Review:Aquaclear filters

I got the ac 50 and it is quiet and has great bio but that's it. I think it has bad mechanical because when I look in the filter small particle by bass the sponge(passes through the sponge without getting filtered) But it is quiet and best of all! it is see through

 

I've found that with enough media in the filter there tends to be less bypass. Two sponges and a biomax worked well for me. Overall I think the benefits outweigh the minimal bypass.
Thanks for the review!

 

I think the aquaclear sponges are excellent mechanical media...so much so that I used them in all of my non AC HOBs. And biomax is also the best biomedia, as determined by surface area per volume.

I always used one sponge and 2 or more bags of biomax and never had a problem with particulates in the water, and I rarely clean my filters.

 

The see through may look nice now, but eventually will probably look sick, right?

 

no, see through is good...means you can see how dirty it is.

 

no, see through is good...means you can see how dirty it is.

And if there are any critters in there...

 

Yup, I've found kuhlI loaches living under the media basket.

 

Yup, I've found kuhlI loaches living under the media basket.

I've found several RCS, in mine, as well as assorted fry... All you can eat buffet in there lol

 

I've found several RCS, in mine, as well as assorted fry... All you can eat buffet in there lol

Haha it's funny you say that. I found fry in my eheim canister all the time when I ran it on a live bearer tank (Before I started using pre-filters).

They seemed to survive pretty well in there. Lol


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I've had an Aspidoras jump into my HOB filter before!

 

though the intake tubes to get gunked up and you can see It

 

Strange enough, I found my butterfly eel in there. Very mysterious.

 

I got the ac 50 and it is quiet and has great bio but that's it. I think it has bad mechanical because when I look in the filter small particle by bass the sponge(passes through the sponge without getting filtered) But it is quiet and best of all! it is see through

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AquaClear is way over rated. Piece of junk. I gave up on my ac50 due to the bypass issue and got a Fluval C. Go here and see my post #5

 

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AquaClear is way over rated. Piece of junk. I gave up on my ac50 due to the bypass issue and got a Fluval C. Go here and see my post #5


Ha! Saying AquaClear is a piece of junk sounds like a personal preference. Products that are junk don't stick around in a hobby for 30 years-- they go the way of the UGF.

Aquaclear has the biggest bang for your buck when it comes to filtration. I've used nothing but on the vast majority of my tanks and they have worked splendidly. All you have to do is add another little sponge on top if you're that obsessed with mechanical filtration and your problem is solved, but it works just fine without it.

Plus you can't beat the versatility of media you can use in an Aquaclear compared to so many other HOBs, where you have no choice but to buy their specifically designed filter media.

I say Aquaclear all the way!

 

Let's just say compared to the Fluval C.

If you don't own both, please let me have my opinion.

By the way, even the guy at Petsmart agreed with me 100%. AquaClear is totally obsolete compared to Fluval C.

Go here to post #17:

 

Let's just say compared to the Fluval C.

If you don't own both, please let me have my opinion.

By the way, even the guy at Petsmart agreed with me 100%. AquaClear is totally obsolete compared to Fluval C.

Go here to post #17:

I've used Aquaclears for years and they are by far the easiest filter to use and clean compared to a canister. I've looked at the fluvial C and it looks interesting. What I don't like is that you can't really mess with it, since it has tiny compartments for all the different media. One thing I like to do, and I think other aquarists like to do, is to mess with things all the time to fit your needs of your tank. For example, instead of using the foam that aqua clear sells, I use the far superior, cut to my specifications, foam from AngelsPlus.com. I also put in my own ceramic media and throw in peat pellets too. This can be done because of the simplicity of the design so that there is a huge space to throw in media. I LOVE IT.

They are also a snap to clean, even thought the intakes can get a bit gross at times. But compared to cleaning canister hoses, it is not a problem!!

I'm glad you are using the newer designed Fluval C and it works for you. I'm going to stick with (and mess with) my Aquaclears.

 

I've used Aquaclears for years and they are by far the easiest filter to use and clean compared to a canister. I've looked at the fluvial C and it looks interesting. What I don't like is that you can't really mess with it, since it has tiny compartments for all the different media. One thing I like to do, and I think other aquarists like to do, is to mess with things all the time to fit your needs of your tank. For example, instead of using the foam that aqua clear sells, I use the far superior, cut to my specifications, foam from AngelsPlus.com. I also put in my own ceramic media and throw in peat pellets too. This can be done because of the simplicity of the design so that there is a huge space to throw in media. I LOVE IT.

They are also a snap to clean, even thought the intakes can get a bit gross at times. But compared to cleaning canister hoses, it is not a problem!!

I'm glad you are using the newer designed Fluval C and it works for you. I'm going to stick with (and mess with) my Aquaclears.

Yes- one of the most versatile HOBs I've ever used. And the ease of use says something to its popularity, and I couldn't agree more about the ability to completely customize what media goes inside. I like the look of the Fluval C very much, but like you I think the compartments are too "specialized."

Oh well, it takes all kinds I guess....