Aqua Clear HOB Spilling Onto Floor?

[zerojquan85]

I need to have a small object on the back of the filter to hold it level in place... i had an accident once where i lost almost 30gallons of water because the filter was tilted backward..

I've since fixed the problem and it works nicely..

 

[12 Volt Man]

How long do you think did you not clean it? and you had AC for that long time already?

it actually wasn't that long. but I had giant 18" lemonfin barbs and the tank was well overstocked..the AC110 was clogging after a week. I let it go too long.

didn't make that much of a mess because I caught it early though.

the age of the AC doesn't have anything to do with it. its just that water will take the path of least resistance and if it is able to get out the gap from the pushed up lid, it will.

 

[deeda]

I've actually had one AC110 overflow to the rear of the filter & onto the floor one time. The filter was installed level, using the leveling leg that comes with the filter.

I was using a new AC110 foam insert with one layer of Big Al's Filter Floss, which is more like a pad than loose floss. I had cut the pad long enough to overlap the short ends of the foam insert. But I also cut it too wide & it overlapped the long sides of the insert also. So in effect, the media & basket were wedged in the filter & couldn't 'pop up' when it got dirty.

The water could not overflow toward the intake area of the housing but instead overflowed toward the right rear corner of the housing & bubbled up and out, past the lid & onto the floor. I could hear water dripping but it took me a few minutes to locate the problem.

I clean the AC110 filters weekly without fail. I have 2 AC110's on this tank, as well as an Eheim 2217 & a 2262. It is a 220G heavily stocked Mbuna tank that generates a lot of waste. In my case, I think the problem was caused by having the floss wrapped too well around the foam insert & when it became clogged, the water found a path out where the floss gapped slightly at the rear corner.

This has been my only experience with an overflow of water onto the floor with this filter model. In my case, it was due to the floss pad being to snug around the foam insert.

 

[jcm412]

This happened to me twice with mine. Im pretty sure it was because the media was pushed too far down in the filter and it over flowed. Make sure your bio media sits on top and isnt forced down in.

 

[hybridtheoryd16]

wowzers you guys have been busy.

But yea the sig deal is just for smiles.

Any experienced aquarist can tell you that every single filter on the market has its flaws or down falls. Also every aquarist has there brand that they like more than the others. Its just human nature. But there are some people on this and every other forum that will jump at every chance they get to talk bad about another filter brand. And most of the time its a brand that they have no experience with. And that amuses me to the fullest.

It doesn't take much of an IQ to know that all a filter does is move water(period). Its what you do with that water movement that makes all the difference in the world.


But about the subject at hand. When I set up my AC filter I had it adjusted to level by eye. I did not lay a carpenters level (tool) on the top of the filter but it looked to be level to me.

Also this was not a filter malfunction. This was a user error, my error. I made the choice to modify the filter media because I was not happy with its performance.

Like i said before, lesson learned
don't tinker AC filters.

 

[barbarossa4122]

I thought AC are the best. I'll stick with my 400s.