AC50 media challenge

[RAWfish]

Help me perfect my filtration... I want the best water quality parameters and CRISPINESS I can get out of this filter with no more than 1-2 maintenance efforts per week...

Tank:
26g community
5x neon tetras
5x red eye tetras
2x emerald(?) green cories
1x 3.5" chinese algae eater
2x 3.5" bala sharks
A bunch of floating and planted oak leaf water sprite is also in the tank.

Feed 1x per day... I try not to overfeed, but probably err on the side of too much.

I do a 30-50% water change and vac every week. I only have about a 1" to 1.5" gravel substrate.

In the filter now I have sponge, bio-max, sponge. The water params are excellent, but the water isn't perfectly crisp.

I'm thinking that maybe regular aquarium gravel in a big mesh bag in addition to the existing bio-max would be excellent for BB... a lot like an under gravel filter. If I did this I'd probably remove the second sponge that's on top, then I'd have a sponge on the bottom, and as much gravel in a bag as I can fit on top of it. I might also put a fairly thin layer of a finer poly pad on top of the sponge to catch the fine "dust" I see in the tank.

What other options should I think about?

Note: I know the bala sharks and CAE don't belong in this tank much longer and I'm thinking of removing them or upsizing the tank.

 

[JL]

I suggest another hob or a canister. AC's are not known for their great mechanical filtration.

 

[richierichdollar]

I have a 30 gal with 5mbuna and 1 electric catfish running a ac50 and my water is crystal clear. I have 2 of the ac50 sponge filters and that bioceramic they give u, I also have a prefilter on the intake tube. I also run a aerator to move water around abit. On my 50 gal same setup but with a fluval and water is clear. I do water changes 1 once a week about 20%. That works for me maybe u want to adjust water change or current. Oh and put it spong spong then bio

 

[Ang]

I like to have the water flow first through a sponge to get out chunks, then through the bio-media, then through filter-floss to get out any left over debris.
Then i just replace the floss every couple weeks. (or rinse it out if its still in good shape)

Never had a problem with my water. Always looks "crispy"

Even in my canisters, i put floss in the 2nd or 3rd tray down.

 

[SMS]

I suggest another hob or a canister. AC's are not known for their great mechanical filtration.

I disagree, AC are known to be customized to do pretty much any kind of filtration and they do it well.
I would use 2 sponges a fine layer of filter fiber and a bag of biomax.
In the future you may want to upgrade to a 70

 

[poly-nomial]

The Bala sharks will need a 150g tank soon. For the rest, get another ac50.

 

[bitteraspects]

I suggest another hob or a canister. AC's are not known for their great mechanical filtration.

bahahhahahah
sorry, but thats not true at all.
because of the way AC HOB filters are designed, they operate the same way as a canister.


OP:

thats a bit of a heavy stock for that small tank, and adding a second filter would help a lot.
but to answer your question

sponge on the bottom
thick layer of poly-fill/ quilt batting/ filter floss (some kind of fine media to help filter out the small particles)
and the bag of bio-max on top. (i would suggest adding more bio-max to the bag)

with the layer of poly-fill, you will filter out smaller particles, but the other side to that is, you will have to change it out regularly. because it catches more stuff, it will get clogged faster. if it clogs and you dont change it, you risk running into problems.
i change my poly-fill weekly, but i would suggest you check it halfway through the week to see how "dirty" it is, and if you need to , go ahead and change it out.
a huge roll of poly-fill/ quilt batting will cost you $5-8 and if youre only using it for your AC50, it will last you forever (id be willing to guess 6-8months easy. probably longer).

the other problem youre having is circulation. because of the centralized intake/return of the HOB in your tank, youre not getting the greatest circulation.
2 ways to fix this.

- add a powerhead.
a small powerhead like a koralia nano or something like that, will help keep the water moving in the tank. the added circulation will keep particles suspended long enough to eventually be picked up by the intake.

- do some custom plumbing.
with less than $5 in pvc and a few minutes, you can relocate the intake to the opposite side of your tank. this will help pull water from one side and "dump" it out on the other side, also increasing circulation and increasing the cycle area. (*see the link in my sig for detailed instructions on this method)


good luck.

 

[RAWfish]

Thanks for the feedback y'all. Here's an update... I added a thin layer of some finer filter material in between the bio-max and upper sponge which was cut out of a leftover filter cartridge from a Whisper filter that I had exchanged for the AC50 a while ago. Even after just 24hrs or so the water looks better.

I also bought a pack of thicker, but finer filter floss. I will cut this to fit and will try it after giving the existing thinner piece I installed a couple more days to see how it does. I expect that this thicker floss will be better though and might help enough to not need to bother with any other media tricks.

Finally, and this is FTW... I broke down and bought one of those $19.99 AC70's from Big Al's Online. I may not install it right away, or maybe even never on this tank if the filter floss works its magic, but I have it in case I need or want to try it and for my next tank... I'm getting the urge to upsize to maybe a 40ish or similar. On the other hand, on a 40g I'd probably be just fine with two AC50's. The truth is, I couldn't pass up a $20 AC70.

 

[JL]

bahahhahahah
sorry, but thats not true at all.
because of the way AC HOB filters are designed, they operate the same way as a canister.



good luck.

LOLz to you bro.

It actually is true. With out a fine filter floss added their mechanical does suck and even w/ it it has issues. I run nothing but AC's on my smaller tanks and they barely cut it for mechanical and the water does not qualify as "crispy" even w/ filter maintenance 2x a week. When the fine filter gets clogged the water does not flow through the fine floss but through the holes on the side of the media tray bypassing the floss or back into the tank where the pick up is located.

OP: You want "crispy" as you put it? Get a HOT Magnum HOB by Marineland w/ their micron filter you'll get much better mechanical than an AC of equal flow.

 

[bitteraspects]

Lol.
Clearly you have a poor understanding of filter maintenence. The AC sponge alone will filter quite a bit. And because of this, the sponge gets filled with detritus. naturally, if you don't squeeze out the sponge regularly and siphon out the bottom of the media chamber, you will probably end up pushing stuff back into the tank.
With proper maintenence, you will get much better performance from yyour equipment.

And BTW, a $5 roll of poly fill will clear the water just as well as a $150-200 HOT magnum. Maybe even better. Micron filters are nothing more than a waste of money.