Seachem Tidal 55 Or Aquaclear 50?

I have a 16 gallon tank that has been up and running since March 4. It's a kit...the Fluval Vista 16. This kit came with an Aquaclear 30 HOB that doesn't seem to be doing the best job. I notice debris in the tanks water and check the filter media and it's filthy every time... I had to clean the media twice last week . The tank is planted and has 3 dwarf cory cats and three small variatus platys plus some nerite snails. I had a plant melt away and I think that may account for some of the mess. I do pwc weekly.

I have seen some great reviews on the Seachem Tidal 55 so I ordered one to try. Upon unboxing I realized it looks big and clunky and I'm not sure I like just based on that . I have been keeping smaller tanks, 5 and 6 gallon and run Aquaclear 20s on those and have really liked them except for trouble with a floating media basket in one no matter how clean the media. I'm debating trying the Tidal or returning it for an AC 50. Any opinions on either HOB will be greatly appreciated. The Tidal does have some really nice features that I like.

 

Tidal DOES have some good features, but from what I've read, Tidal's usually work better on much smaller tanks. I run mostly AQ's and they ARE more powerful and are tailor made for larger tanks. AQ has a a lot more media room to
"customize", "hot rod" and enhance your filter's efficiency a great deal. For example, I run filter floss, (very small microns) 2 large sponge filters, (they can squish down rather easily), a big bag of bio-media and another round sponge on the intake tube-thing. As far HOB filters, I always get AQ hands down, every time. A+, 5 stars for those.

 

This is only a 16 gallon tank...so I am looking for the best HOB for a smaller tank. I have a silly question... I see the AQ abbreviation often in these forums. Is that for Aquaclear or Aqueon?

This is only a 16 gallon tank...so I am looking for the best HOB for a smaller tank. I have a silly question... I see the AQ abbreviation often in these forums. Is that for Aquaclear or Aqueon?

 

One of the features I love about Tidals and Aqueon (AQ) is that they are self priming. Aquaclears (AC) are not. Tidals have quire a bit of room to customize the media. I have 2 Tidal 75s, one is on my 75 + an Eheim canister and the other is on my 40 with another Eheim. The Tidals do a great job. For years I was very pro AQ and then the Tidals came out with a lot of great features. IMO, they are better than ACs, almost the same room + the self priming which I need for power outages while not at home. ACs are an ancient design and very over priced; not that the Tidals aren’t far behind.

 

I would think the t55 would be a bit bulky behind a mere 16 gal tank. In that regard, the ac50 might be better. But the t55 has a way broader range of flow adjustability, and u can dial the flow almost to zero, which ac can’t match.
Another big diff between the two is that the tidal stems to push outflow across the water surface as compared to the ac’s which cascade it down a bit more.
Personally, for a 16 gal, I’d go with a cheap tetra whisper or similar (with customized media) and a sponge filter.

 

an aquaclear 30 should be plenty for a 16 gallon tank. If its sucking up that much stuff that it needs cleaned twice a week its doing its job. I'm just curious were all the stuff is coming from. To me the aquaclears are time proven were the tidals are still the new kid on the block. Time will tell about their durability. As far as the aquaclears not self priming, I had to have my tank over 3 inches low before it would no longer self start. And yes I tried it with my 110, 50 and 30.

 

There were some early adopters of the Tidal that said it's not as good as AquaClears long term. I forgot the reason but more than a few mentioned that they went back to AC's.

I needed a better filter for my 10 gallon QT so I picked up an Aqueon QuietFlow 20 to replace the Topfin 20. It's easier to modify to hold media w/o getting clogged which was my main reason. It's too big for my 10 gallon as the Aqueon VersaTop doesn't fit now but I'm happy with the filter.

I have a AC50 on my 20 gallon long shrimp tank which is great. I had AquaClears 30 yrs ago and they worked great (70 and 110 equivalents). I have canisters in my bigger tanks.

 

I've beeb running a Tidal 55 on my 23g for 5mos now with no hiccup. Keeps my water very clean and clear.

They're better built too, with much better materials than Aquaclears. Flow is great too and it can be adjusted down to a trickle which is very useful when I'm feeding my fish.

The built-in surface skimmer does a marvelous job too. There are 3 other intakes in the Tidal series which makes sure that no debris gets past it. In fact, I just bought a new Eheim Classic 250 a few days ago and I noticed that the Tidal 55 is more efficient in sucking up dirt and debris through its inflow compared to my new Eheim.

It may not look the prettiest (I honestly dnt mind the looks and kind of like it, in fact) but you shouldn't judge a filter by its looks. You should judge it by its performance and efficiency.

Compared to the Aquaclears, the Tidal has a lot more features which I've found to be really helpful. The media basket may not be as big, it's smaller only by a small margin.

My suggestion is to try it out first, I'm sure you won't regret it. It's got a 3+2yr warranty as well which makes it bulletproof for at least 3 years.

If you're looking at other options, you can also check out the Fluval C series but I have heard/read some negative things about them.

I have a 16 gallon tank that has been up and running since March 4. It's a kit...the Fluval Vista 16. This kit came with an Aquaclear 30 HOB that doesn't seem to be doing the best job. I notice debris in the tanks water and check the filter media and it's filthy every time... I had to clean the media twice last week . The tank is planted and has 3 dwarf cory cats and three small variatus platys plus some nerite snails. I had a plant melt away and I think that may account for some of the mess. I do pwc weekly.

I have seen some great reviews on the Seachem Tidal 55 so I ordered one to try. Upon unboxing I realized it looks big and clunky and I'm not sure I like just based on that . I have been keeping smaller tanks, 5 and 6 gallon and run Aquaclear 20s on those and have really liked them except for trouble with a floating media basket in one no matter how clean the media. I'm debating trying the Tidal or returning it for an AC 50. Any opinions on either HOB will be greatly appreciated. The Tidal does have some really nice features that I like.