I know the aquaclear is supposed to be highly rated. In fact all my aquariums have used Aquaclears. After using them for a few year I find them to be a HUGE pain in the neck.
1, If you have floating plants, half will end up being sucked up by the fillter.
2. Good luck in getting that funny little piece in the back to hold in place on some of the filers. I've had filters of all sizea and sometimes the piece is wide enough stay in place, other times you'll be chasing it all over the floor (including under all furniture.
After about 6 months they all seem to settle in. But what a STUPID idea to tilt the filte
3. It become more and more difficult to get that tube in place over the impleller and have it push down short enough to allow the lid to go on the filter. I spend HOURS a week trying to get these things settled into their "sweet spot" otherwise I do the best I can and set a rock on the lid which looks pretty stupid;
4. The parts warp something awful (except for the media basket) All my fitlers used to be perfectly square, now they have warped and are no longer square, this makes the U-tupe difficult to impossible to get in place and if it's not in place the lid won't go on (use a rock). Also not to help matters the lid warps like crazy.
I absolutely have come to HATE this filter = but everything I've read about the ones out there are even worse. How hard can this be for a smart engineering student to solve (hey how about not using hard plastic)
I'm getting my 90 gallon tank set up for my four DoJo's - 8-15" long and some as big around a a quarter. I realized I'd have to go to a canister because not even the biggest auquclear will keep the tank clean even if I clean it EVERY OTHER DAY. They are large fish and excrete large amounts of poop and love to rearrange the tank to their liking (each day). I'm hoping that between having a 90 gallon tank AND using a canister filter that I will finally have a tank that stays clean for more thant 2-3 days. If a canoster filter fails to keep a clean tank I'm ready to throw in the towel -I'm sick of having dirty water if the fish happen to be fairly active (my sedate fish tanks will stay sparkling clean no matter what I do or how badly the Aquaclear is performing)
1, If you have floating plants, half will end up being sucked up by the fillter.
2. Good luck in getting that funny little piece in the back to hold in place on some of the filers. I've had filters of all sizea and sometimes the piece is wide enough stay in place, other times you'll be chasing it all over the floor (including under all furniture.
After about 6 months they all seem to settle in. But what a STUPID idea to tilt the filte
3. It become more and more difficult to get that tube in place over the impleller and have it push down short enough to allow the lid to go on the filter. I spend HOURS a week trying to get these things settled into their "sweet spot" otherwise I do the best I can and set a rock on the lid which looks pretty stupid;
4. The parts warp something awful (except for the media basket) All my fitlers used to be perfectly square, now they have warped and are no longer square, this makes the U-tupe difficult to impossible to get in place and if it's not in place the lid won't go on (use a rock). Also not to help matters the lid warps like crazy.
I absolutely have come to HATE this filter = but everything I've read about the ones out there are even worse. How hard can this be for a smart engineering student to solve (hey how about not using hard plastic)
I'm getting my 90 gallon tank set up for my four DoJo's - 8-15" long and some as big around a a quarter. I realized I'd have to go to a canister because not even the biggest auquclear will keep the tank clean even if I clean it EVERY OTHER DAY. They are large fish and excrete large amounts of poop and love to rearrange the tank to their liking (each day). I'm hoping that between having a 90 gallon tank AND using a canister filter that I will finally have a tank that stays clean for more thant 2-3 days. If a canoster filter fails to keep a clean tank I'm ready to throw in the towel -I'm sick of having dirty water if the fish happen to be fairly active (my sedate fish tanks will stay sparkling clean no matter what I do or how badly the Aquaclear is performing)
