Aqua One 620T

[Jamie24]

Recently purchased one of these tanks but it's not set-up yet as other things still to buy... Has anyone on here got one and what do they think, any problems ??? My powerhead is 650l/h just wondering if that is good enough as I've seen some sold with 750l/h as standard ?? Also I've been reading lots about the filter system, people saying I wouldn't need the carbon and to just replace it with normal filter wool.

Any help would be grateful as I'd like to get my tank and fixtures spot on before setting it up.

 

[Ant_Soton]

From my experience Aqua one products are very good !

 

[mattlee]

i had the ar-620, same tank just not as tall. these are great tanks and the filters are very good. you are right by saying you dont need the carbon, i would put it safe somewhere incase you need to use any medication to remove any traces when finished.
the filters work as trickle filters and the sponges are open to air which is very good for bacteria growth. very similar to the wet and dry filters available. the only downside to the ar-620T is although it holds a higher volume of water than the normal 620 it has no greater surface area so stocking levels can be a bit misjudged.

nice tank though so take your time to cycle the filter and use the time it takes to research your fish choice

 

[the_lock_man]

I have 2 AquaOne tanks, one of which is the smallest one in the same series as yours. I think they're excellent.

You do not need to put the carbon filter in, and you can safely ignore what the instructions say. You only need carbon to remove medication from the water. It is true that the carbon loses its effectiveness after a couple of weeks (hence why they tell you to replace), but once you've removed medication from the tank water, you can throw it away.

Buy an extra filter sponge or two, and cram them in the filter, instead of the carbon cartridge.

You need to make sure that the holes on the spraybar into the filter itself are aimed downwards. I replaced it wrongly once, and had a self-emptying tank - not a nice experience.

The only other downside is that you cannot adjust the rate of flow on the filter, and with it coming down from above, it creates quite a big down-current at the front of the tank. This does help food get down to the level of the cories, but also it means that slow-water fish like SFF and Gouramis are blown about a bit too much for their liking.

Other than that, excellent tanks.

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

I've had a 620T for just under a year, but in all that time I've never actually tried the built-in filter at all (using a Fluvel U4 instead), as it did not come with any filter pads/media (but was still heck of a bargain for £20). I keep meaning to take the rear section of lid off the tank and see if the pump and pipes are all in working order by testing it in some fresh water in the bath, if all is good then simply grab some fresh Koi filter wool from my giant sheet and some Substrat Pro media from one of my external filters.

Despite holding 130l, they are tricky tanks to stock suitably long term, as the surface area for gaseous exchange is relatively small for atank with that volume. With the odd exception, this is why I've mostly used mine as a tank to let young purchased fish grow up in safety before adding them to either my 240l or 560l (both of which have predatory/aggressive fish in them at the mo).

Have to be honest, I would probably swap my 620T in a flash for a 3x1x1 or bigger with a lid and basic lighting, just for the bigger footprint on the tank bottom (as I have a thing for catfish) and better gaseous exchange.

 

[Jamie24]

Thanks for the information your giving, very helpful, I'm not planning on having the tank up and running until after Christmas so I have lots of time to research and plan my tank before doing something hasty and getting it wrong.

I need to do some reading up on cycling as the tank I had in the past was inherited so was already up and running, all in all seems I've made a good choice, it was the best tank for the size of the house so I was actually already limited to choice.

Keep the advice coming guys, thanks.

 

[fishyfeet]

i have just the thing, have a read here

http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/277264-beginners-resource-center/

and take your time, some tank can tank a month or two to cycle so you havent as much time as your thought, di

 

[Jamie24]

Just wondering if anybody has an opinion on the powerhead situation I mentioned in my first post.