, so less current.

Same principle with a garden hose. When the garden hose is flowing water and your thumb is covering half of the end, a jet of water shoots out. Remove your thumb and the flow is the same but instead of a jet of water, you get a solid but less powerful stream coming out.

I've done this to a spray bar myself and it works.

That was AWESOME!!!!! Now I know that I can cut around the carbon to keep the white outside with all the bb without having to overstuff the filter! Yay! I’ll also be using other tips! TY!!!!! I could be naive for thinking that the output current is sooooo strong it just seems so much stronger than my 50. The 30 jump to the 50 was very subtle. The jump to the 70 (from the 50 I have on another tank) was huge. All around. The physical size as well as the currents. It’s a beast!

 

When we had our original 20g running, we used AC30 on it. I've got 2 AC70's on different tanks and a 110. I mention this because I agree with your comment how the 70 is so much larger with a lot more flow versus the 30.

The coarse sponge pre-filters I use seem to not restrict flow to much, so that might not help.

I'm not sure which impeller are compatible, but I've heard of people switching the impeller of certain models to the model of a small filter. This was done to reduce the flow. I'm not sure if an AC70 can swap into the smaller AC50 impeller for example.

That may be worth some time searching on google, youtube and this forum for that. If you can swap impeller, that might solve your problem!

Oh, now I understand you talking about whacking the filter, I thought you meant you did that to make it fit on the rim. Ha

As far as the air bubble is concerned, I wouldn't worry about it too much. I think mine usually has a small bubble trapped at the 90° bend as the tube goes back down.

If your having priming problems, fill the reservoir up with a cup. If you still have a problem with it, remove some of the media so its not packed in there tight. After water starts flowing out, then place the media back in.

 

When we had our original 20g running, we used AC30 on it. I've got 2 AC70's on different tanks and a 110. I mention this because I agree with your comment how the 70 is so much larger with a lot more flow versus the 30.

The coarse sponge pre-filters I use seem to not restrict flow to much, so that might not help.

I'm not sure which impeller are compatible, but I've heard of people switching the impeller of certain models to the model of a small filter. This was done to reduce the flow. I'm not sure if an AC70 can swap into the smaller AC50 impeller for example.

That may be worth some time searching on google, youtube and this forum for that. If you can swap impeller, that might solve your problem!

Oh, now is understand you talking about whacking the filter, I thought you meant you did that to make it fit on the rim. Ha

As far as the air bubble is concerned, I wouldn't worry about it too much. I think mine usually has a small bubble trapped at the 90° bend as the tube goes back down.

If your having priming problems, fill the reservoir up with a cup. If you still have a problem with it, remove some of the media so its not packed in there tight. After water starts flowing out, then place the media back in.

Thank you! And I should try the impeller. The 30 ac to the 50 was not a huge diff either. But whoa! I’m wondering if I should branch out and try fluval or Seachem hob. The problem is I don’t know what to LOOK for to find out what I want to know. When I search for low output currents I don’t get any answers. Should I be looking for lower gph? I mean I don’t see the point of a soap dish or water bottle baffler—why not just buy a diff brand. However perhaps the AC is SO superior in every other way that it’s worth the ugly baffler. What do you think? I’ve only ever had AC’s.

 

Thank you! They’re quite $$$$ right?

They can be Depending on size and brand. Some of the most expensive ones I’ve seen are the Fluval FX series but they are pretty powerful can can handle large tanks.

i know petsmart runs sales and you can use coupons so you could pick up fluval or Marineland brands for a good deal if you combine a coupon with there sales.

There are also brands like Sunsun and Penn Plax that are affordable with good reviews too.

Thank you! They’re quite $$$$ right?

They can be Depending on size and brand. Some of the most expensive ones I’ve seen are the Fluval FX series but they are pretty powerful can can handle large tanks.

i know petsmart runs sales and you can use coupons so you could pick up fluval or Marineland brands for a good deal if you combine a coupon with there sales.

There are also brands like Sunsun and Penn Plax that are affordable with good reviews too.

 

Sorry I kind of just skimmed through your thread but if no one mentioned it you can cut a piece of a water bottle and put it at the return side to disperse the water more to the surface than having it rush down into the tank. And it almost looks like the flow lever for your intake tube can be moved a bit more to the right to lessen the flow as well... do you also have a prefilter sponge on the intake to help lessen the flow or just inside the filter along wit all the other media?

 

Seachem Tidal's have an adjustment dial for flow, and when set to lowest position, it slows it down a lot more than the Aquaclear.

The new updated versions of the Marineland Penguin series now have adjustable flow as well. Check put YouTube videos on their new Penguin 375 Pro. I'm not sure how slow the flow can be ramped back, but in sure there is a video on it somewhere in YT.

Another HOB w/ adjustable flow is the Top fin Silentstream 75. I have one on our 65g tank, paired with a Tidal 75 and a sponge filter.

The Silentstream came included with our Top Fin 55g aquarium kit. It has an adjustable flow knob and the rare can be ramped back down very low. They are usually on sale for $30 @ PetSmart. They actually have a large reservoir. I took a replacement cement foam block for am on Aquaclear 110 and cut it to fit the right side reservoir. I think I used about 75% of that huge AC110 foam block to fit inside the Silentstream. Then I have some Polyfil and a very large bag of cycled Matrix in the left side. I also took a coarse foam pad made for a Marineland Magniflow canister, cut it into a rectangle and wrapped it around the intake strainer and secured with zip ties. All of this transformed a mediocre filter into a very effective filter.








Finally, you can also go the route of using a pair of sponge filters driven by a decent air pump or two.

I like the ATI brand of sponge filters. The models with the word Pro in the ame use coarse foam, that allow for more water movement through it and also dont clog up with muck. ATI's can be stacked, for example you can place their normal fine foam sponge filter on top of their coarse foam Pro model. Amazon sells the, but have limited selection and their prices are high. Look at the Ken's Fish website and also Jehmco site. They carry full line of ATI products for best prices . I buy from Ken's because I use their house brand of Ken's fish food. Ken's also sells the Aquatop brand of sponge filters which are supposed to be good.

They started maligning sponge filters and I believe all of their selection are coarse foam and they are also stackable.

Using sponge filters would allow you to have minimal current flowing around in the tank.

 

Sorry I don't have much to add, but I agree with kallilily, looks like the flow lever can move further right to lessen the flow. I don't use the lever to move it, but I move the whole ubar over. Then there's a noticeable difference in flow, but not until I move the whole ubar. To prime, I move the lever to max, then back down to min once the water moves through the filter.

Also do you fill the filter media component of the filter before you plug it in?

 

Sorry I kind of just skimmed through your thread but if no one mentioned it you can cut a piece of a water bottle and put it at the return side to disperse the water more to the surface than having it rush down into the tank. And it almost looks like the flow lever for your intake tube can be moved a bit more to the right to lessen the flow as well... do you also have a prefilter sponge on the intake to help lessen the flow or just inside the filter along wit all the other media?

The sponges shoved in (one of them) was a prefilter sponge (well they both were on diff tanks) but I shoved them in the top to reduce flow. But I will use another sponge I have (two sponge filters but I don’t have an air pump here) as a prefilter! Thank you!

Seachem Tidal's have an adjustment dial for flow, and when set to lowest position, it slows it down a lot more than the Aquaclear.

The new updated versions of the Marineland Penguin series now have adjustable flow as well. Check put YouTube videos on their new Penguin 375 Pro. I'm not sure how slow the flow can be ramped back, but in sure there is a video on it somewhere in YT.

Another HOB w/ adjustable flow is the Top fin Silentstream 75. I have one on our 65g tank, paired with a Tidal 75 and a sponge filter.

The Silentstream came included with our Top Fin 55g aquarium kit. It has an adjustable flow knob and the rare can be ramped back down very low. They are usually on sale for $30 @ PetSmart. They actually have a large reservoir. I took a replacement cement foam block for am on Aquaclear 110 and cut it to fit the right side reservoir. I think I used about 75% of that huge AC110 foam block to fit inside the Silentstream. Then I have some Polyfil and a very large bag of cycled Matrix in the left side. I also took a coarse foam pad made for a Marineland Magniflow canister, cut it into a rectangle and wrapped it around the intake strainer and secured with zip ties. All of this transformed a mediocre filter into a very effective filter.

View attachment 688399

View attachment 688398


Finally, you can also go the route of using a pair of sponge filters driven by a decent air pump or two.

I like the ATI brand of sponge filters. The models with the word Pro in the ame use coarse foam, that allow for more water movement through it and also dont clog up with muck. ATI's can be stacked, for example you can place their normal fine foam sponge filter on top of their coarse foam Pro model. Amazon sells the, but have limited selection and their prices are high. Look at the Ken's Fish website and also Jehmco site. They carry full line of ATI products for best prices . I buy from Ken's because I use their house brand of Ken's fish food. Ken's also sells the Aquatop brand of sponge filters which are supposed to be good.

Another alternative is Corys They started maligning sponge filters and I believe all of their selection are coarse foam and they are also stackable.

Using sponge filters would allow you to have minimal current flowing around in the tank.

Omgoodness awesome! Ty! angelcraze gave me the idea to try the ac 70 on the side which helps a ton but I’m thrilled for the ideas bc when I get an acrylic tank I won’t be able to put a filter on the side. Thank you so so much!

Sorry I don't have much to add, but I agree with kallilily, looks like the flow lever can move further right to lessen the flow. I don't use the lever to move it, but I move the whole ubar over. Then there's a noticeable difference in flow, but not until I move the whole ubar. To prime, I move the lever to max, then back down to min once the water moves through the filter.

Also do you fill the filter media component of the filter before you plug it in?

Yes I did fill it but I didn’t physically move U bar. I tried to lift it like I read might help and the noise was too much (not for me but loud for fish maybe?) like lifting the u bar out. But I have NOT tried moving the actual bar to the right and I will right now! Thank you!