Fool me once, shame on you...

[AbbeysDad]

Fool me twice, shame on me!
A couple of weeks ago, the Aquaclear 50 on the 29g tank overflowed and there was about 5g missing from the tank!!! Now I'm a fan of the Aquaclear HOB and I have three AC 70's in addition to this AC50. I've had the 70's running for years and never had this happen before. I guess the sponges got plugged enough so flow back to the tank was restricted, but the pump just pumped water over the back!
Well, this morning I went down to find it happened again! I cleaned the filter and media and it went back in the box. Fortunately I also have a large sponge filter in this grow out tank so all should be well...
Just some more water to clean up (concrete basement floor so no damage)

 

[Back in the fold]

Concrete floor is way better than what happened to @seangee. He got water on a laminate floor. That will probably warp. What is going on around here !?!? That's two leaks in two days on this Forum. Hope it isn't contagious.

 

[Metalhead88]

I have been using Aquaclear filters since entering the hobby.

I had that happen to me a few times on an AC110 probably over 10 years ago. I'm not sure if i wasn't using it at the time or the older versions didn't have it, but the aquaclear filters that I've bought recently have a little adjustable tab that presses on the back of the tank to push the outlet more towards the tank if you choose.

My past solution was to stick a CD case between the filter and the glass to aim the outlet more towards the tank. I had CD cases on every filter at one point haha.

I think if you can do something similar, it won't happen again.

 

[seangee]

My past solution was to stick a CD case between the filter and the glass to aim the outlet more towards the tank. I had CD cases on every filter at one point haha.

Now you're giving your age away. May as well explain what a CD is before someone asks

 

[Fishmanic]

I have some old Elvis 45s I could stack up and put between my aquaclear 50 and the tank.

 

[AbbeysDad]

My past solution was to stick a CD case between the filter and the glass to aim the outlet more towards the tank. I had CD cases on every filter at one point haha. I think if you can do something similar, it won't happen again.

After the first time, I had a fish food cap back there and the adjuster rotated so the filter was as high in the rear as it would go. The water 'should' have exited around the inlet tube, back into the tank. In this case, sponge material raised up and water exited the rear over the top of the filter. I've never seen this happen on any of the AC 70's I have.
Oh well...."STUFF" happens.
Water water everywhere and not a drop to drink! lol

 

[seangee]

Ok I confess I have never actually seen an Aquaclear in the flesh but I can see from pictures how that could happen. Quite pleased now I went with Seachem Tidals as the design means it would require particularly diligent application of my signature line to make the same thing happen .

Moved the flex this morning at the mid point of a large water change and everything under there (and around it) looks ok so far. In fairness I did move it when I discovered it - the big test will be later this afternoon when I do the W/C on the 20G standing next to it (which I was unable to move safely while full).

Edit: water change is almost done on tank 2, all good (so far) there too.

 

[PheonixKingZ]

Concrete floor is way better than what happened to @seangee. He got water on a laminate floor. That will probably warp. What is going on around here !?!? That's two leaks in two days on this Forum. Hope it isn't contagious.

I didn’t even recognize you my dude! You changed your avatar!

 

[Jan Cavalieri]

I have 4 Aquaclears - 1-20 and 3-50 I used to be a fan but I'm sick of the constant cleaning and maintenance these suckers need - I'm finding myself cleaning them every week - that's just ridiculous - something is always clogged in there. I added sponges at the end of the input tube - worked great for about 1 day, then the sponges sucked up so much plant debris that the sponge filters had caused the whole thing to stop - on top of that the intake tube ALSO sucked up plant debris even with the filter on it. I'm sorry, but my aquarium has plants and I expect the filter to be able to deal with it. Some plants are VERY messy and I do my best to remove the loose debris daily - but that's as bad as trying to get with of a snail infestation (oh the snails LOVED the external filter and about a dozen would be attached to that filter every day - probably also related to it clogging.

Some place rated the filter the #1 HOB filter - the rest were all canisters. Are they hard to set up? Are they outside the tank keeping themselves safe from plant debris or inside the tank taking up a ridiculous amount of space.

Sorry - having a no-good very bad day and part of it involved cleaning 2 of these #1 power filters.

 

[Jan Cavalieri]

Oh and the instructions and picture of that little plastic piece that goes on the bottom of the filter is there to push the filter forward and keep it from overflowing. Does it even resemble ANYTHING that would perform such a function? How many times has yours fallen off the back on to the floor - you pick it up and have to find that little bitty hole that it goes in. I don't use CD's but I've stuck a wadded up piece of a magazine page under the filter - works just as well - and they don't even seem to get wet. FU little plastic piece that nobody knows what to do with. LOL.

 

[Fishmanic]

You might try turning down the flow by using the flow control knob on the top of the filter. I don't own a canister filter but from what I read, they can have their own issues...like leaking and time consumer tear downs to clean them. But I believe you don't have to clean the canister filter as often as a HOB filer as it holds much more media. And they make for a neater looking tank with just the intake and return tubes going into the tank. If you are handicapped, you may find a canister filter too awkward to service.

I clean the sponges (squeeze out in tank water) in my aquaclear 50 every two weeks and replace a layer of filter floss at that time. I do a full filter housing / tubing/ impeller cleaning about every 6 weeks at which time the impeller area is pretty gunked up.

 

[AbbeysDad]

I have 4 Aquaclears - 1-20 and 3-50 I used to be a fan but I'm sick of the constant cleaning and maintenance these suckers need - I'm finding myself cleaning them every week - that's just ridiculous - something is always clogged in there. .......

As HOB filters go, the Aquaclear is one of, if not THE best. Most other HOB's use cartridges that are marketing genius (like razors practically free because blades cost a small fortune over time!).
Jan, you need a more coarse pre-filter sponge and as mentioned, to adjust/reduce the flow by rotating the inlet tube.
And I've never had the rear adjuster just fall out.
The one 'issue' is that the entire filter needs to be removed about once a month to clean out the impeller magnet that gets gunked up - otherwise, if you unplug it or there's a power issue, the impeller magnet may get stuck in the muck and not turn.

 

[Buckley]

I have been using Aquaclear filters since entering the hobby.

I had that happen to me a few times on an AC110 probably over 10 years ago. I'm not sure if i wasn't using it at the time or the older versions didn't have it, but the aquaclear filters that I've bought recently have a little adjustable tab that presses on the back of the tank to push the outlet more towards the tank if you choose.

My past solution was to stick a CD case between the filter and the glass to aim the outlet more towards the tank. I had CD cases on every filter at one point haha.

I think if you can do something similar, it won't happen again.

Coarse sponges work great too!

 

[Craycray]

I’ve had same experience but my floors are wood! I put Sticky note pads between my tank and the filter now. But for the most part I have sponge filters and a few fluval canisters.