Filter Advice

[Shannon]

I am setting up another aquarium.  I'm not sure if it is a 77 gallon or 90.  The dimensions are 48L 18W 24H.  My other tank has a Fluval 404 filter. I am low on cash for the second tank and was wondering about using an Aqua clear 300 .  Is this big enough or maybe I could use 2 of them?  I'm asking because they are on sale for $29 even if I had to buy 2 of them thats only $60 verses $200 for another Fluval.  Does anyone have any comments or ideas I appreciate all the help and advice.  Thanks

[RedFish]

I am a newbie so take this advice with a grain of aquarium salt. Your tank dimensions are for a 90 gallon.  An Aquaclear 300 is rated for tanks up to 100 gallons, so since most people like more filtration rather than less, I think 2 AC300s should do the trick.  I am sure someone with more knowledge will have an opinion on this.
Good luck with your tank.

[artw]

2 AC300's are perfect
where are you getting ac's for $29?  giddyup. I want 2.

[BigDaddy]

It also depends on if this will be a planted tank or not.

If you intend to plant ... then you don't need (or want for that matter) the kind of filtration you'd have in a non-planted tank.

For example, my 25 gallon only has an AC Mini (100 GPH).  This only results in 4x filtration.  In a non-planted tank, most people with power filters (not canisters) look for around 10x filtration.

[Shannon]

The ac 300 is on sale Petcetera this month.  I just thought it sounded cheap.  And well right now I need cheap. If you think they are O.K. then I know you know what your talking about. Do they work well and last I guess. I don't want it to break in a few months.

[Pisidan]

yeah I was at petcetera a day or to ago yeah it is on sale but I find compared to other pet stores other than when they have deals it is pretty expensive there!!

[artw]

they work very well.
I wouldnt drive all the way out to petcetera to get one or 2 though.

[Shannon]

I live almost beside the place, so going is no big deal.

[ambushman2j]

I wouldn't trust a large tank with any aquaclear as my main filter personally..they make good secondary filters but I don't think they can handle anywhere near what they claim to

[luvfishies]

I would RUN not walk, and nab a couple of them for that awesome price.

AC filters rock, they are soooo customisable. I have them as primary filters on all my tanks but one here, and that has an AC500, AC300 and a Fluval 404 (which I loathe).

Heck, on a 90 you could do 3 of the 300s, depending on what you're stocking the tank with. I will be getting a few at that price, "just in case". yOu can never have too many filters kicking around!

[ambushman2j]

well, it's personal opinion, but aquaclears require constant maintenance for them to operate at full ability and that means basically every 2 weeks at most, especially if you have any type of plants (with cichlids) the plants get clogged in the intake tube and the flow is down to a dribble within the week, this has happened to all my tanks with aquaclears, since they are not my main filter I don't really care, but for this reason, I would just as soon flush my fish down the toilet then allow an aquaclear to be my main filter on anything larger then a 33 gallon , for me they make excellent secondary filters, the decreased flow rate makes for better bacteria contact, for me fluval has been the best filter for my buck, highly effective, extremely low maintenance and highly customizable

[cichlid_girl]

luvfishies why do you loathe the fluval 404?? just wondering as i was thinking of buying one of these filters in the near future.
I personally have always been a big fan of aquaclear filters. I have a AC 500 and a 402 powerhead on my 50 gallon.
and by tomorrow morning i will probably have a ac 300 for a future tank if they are selling for only 30 bucks.

[luvfishies]

ambush, I use prefilters on my ACs which cuts down enormously on the maintenance required, as all I do with each weekly waterchange is pop the sponge prefilter off, rinse it in tankwater, and pop it back on.

cichlid_girl, I have fought everything from 30 mins to 2 hours + trying to get the Fluval restarted. I've tried every trick in the book, and it's just pershickety as heck. The corrugated lines gunk up really fast, and I tend to put off maintaining it cos it's such a pain. If you don't maintain them regularly, they become nitrATE factories, as the accumulated grime breaks down "out of sight".

If they ever make a model that starts right, with a reliable AquaStop, I would rec them highly. As it is, I loathe mine, although I do love the huge media baskets.

[dpatte]

ambush, I use prefilters on my ACs which cuts down enormously on the maintenance required, as all I do with each weekly waterchange is pop the sponge prefilter off, rinse it in tankwater, and pop it back on.

cichlid_girl, I have fought everything from 30 mins to 2 hours + trying to get the Fluval restarted. I've tried every trick in the book, and it's just pershickety as heck. The corrugated lines gunk up really fast, and I tend to put off maintaining it cos it's such a pain. If you don't maintain them regularly, they become nitrATE factories, as the accumulated grime breaks down "out of sight".

If they ever make a model that starts right, with a reliable AquaStop, I would rec them highly. As it is, I loathe mine, although I do love the huge media baskets.

oh gawd, even my friends are fish geeks

[gvv]

...aquaclears require constant maintenance for them to operate at full ability...

Do you know any filter which you may "install-and-forget"?  :wink:
All of them need maintenace. The problem is that some can be cleaned fast and easy and some - not so easy. You are happy that you cleaned them only once per 2 weeks. I do it at least once per week and still happy. Water is crystal clear, so from my opinion AC are good filters.
But you know someone preffer one thing, some the opposite. Thats why we need variety  

[ambushman2j]

The problem with your fluval is likely that you have bow in your input/output tubes, I had this problem as well, but since I figured that out, I have never had a priming problem again on a fluval..for me fluval has been the least maintenance filter I have ever used, working at 100% after 6 months of not even opening it up or cleaning any of the outputs/inputs, comparable to HAVING to clean everything on my aquaclears, emperors and magnums

aquaclears are good filters yes, but my point is I would not trust it to do a large tank by itself.

[cichlid_girl]

i went to petecetra today and picked up a ac300. they also have a sale on their fluva 104 for 60 bucks. aparently they rotate thier sales and when the 404 is on sale it goes for between 100-120. other than that i found things very expensive...

[ambushman2j]

I am not sure what the point of fluval 104 is.. just like I wouldn't want a aquaclear on my larger tanks, I wouldn't want a fluval on my smaller ones..seems too much for a small tank which could easily get by with a HOTB filter