Seachem Tidal Reviews/Updates?

[JenTheDroid]

Does anyone have any long term reviews? I’ve been using two 55’s on my 55 gallon. The maintenance indicator goes up after a few days (even when I just cleaned it a few days earlier). I thought using 2 would help with maintenance. The surface skimmer makes feeding difficult. Anytime I do clean it (once a week except when the indicator pops up again) so much debris gets let out into the tank from where it was stuck in the basket so I have to take the whole filter off every time. The only thing I’ve done recently in the past week was adding a pre filter sponge. 
 

I thought the self primming was a big deal to me but I unplug my filters during water changes anyway because the water was still getting too low. 
 

I really wanted to love them but I’m not sure I do. I feel like it was mostly hype when I joined the hobby. I’m considering getting 2 Aquaclear 70’s. 
 

I only ever see positive reviews so I was wondering if everyone really does just love them or if there are some people who are like me and are on the fence? 

[Zac]

On 5/31/2022 at 9:07 PM, JenTheDroid said:

Does anyone have any long term reviews? I’ve been using two 55’s on my 55 gallon. The maintenance indicator goes up after a few days (even when I just cleaned it a few days earlier). I thought using 2 would help with maintenance. The surface skimmer makes feeding difficult. Anytime I do clean it (once a week except when the indicator pops up again) so much debris gets let out into the tank from where it was stuck in the basket so I have to take the whole filter off every time. The only thing I’ve done recently in the past week was adding a pre filter sponge. 
 

I thought the self primming was a big deal to me but I unplug my filters during water changes anyway because the water was still getting too low. 
 

I really wanted to love them but I’m not sure I do. I feel like it was mostly hype when I joined the hobby. I’m considering getting 2 Aquaclear 70’s. 
 

I only ever see positive reviews so I was wondering if everyone really does just love them or if there are some people who are like me and are on the fence? 

Before I switched to sponge filters I loved mine. But I do agree with the debris situation. It can get irritating. I ran into the same issue with the indicator as well. Honestly…I would just ignore the little indicator and clean the filter as needed. 

Edited June 1, 2022 by Zac

[Corbidorbidoodle]

Prime Time Aquatics loves his. (Fishtuber) 

I saw someone hack theirs by drilling some extra holes in the bottom of the removable basket. They were having the same problem as you.

[JessLynne7]

On 5/31/2022 at 9:07 PM, JenTheDroid said:

Does anyone have any long term reviews? I’ve been using two 55’s on my 55 gallon. The maintenance indicator goes up after a few days (even when I just cleaned it a few days earlier). I thought using 2 would help with maintenance. The surface skimmer makes feeding difficult. Anytime I do clean it (once a week except when the indicator pops up again) so much debris gets let out into the tank from where it was stuck in the basket so I have to take the whole filter off every time. The only thing I’ve done recently in the past week was adding a pre filter sponge. 
 

I thought the self primming was a big deal to me but I unplug my filters during water changes anyway because the water was still getting too low. 
 

I really wanted to love them but I’m not sure I do. I feel like it was mostly hype when I joined the hobby. I’m considering getting 2 Aquaclear 70’s. 
 

I only ever see positive reviews so I was wondering if everyone really does just love them or if there are some people who are like me and are on the fence? 

I love my tidal. My only regret is I got a 35 for a 20 gallon and I hate the intake. I wish I would have got a 55. However the floss is always catching debris so it works great. 

[sairving]

I'm happy with my tidal 35. I keep it on a 10 gallon tank (paired with a sponge filter). At this point, the sponge filter is there in case I need it for a a quarantine or new tank. I baffled the output on the tidal for my betta. 

 

[AndEEss]

Tips:

1) Drill a bunch of holes in the bottom of the container for the sponges. 

2) Buy some Poret sponge, cut to size, add another 2" or more.

3) Fit graphite window screen material into the surface skimmer.

 

I've had two Tidal 110s running on my heavily stocked planted 75 for a while now. Pretty happy with them.

 

[TeeJay]

I have one 55 on my 29 gal tank. It's been almost 5 months. So far it has worked great. The indicator on mine on pops up about every 30-45 days. I have always ran it with a pre sponge filter. The only time I noticed the indicator popping up earlier was when I accidentally put my bag of crushed coral in them the bio bag. Not sure why it made a difference but it popped up about 10 days after cleaning. I do keep my flow set all the way down so I'm not sure if the flow rate would make a difference in the indicator popping up more frequent. But overall so far it has done really well.

[nabokovfan87]

On 5/31/2022 at 7:06 PM, Corbidorbidoodle said:

I saw someone hack theirs by drilling some extra holes in the bottom of the removable basket. They were having the same problem as you.

 

On 5/31/2022 at 6:07 PM, JenTheDroid said:

Does anyone have any long term reviews?

Ask me anything. I've seen/tested/done it all with everything but the tidal 110.  I don't have a tidal 110 because I opted for 2x Tidal 75s.

On 5/31/2022 at 6:07 PM, JenTheDroid said:

I thought using 2 would help with maintenance. The surface skimmer makes feeding difficult.

Turn it off for 20 minutes when feeding, then turn it back on.  The Kasa plugs do have a timer function, awesome little way to handle this. I just got some.

On 5/31/2022 at 6:07 PM, JenTheDroid said:

I’m considering getting 2 Aquaclear 70’s. 
 

I only ever see positive reviews so I was wondering if everyone really does just love them or if there are some people who are like me and are on the fence? 

There's definitely people that LOVE ACs and there's definitely people that hate ACs.  Tidals are the same way.

This is where I broke down my history / issues with the ACs.  I cannot tolerate them! I tried, tried many times to appreciate their design. I just can't. It's a very, very old product that is screaming for a 30 year update.
 

 

[nabokovfan87]

On 5/31/2022 at 6:07 PM, JenTheDroid said:

I thought the self primming was a big deal to me but I unplug my filters during water changes anyway because the water was still getting too low. 

I do this no matter what filter. It's just good practice. With the ACs you have to fill them up after you complete maintenance.

On 6/1/2022 at 6:24 AM, sairving said:

I'm happy with my tidal 35. I keep it on a 10 gallon tank (paired with a sponge filter). At this point, the sponge filter is there in case I need it for a a quarantine or new tank. I baffled the output on the tidal for my betta. 

How did you baffle it?  The water bottle trick?  Is it "easier" to reduce the flow?  I don't like the flow adjustment on the 35. It's not nearly as fine detail as the 55 and higher models.

On 6/1/2022 at 7:36 AM, Uttjrt3 said:

Not sure why it made a difference but it popped up about 10 days after cleaning.

I'm guessing you have one piece of sponge, the matrix in there, and then the CC in there?  Were you running anything else in the basket?

I honestly get the indicator without fail... 12-24 hours after cleaning it.

On 6/1/2022 at 7:36 AM, Uttjrt3 said:

I do keep my flow set all the way down so I'm not sure if the flow rate would make a difference in the indicator popping up more frequent. But overall so far it has done really well.

This makes a LOT more sense! I'm glad to hear it's working well for you.  Lowering the flow definitely helps cut down the bypass. If you add a piece of sponge on the "window cutout" you should basically never have an issue and you'll get a bit better performance before it does bypass.

[sairving]

@nabokovfan87I took an intake sponge, cut it in half, and keep the filter flow turned all the way down. The sponge sits a tiny bit in the water.

[nabokovfan87]

On 6/4/2022 at 6:27 AM, sairving said:

I took an intake sponge, cut it in half, and keep the filter flow turned all the way down. The sponge sits a tiny bit in the water.

Seems to be a trend of turning them all the way down.  Interesting.  I just put silicone over mine, waiting to run tests, but it's going to be interesting to see those results.

[JenTheDroid]

On 6/4/2022 at 2:35 AM, nabokovfan87 said:

 

Ask me anything. I've seen/tested/done it all with everything but the tidal 110.  I don't have a tidal 110 because I opted for 2x Tidal 75s.

Turn it off for 20 minutes when feeding, then turn it back on.  The Kasa plugs do have a timer function, awesome little way to handle this. I just got some.

There's definitely people that LOVE ACs and there's definitely people that hate ACs.  Tidals are the same way.

This is where I broke down my history / issues with the ACs.  I cannot tolerate them! I tried, tried many times to appreciate their design. I just can't. It's a very, very old product that is screaming for a 30 year update.
 

 

Overall, I just hate it. I hate the weird sponge shape. I don’t want to have to drill holes, cut things, use silicone, etc. because it is so much extra work for me. 
 

I also don’t want to have to turn it off just to feed my fish. 
 

As far as a baffle goes (from reading the other comments) there is a guy on Etsy that sells 3D printed baffles. His shop name is GalaxyGlowStudio. He makes several different kinds (in the description). I know some people don’t like the outflow for the Aquaclear but I would just get some from him for it. 

[nabokovfan87]

On 6/4/2022 at 9:28 AM, JenTheDroid said:

Overall, I just hate it. I hate the weird sponge shape. I don’t want to have to drill holes, cut things, use silicone, etc. because it is so much extra work for me. 

I completely agree. I replaced the foam, but honestly that's not mandatory.  I would suggest taking a pair of wire cutters / side cutters and removing some of the bottom of the basket as I showed in the post. Beyond that, adding a piece of sponge to the window cutout will make your filter operate "as it should" without any real hassle or detailed rework.  I don't think drilling holes ever works.  I have one I did drill, but the size of holes you need to achieve anything beneficial just introduces more bypass.

If you're looking for something that has similar features but doesn't have as many issues, the marineland or aqueon HoBs are pretty similar. I'd suggest stuffing them both full with sponge and leaving it at that. 

Pretty much no matter what HoB it is, you're going to end up adding/cutting some sponge.

On 6/4/2022 at 9:28 AM, JenTheDroid said:

As far as a baffle goes (from reading the other comments) there is a guy on Etsy that sells 3D printed baffles. His shop name is GalaxyGlowStudio. He makes several different kinds (in the description). I know some people don’t like the outflow for the Aquaclear but I would just get some from him for it. 

Very cool, thank you for this.

On 6/4/2022 at 9:28 AM, JenTheDroid said:

I also don’t want to have to turn it off just to feed my fish. 

I just tried it out, worked fine.  I definitely agree that we should have to or shouldn't need to do something like that in order to feed the fish.  In the saltwater side of things this is a "feature" and is something they do have where there is a feed mode people go into and it turns on/off certain things using their controllers.

[sairving]

On 6/4/2022 at 10:33 AM, nabokovfan87 said:

Seems to be a trend of turning them all the way down.  Interesting.  I just put silicone over mine, waiting to run tests, but it's going to be interesting to see those results.

I've learned that I need some flow in the tank to keep algae under control but it still has to be betta friendly. The sponge keeps the flow around the filter down a bit and the sponge filter provides gentle surface agitation.  

My 5-gallon tank ran a sponge filter and an Aquatop forza 5-15. The flow on the Forza could be turned down to a trickle.