Aqua Clear 500

[colen]

I recently setup an african cichlid tank and shortly after relized that they produce much more waste then any other tropicals I have ever kept.

So today I found an aqua clear 500 on sale, and it was so much cheaper then anywhere else, so I had to get it.

This thing is massive, I can't wait to get it up and runing. I have ran into the problem now that it is to big to fit behind my tank, so I now have to get my tank out from the wall, not looking forward to this task.

EDIT:

It is running on the front of my tank untill i have time to get it on the back, its doing a crazy job of filtering the tank, best investment I've made so far in this hobby.

 

[glolite]

External filters are sooo much better than internal ones. Just think how much time you'll save now not having to do so much tank cleaning.

 

[colen]

Now I am trying to figure out what to do exactly. I have 3 aqua clear 200's runnning on the tank, but they just werent doing the job. I am leaving them running along side the 500 for a few days to make sure it gets the benficial bacteria and that good stuff. But my next question is, should I leave the aqua clear 200's running for good? Its a 45 us gallon tank with a small pleco and 3 yellow labs.

Any thoughts?

 

[glolite]

If your aquaclear 500 is capable of turning over 45g (it should state on the box how many litres/gallons it is suitable for) then there is no need to keep the 200's going. However, I'd keep them running for about 3 weeks as it takes this long to adequately 'seed' your new filter. I stupidly removed some used floss from a new filter with clean floss after 1 week, thinking this was enough and now that tank is going through a mini-cycle having to do daily water changes again.

 

[Squishiebabe]

Trust me, the Aquaclear 500 will be overfiltering(which is okay IMO) I have an Aquaclear 150, that is good for "up to 50 gallons" so, i think you don't have to worry about underfiltration. Just watch that, the current doesnt upset the fish too much, you might need to turn it down, or theres a topic somewhere about how to kill the current (Best filter killing method, or something along those lines)

 

[Purplesmurf]

There's no such thing as overfiltration unless:

- You're pushing too much current into the tank, resulting in lots of surface agitation. This is bad for planted tanks with CO2 injection and fish with long, elaborate fins like bettas and guppies who will have their delicate fins torn. For tanks without CO2 and with goldfish or species who love fast moving, well oxygenated water (plecos, most catfish, danios, etc.) more surface agitation is great.

- The amount of current being produced is pushing rocks overs, ripping plants up, or just generally ruining your tank's appearance.

- The intake is too strong and/or open for smaller fish. Finding those missing neons or killifish inside your filter or glued to the intake rod will be no fun.

 

[Boxcar Muzzdogg]

I recently setup an african cichlid tank and shortly after relized that they produce much more waste then any other tropicals I have ever kept.

They're freekin slobs. They just attack the food and half of it falls from their mouths into the rocks. Its hilarious. Pellets aleviate this problem greatly. Then theres the waste.

 

[vantgE]

I had to move my tank out too 90g to add a aclear 110

I'd like to add to Purplesmurf list:

IF YOU ARE WASTEING A MONEY
which IMO colen would be doing if he hadn't got the 500 on sale or bought it then the added a coupl ac 200's

If you have another tank I would move one or two of the 200's so your are filtering more efficinetly

 

[colen]

I dont believe I wasted money on the ac 500. I was running 3 other filters on this tank and they could not keep up with the waste these fish produce. I have since added this filter, and I can not see any fish waste anywhere, and I have white sand.

 

[Sky042]

I dont believe I wasted money on the ac 500. I was running 3 other filters on this tank and they could not keep up with the waste these fish produce. I have since added this filter, and I can not see any fish waste anywhere, and I have white sand.

If you have sand then fish waste is going to be visible.

Odds are now with 3 AC200's and 1 AC500 that you've just manage to create such a torrent of current in the water that nothing in the tank will ever be able to settle to the surface. But as long as your cichlids aren't now hiding and trying to avoid the current you may be ok.

 

[IMCL85]

I my self love aquaclear and have like 4x of them. They r easy to clean and dont require alot of space for it to do its job not to mention its very quite at night. And also r easy to replace the carboon during treatment. I think that its was one of the best filter for an cichild tank. Since cichild r pretty dirty and also for gold fish as well.

 

[colen]

I plan on removing some of the ac 200's in the next few days. I do plan on the running 2-3 filters though. What I have done about the current is run a 4 foot peace of drift wood along the back of the tank, so the overflow from the filters hits this log in my tank, which doesnt make nearly as bad.