Aqua One H500 Filter

[JJJ]

Hi All,

Just a few questions on Aqua one h500 filter, it has a Bio grid cartridge, a carbon filter cartridge( wool,facing the back of the filter), and I added some sponges behing the carbon cartridge at the back of the filter.

Just wondering if I have the cartridge order correct, Aftyer maintanece it usually take s a few days for the water to clear up and then its not 100 % clear, by the end of the week I have to repeat the process, maybe some one has some more experience they can share in order to improve things.

I"II try and decribe it, it its two confusing I'II send attactment

From the front of the filter with water flowing towards you there is a Bio cartridge filter, plastic grid like design, with a 4 curcular holes through it around the centre of the grid.

then there is carbonised poly fibre cartridge, wool on one side and plastic casing on the other with fine crooves through it (carbon balls encased)

Behind that I have loose sponge that I have had for 10 weeks,

I have had a look some manuals for the H100 on the aqua one site, it didn't seem to have a bio cartrigde filter, replaced with a sponge, the instructions ai got with the filter are very vage, just a list of parts and safety instructions

http/www.aquaone.co.uk/documents/Hangon1...ions_lowres.pdf

Does anybody have any better reference or has more experience with HBO's??

Thanks a mill
/jjj

 

[rabbut]

The filter is rated to 120l. Manufacturer recomendations are usualy optomistic, so I wouldn't use it on anything larger than 80l. What size is your tank? What are your water stats for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and pH? The long-term cloudyness could be due to an under-performing filter. I don't use (and never have used) HOB filters, so I can't realy coment on media configuration, but untill another member jumps in, I can safely say that media arangement in other filter types isn't anywhere near as important as the filter capasity when comparied to the tank volume

All the best
Rabbut

 

[waterdrop]

I have used HOBs, the AquaClear ones, which have a pretty simple rectangular box that you can fill with layers of media such that it isn't so different from a cannister filter. I now use a cannister filter and certainly agree with you rabbut - the cannisters have much more overall volume, which is the most important thing. Still, good media placement and sealing and appropriate flow-rate resulting from the media can be important both to the mechanical filtration function and also to the life of the pump head which has to pull the water through.

We need to get dorsey to come along and comment. He's the expert on AquaOne designs and modifications. Maybe someone will have to PM him if he doesn't see this...

~~waterdrop~~

 

[JJJ]

Here are my tank diamensions:
l=92,w=36,h=46, =40gal (US) it is planted with hydros and crypts

I am doing water tests twice a week:
the last four weeks have been similar, the only variation is nitrate and PH, ammonia gets to .25 after filter media clean( in tank water), the next day it settles to 0

Amm=0
Nitrite=0
ph=6.8 to 7
nitrate= 5 to 10
gh=9
kh=7.

stock =4 serpaes, 4 red eyes, 8 silver tips, 2 bon airies, 1 sae and 1 bristle nose, I don't think its a stocking issue..

fish are still healthy, eating/active ect...

I emailed customer support at aqua one this is the respnse I got, the web page is hopeless as well:

Please follow the instructions that come with the filter, the H500 does not come with a sponge, the white wool needs to face the back of the filter.

Regards
Irene


Sent: Monday, 21 July 2008 11:27 PM
To: info@aquaone.com.au
Subject: RE: Clear view 500

Here is the attachment..


Sent: Monday, 21 July 2008 11:25 PM
To: 'info@aquaone.com.au'
Subject: Clear view 500

Hi Customer support ,
I am after a aqua one clear view filter instruction for “clear view 500”, some questions, you may answer..

MY filter I have a carbonised poly fiber cartridge and a Bio Cartridge, I have no room for sponges,
1. Can I replace the bio cartridge with sponges?

In the instruction kit with the Filter, under setup you have the wool side of the carbonized poly fiber cartridge facing towards the front, in the attached manual it shows you to face it towards the back of the filter which way is correct? ( this Instruction manual is not exactly my model, it the closest I could find)
Any advice is appreciated, as I cannot get my filter to working properly.

Thanks again /jjj

 

[rabbut]

The tank is on the border of what the manufacurer says it can do, so in reality I'd place my bets on an underpreforming filter. (i.e. it isn't big enough for your tank) This is reflected in the "blip" after media cleans. Even after a complete and thourough media clean, within 1 hour of cleanindg the media, ammonia and nitrite should be zero. If they are not the filter isn't preforming well enough. Ammonia and nitrite will in practice only raise with a sufficient filter if ammonia and nitrite are presant in your tap water (assuming the filter is mature, which it should be after 10 weeks )

I'd either replace it with a bigger one, or get another small filter to run along side

Drop Dorsy a PM with a link to this thread, and I'm sure he can enlighten us all over media configurations

HTH
Rabbut

 

[backtotropical]

Just a few questions on Aqua one h500 filter, it has a Bio grid cartridge, a carbon filter cartridge( wool,facing the back of the filter), and I added some sponges behing the carbon cartridge at the back of the filter.

Hi JJJ,

The order of the cartridges should be the same in any filter. I'm not familiar with the particular filter, so i will list the cartridges in the order that the water should flow through them.

1. Water into filter

2. Water through sponges (this will remove any debris in the water and make filtering more efficient)

3. Water through carbon cartridge (wool side first to remove any fine particles which may have got through the sponges)

4. Finally, water through the bio-grid (this is where the majority of the beneficial bacteria are and should be clean to allow effective filtration, hence why this is always the last stage)

5. Water back into tank.

As a side note, carbon isn't really necessary for every-day filtration and would be better replaced by another bio-grid. This may also solve your problem, unless your filter is really under-performing.

Hope this helps

BTT

 

[rhostog]

I have an Aqua One filter of a different construction, so can't help with this specific model, but I would say that the order given in the instructions for mine is not the normal order described in backtotropical's post (though I believe backtotropical's order does apply to most other filters - and seems more logical as well). In my Aqua One, the instructions are very clear that water goes first through the carbon cartridges, wool side first, then the black sponges, and finally the ceramic noodles. The result is that the wool side of the carbon cartridges gets very dirty and tends to clog unless you clean it regularly (weekly at least in my case, but platys are quite messy and I've got lots of plants, bits of leaves etc.), but the black sponges and ceramic noodles stay pretty clean.

I'm not saying that this is good! or that it applies to any other filter, Aqua One or otherwise, just that they seem to have their own way of doing things... as a relative newbie, I've just followed the instructions and don't know enough to start adapting or modifying things.

As long as I rinse the wool side of the carbon cartridges regularly, my tank water stays very clear. If I neglect them, they clog and the water starts flowing around the edges, missing the filter. I can imagine that if this was allowed to continue, it could cause problems for the bacteria as well as cloudy water.

In my Aqua One model, you can replace the carbon cartridges with white wool filters. They have serial numbers on the replacement packs. In mine, the carbon cartridges are 2C and the equivalent white wool are 2W (simple enough code!) The white wool filters are slimmer than the carbon cartridges, and if you don't need the carbon then they do the same job. There might be something similar available for yours?

I don't know if this is any help to you - hope you get it sorted. As others have suggested, doresy has a lot of experience with Aqua Ones (and has given me good advice in the past) so may be able to advise...

 

[backtotropical]

Thats very interesting Rhostog. I can't imagine why they would set it up like that, but you'd have to think they know what they are doing?

 

[rhostog]

Thats very interesting Rhostog. I can't imagine why they would set it up like that, but you'd have to think they know what they are doing?

Well... I don't know about that...

I'm a newbie, I just follow the instructions. Not always the best idea, I know!
It is a pain having to clean the wool every few days, but otherwise it seems to work fine. I'd kind of assumed it was my fault for having lots of plants shedding bits into the water (and of course platys!) As I do frequent small water changes anyway (due to dodgy tap water) it's just part of my routine.
Since reading about other filters I have wondered about experimenting with swapping things around, but my tank's only 4 months old and I don't yet feel confident enough to mess with it! Sounds like you'd expect to see the black sponge on top, then the carbon cartridge, then the ceramic noodles? So most of the larger bits would be trapped by the black sponge, but the finer stuff would end up on the cartridge. I'm not sure if this would make it easier for me to clean or not...

 

[JJJ]

Hi again

Did a Water change on Sunday Water is its clearest today/tommorrow by Friday/Saturday the filter begin to slow down and glogg up.

BTT/Rhostog
Thats the order I got it in , the instructions are a little different and if you see the instruction for the H100 (attatched, and also on aqua-one web page) the sponge is after the carbon cartridge( it has no bio grid) I thought the sponges also act as a bio filter?

http/www.aquaone.co.uk/documents/Hangon1...ions_lowres.pdf

Rabbut / Waterdrop
I have also sent Doresy a PM, Rabbut I agree the filter is too small, any recomendations, also gives me an reason to get another tank, currently extending the house,

Thanks/JJJ

 

[rabbut]

What type of filter are you after? Internal, HOB, exturnal e.t.c? For a new tank, it would presumable be a larger one? If so, look towards an exturnal for ease of use. IMO, anything over 50g starts to become impractical to filter on internals, I have (as stated above) no expreience with HOB's so can realy coment on their effectiveness. All my tanks run on exturnals now, purely for ease of use and the other benifits like asthetical reasons and increased filtration efficiency.

All the best
Rabbut

 

[JJJ]

What type of filter are you after? Internal, HOB, exturnal e.t.c? For a new tank, it would presumable be a larger one? If so, look towards an exturnal for ease of use. IMO, anything over 50g starts to become impractical to filter on internals, I have (as stated above) no expreience with HOB's so can realy coment on their effectiveness. All my tanks run on exturnals now, purely for ease of use and the other benifits like asthetical reasons and increased filtration efficiency.

All the best
Rabbut

Hi Rabbut,
I was after a good external, easy to use, maybe to replace this HOB , and put the hob an a smaller tank say 20G...
/jjj

 

[rabbut]

With exturnals, Eheim are rated the best on here, though I don't realy like them after a bad run with the Ecco range... speaking of which. If you go Eheim, avoid the Eccos, and the thermo versions of any model Eccos have a poor track record, I'm not the only member to have issues with them, and the thermo filters keep having sensor failures, which are more previlant in hard-water areas Classics are proven bits of kit, but VERY basic with very limited flexibility. Pro1's are lacking any kind of "ease of use" devises, such as self-primers.... Not much to go wrong, but then there isn't much to go right either Pro 3's aren't yet proven over time. The sweat spot with Eheim ATM is the Pro2 range. You pay big money for Eheim, so if you are on a budget, they aren't for you

I personally use mainly Tetratec. With your tank, I'd get an EX1200 (>£70 deliverd online from 1st4aquatics.co.uk ATM, whom I have used before and found to be very good ) as the EX700 would be underpowered also IMO

Tetratec are getting good reviwes, but they have only been about just over 3 years, so they are also unproven. This is reflected in the price, but if they run for ages like Eheim, I can see a challenge for dominance in the UK extrunal filter market comming up in the next 20 or so years..... About time too, someone needs to make Eheim think about quality again, as they are now putting Pro badges onto Eccos..... One is sceptical as to whether they are worthy of it, or whether Eheim are using it as a price booster, forgetting that their customers see the pro badge as a sign of reliability and quality that frankly isn't there on the Eccos....

All the best
Rabbut

HTH
Rabbut

 

[JJJ]

HI Rabbut,

Fixed the filter cartridge order thanks all that contributed. In the end I think it was a Tinnan outbreak from Blog wood, No casauIties, water parameters where fine throughout.
The tank is clearer than ever, now I only change the water once a week, i'm tring to streach it to 1 every 2 weeks. still got the old hob for the bio filter.... and looking for another tank!!
This is contaciuos!!

I bought A Eheim Classic 2213, did a little reseach, my budget was around $150 AUD so to ones you mentioned Pro2 are around $300 AUD also looking at the fluval 305 ( i saw it and couldn't justify the price) $250 AUD , Even looked at tetratec, they are not sold here (Australia), looked at even buying it and get shipped over $250 AUD...Aquaone cannister where cheap and in my range, May hob is aquaone, so once burnt twice shy!!

Got the classic 2213 for $100 AU brand new with all filter media,noodles, carbon balls, and extra course and fine sponges, couldn't go past it..checked other retailers price varied from $150-200 AUD

Thanks again, JJJ.