Help? Unplugged HOB, but won't turn back on.

[Guppysnail]

On 9/29/2021 at 7:45 PM, PineSong said:

Good to know. I've been stuck on Aquaclears for@18 years and have not been able to wean myself off.  I have some tanks with both Aquaclears and sponges, and a couple with just sponges where I keep having to talk myself off the ledge of wanting to throw in an Aquaclear. Could be my imagination but I feel like HOBs just make the water look more crisp. If the Marinelands provide the same AND restart after a power outage, that might be a switch I can make. 

Amazon and the big chew online big box pet supply shipper had them on sale for $8 dollars. Yes eight and still do so I jumped on the chance to try. I just moved my media to the new one. I figure better to try now before the Aqua clears kick out so if I didn’t like I could revert. 

[CalmedByFish]

On 9/29/2021 at 5:08 PM, Guppysnail said:

This is awesome to know. I just bought a bunch of marine land penguins (super on sale I assume older model to deplete stock) to replace all my aquaclear. I just can’t do the hassle of not restarting and hard to get going every power outage water change unplug anymore. So far I like them better. They have started every time without issue and amazingly without repriming.  More durable plastic less noise and the surface agitation is lovely 😊.  Hopefully I’ll get close to 10 years out of them 😁

Then I'll add a wee bit of detail. The larger one I had was a Penguin 350. It lasted roughly 10 years before I simply gave it away. (Gave away my glass 55 to get my EPIC custom acrylic 29.) Both Penguins always needed some meticulous straightening of the little stick with the magnet on the end, before very carefully snapping it straight into place. But once the little "magnet sticks" were in place, they stayed straight for years. And I did usually need to pour water into the box while starting them. But once they were on, I don't remember any glitches.

[CalmedByFish]

On 9/29/2021 at 6:45 PM, PineSong said:

Could be my imagination but I feel like HOBs just make the water look more crisp. If the Marinelands provide the same AND restart after a power outage, that might be a switch I can make. 

I do think they make the water clearer, but due to significantly better filter media that can be used with them (like Purigen or fine filter floss.) They also seem to go through a lot more water per hour.

Before you trust a Marineland to restart without help, test it by unplugging it for a minute, and see what happens when you plug it back in. Wouldn't want the motor to be running without water to cool it, while you have no idea it's happening.

Edited September 30, 2021 by CalmedByFish

[Guppysnail]

On 9/29/2021 at 8:27 PM, CalmedByFish said:

I do think they make the water clearer, but due to significantly better filter media that can be used with them (like Purigen or fine filter floss.) They also seem to go through a lot more water per hour.

Before you trust a Marineland to restart without help, test it by unplugging it for a minute, and see what happens when you plug it back in. Wouldn't want the motor to be running without water to cool it, and you have no idea it's happening.

I have repeatedly 🤪 to be sure I did not want stuck with the same issues as aquaclear.  It does …unless it’s a large water change and it drains then it doesn’t 

[tnnlynch]

My less than a year old aquaclear stopped working the other week after a water change. When pulling it off the tank to inspect the filter I accidentally dropped it onto the tank lid and it restarted.  I'm thinking I might get another aquaclear HOB spare just in case.  I have a UPS (spare from a former work PC setup) so restarts after a power outage should be an non issue.

[Guppysnail]

On 10/15/2021 at 12:17 AM, tnnlynch said:

My less than a year old aquaclear stopped working the other week after a water change. When pulling it off the tank to inspect the filter I accidentally dropped it onto the tank lid and it restarted.  I'm thinking I might get another aquaclear HOB spare just in case.  I have a UPS (spare from a former work PC setup) so restarts after a power outage should be an non issue.

If the jarring from a drop restarted it, it was most likely the impeller or impeller housing. Twist the black motor part off to clean the impeller and it’s chamber. It makes it so much easier. I did not know this years ago when I started with aquaclears.