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I've had it with my Fluval 405! One of my juvenile angel fish got caught in the intake tube last night.  He seemed perfectly healthy yesterday, so I'm thinking he got stuck while sleeping.  The filter is such a pain to do maintenance on (I'm too embarrassed to say how long it's been since my husband and I last wrestled with it), and now it killed one of my favorite fish.  It's got to go.  I'm so mad, especially since I was going to order an intake filter this week or next with some plants, which would have prevented this.

For a 75 gallon community tank, would it be best to get the Aqua Clear 110, two Aqua Clear 50's, or a Seachem Tidal 75?  I'm not sure which route would give me the most room for biological filtration.  I see lots of good reviews for both brands, so I'm assuming the brand would be a personal choice?  Thoughts? Ideas?

 

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The larger the filter, generally the more room for media. Adding a prefilter on the intake is an excellent way to increase your media as well as protect your tank inhabitants. I like some of the features on the tidal series HOBs, but I think you'll want to go larger, both to increase your flow rate as well as your media capacity, so I'd recommend the tidal 110.

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When it comes to HOB’s i prefer 2 undersized, like the 2 aqua clear 50’s. Having 2 HOB increases redundancy should 1 or them clog up, fail, or break. Also having 2 spreads out your water flow to wider areas of the tank vs dumping heavy flow in one spot. Having 2 HOB in my opinion increases the volume for beneficial bacteria vs 1 large one and you can alternate HOB maintenance between them as to not stress your bacteria. On the flip side however, 2 HOB costs more than 1 bigger one, both in upfront cost, and media maintenance. 
 

As far as Tidal vs Aqua clear, both are good filters, that are easily customizable. In my opinion (please take with a grain of salt) i prefer the Aqua Clear as I am not a fan of the surface skimmer feature on the Tidal. Just my 2 cents, especially for fry and shrimp that can get stuck in there. Good luck to you, and if you have anymore questions, feel free. 

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@Will Billy, I love my AquaClear HOB, but I had thought about a Tidal when I buy my next filter (having the pump in the tank to push water out instead of outside the tank pulling water like the AC seems fabulous, since HOBs have a tendency to not restart themselves consistently after power losses). I didn't know about the surface skimmer feature on the Tidal's though. That definitely wouldn't be good if fish are breeding or if there are shrimp in the tank. Since I'm making my first ventures into shrimp, I don't want them getting sucked in that way! I'm really glad you brought that up.

@Plutoids Mom, I'm sorry to hear about your angel. 😞

Not being a fan of canister filters myself, I totally hear you about the maintenance. I had a canister years ago and hated the thing. Went back to HOBs, with the exception of 10g or less that I'm using sponge filters for. (Of course, now I have an aquaponics setup on one of my 29g tanks that replaced a HOB, but that's a whole other ballgame. LOL)

I second, third, or whatever the recommendation to add a sponge on the intake pipe of whatever filter you use. I've done that with mine and don't regret it a bit. No more concerns about fish getting stuck to intakes or baby fish (and eventual shrimp) getting sucked in, but also no more plants and debris clogging the filter intake. A simple adjustment that serves multiple purposes. I bought the intake sponges from Aquarium Co-op. In fact, one of Cory's videos is where I got the idea to do it. I wish I'd thought of it years ago!

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I think I'm going to have go the AquaClear route because I just realized (as I'm sitting here looking at it all) that I only have about 5 inches between the tank and the wall.  We obviously didn't take into consideration changing filter types when we positioned it.  It looks like the Aqua Clear 50 is 4" wide from one website, but I couldn't find anything official from Fluval.  I'm hoping that measurement is accurate.

@Will Billy I was preferring to get two for the reasons you mentioned.  Glad to hear I wasn't too far off base.  One of the big box stores is having a sale right now, and two 50's are currently cheaper than the 110.  I guess that is the silver lining to this whole thing.

@Dawn T I am totally taking your recommendation on the intake filter!  I was sold on them after watching Cory's videos, and after today, I want more filtration and to protect whatever fish end up in my tank.

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1 hour ago, Will Billy said:

Just my 2 cents, especially for fry and shrimp that can get stuck in there.

I believe that someone said they were able to take off the cover over the skimmer intake and add a sponge to stop fry from getting into the intake. I haven't tried yet but will post if I do.

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@Plutoids Mom, I have an AquaClear 50 on my 29g tank. Just measured it for you. It sticks out 2.75" from the back of the tank.

Oh, and the 4" measurement is correct. That's the total depth of the filter from front to back. They really should give the measurement for how much of that is BEHIND the tank though. Would be hugely helpful, eh?

Edited by Dawn T
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First of all cleaning a canister filter is easy if you empty it first while still in place. I pop the top and use a battery operated siphon pump to empty into a 5g bucket. Then I take the now empty canister filter to the sink, remove the media trays, spray out the canister, clean media and trays and reassemble. I'll put it back in place and use the same siphon pump to refill with water, put the top on, turn on an jostle to get the air out.

As for HOB's I too am a long time fan of the Aquaclear design and currently have 3 AC70's and one AC50 running. You don't really need two filters for a 75g and the AC 70 or the Tidal 75 would work just fine for you. If it was me, I'd just fill whichever with sponge material as if your tank is established, you really don't need commercial bio-media in the filter. There's a longstanding myth that filters clean the water when they just make it look more clear. They really just trap detritus where it continues to break down and pollute the water...and more filters, or more powerful filters don't change that. In the established tank, the beneficial biology lives in the tank, especially the substrate, not any filter. Better to mechanically filter and service often to get the crud out of the system.  🙂

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@MJV Aquatics I didn't think of siphoning the water out before moving it. Normally the cleaning process goes pretty smoothly, with just some water on the floor, until we get to priming it. Priming it normally involves trying 20 different methods googled from all corners of the internet because the method in the manual doesn't work. After about 30 minutes to an hour, multiple threats of divorce, and considering to just chuck it out the window, the filter finally starts. 😄

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8 hours ago, ererer said:

I believe that someone said they were able to take off the cover over the skimmer intake and add a sponge to stop fry from getting into the intake. I haven't tried yet but will post if I do.

Please let me know about this issue. I agree with and understand the purpose of the surface skimmer but have yet to find a way to keep small pets out. Maybe i should revisit the idea and think a little bit more outside the box. Any advice or suggestion is welcome as that is my only concern with what should be a  perfect hob

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15 hours ago, Plutoids Mom said:

Priming it normally involves trying 20 different methods googled from all corners of the internet because the method in the manual doesn't work.

Do you fill it with water before securing the top and restarting? That's the real secret. When you do that it's like two pumps and she takes off. Then just a jostle or two to get any remaining air out.

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We try filling it empty like the manual says and try filling it full.  We try pulling on the handle slow, fast, intermittent, and standing on our heads lol. I heard that the priming improved the next model (406 and up) after ours, but due to cost, we haven't upgraded.  I replaced the impeller about 4 years ago.  It primed the same before and after I replaced that part.  Since it doesn't leak or have any air bubbles coming from it, I've never replaced the gasket. 

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6 hours ago, Mitch Norton said:

From experience, the Aquaclear 50 will not fit the black rim of a 75 gallon tank. 
You will need the larger Aquaclear if you decide to go that route.

Whoa! That's definitely good to know. I didn't even think about the rims being different thicknesses on the tanks themselves. 😯

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  • 4 weeks later...
On 3/2/2021 at 7:50 AM, Plutoids Mom said:

I've had it with my Fluval 405! One of my juvenile angel fish got caught in the intake tube last night.  He seemed perfectly healthy yesterday, so I'm thinking he got stuck while sleeping.  The filter is such a pain to do maintenance on (I'm too embarrassed to say how long it's been since my husband and I last wrestled with it), and now it killed one of my favorite fish.  It's got to go.  I'm so mad, especially since I was going to order an intake filter this week or next with some plants, which would have prevented this.

For a 75 gallon community tank, would it be best to get the Aqua Clear 110, two Aqua Clear 50's, or a Seachem Tidal 75?  I'm not sure which route would give me the most room for biological filtration.  I see lots of good reviews for both brands, so I'm assuming the brand would be a personal choice?  Thoughts? Ideas?

 

 

If you are concerned about biological filtration I would get two large sponge filter and put them on opposite sides of the tank. I run one medium sized one in my 29 gallon and the filtration works great. It can be a little unsightly at times but just put it behind some plants and you'll be fine. 

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In case anyone was wondering, I went and measured the Aquaclears since I couldn't find any official measurements.  The gap where the filter sits on the aquarium is exactly 1", maybe a hair less.  The tank edge/lip for my 75 gallon is also 1", maybe a hair more.  Since I didn't want to chance the Aquaclears not fitting (wasn't sure about return policy if I put them in an existing tank and live rather far away from the store), I ended up with the Tidal 75 and have been pretty happy with that. @markkazdad I found those Tidal measurements, too.  Thank you for adding those to the post!  I should have thought of that.

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