Cleaning Filter Housing

The main issue with not cleaning the housing is the motor can become clogged up with gunk and burn out sooner than expected.

I prefer to clean the filter case and impellor assembly every time you clean the filter media.

 

I think @Colin_T is incorrect - Most HOB's employ magnetic induction to drive the impellers...so if gunk causes the impeller magnet to stick and not turn, it will not affect the motor. It may however prevent the impeller from turning after the power comes back on after a failure or being unplugged.
You might clean housing and impeller once a month.

 

That isn't entirely true. If the impeller binds up the magnetic motor will get hot.

 

I clean mine every 2 months. If I don’t eventually (as @Colin_T pointed out) it will get clogged. Good luck!

 

I've had my tanks for about 4 months and have yet found a clogged impeller assembly - I do take a look at it but most of the clogging is in the tubes leading to the filter (plant gunk) - I have to clean that out nearly 3 or 4 times a week. About 2 months ago I did remove the filter and clean the whole thing but - found no issues inside the filter - there are, however, certain plants that will clog up your tubes multiple times a day (the spikey plants) and I would guess they would eventually get into the filter itself and cause quite a mess to the impeller. I have had to re-adjust the tubing to my impeller - my filter seems to be warping over time and the tube to the impeller does not have the tight fit it used to - I can barely adjust the water flow. I have what is considered to be a good brand (AquaClear 50) but am completely unimpressed due to the warping of the lid and casing. I spent a lot on this filter and am extremely disappointed but I will wait a little while and see if it gets any worse then buy a different brand if I have to. Suggestions are welcome.

 

(I have 3 AC70's and 1 AC50)

> 4 months is actually quite short when a tank isn't established for 6 months or longer. Eventually you may see detritus build up in the impeller magnet cavity.

> Consider using a foam pre-filter on the inlet tube as this prevents the plant waste from causing an issue.

> I've never seen any warping of lids or case??? Do you have lights (heat) too close to the filter? I will say that the AC50 seems a bit more 'flimsy' compared to the AC70's. And I have had some lid rattle on the AC70's so I have a couple of glass fish ornaments on top as weights.