Decline of reliability of AquaClear 500 / Fluval 110

[#.$]

I found (especially with sand) I had to clean mine almost every other day.
I normally rinse the sponge and shake out the media in some water change watr, at the same time, and simply rinse out the chamber where the impeller sits, occasionally use an old tooth brush to make sure there isn't anything still there.
Agree totally with the one grain of sand scenario, its amazing how finicky they can be.

I take pretty good care of them, I clean it out once a week or so. These no matter how well I cleaned they and replaced parts continued to make nosie

 

[Backfromthedead]

i always found that my aquaclears worked best when i clean them once every 2 or 3 months. you can rinse the filter media out every week or so but unless its really gunked up and clogging then theres no need to clean it out so often.

when i was younger i had 3 big oscars in a 55 with a 110 running. constantly fed them feeders so the filter needed cleaning a lot. it got really noisy after a couple months and started seizing up constantly.

but any other times with a reasonably stocked tank ive been fine. how nasty does your filter get after a week? to the point its clogging?

 

[#.$]

I found (especially with sand) I had to clean mine almost every other day.
I normally rinse the sponge and shake out the media in some water change watr, at the same time, and simply rinse out the chamber where the impeller sits, occasionally use an old tooth brush to make sure there isn't anything still there.
Agree totally with the one grain of sand scenario, its amazing how finicky they can be.

I take pretty good care of them, I clean it out once a week or so. These no matter how well I cleaned they and replaced parts continued to make nosie

i always found that my aquaclears worked best when i clean them once every 2 or 3 months. you can rinse the filter media out every week or so but unless its really gunked up and clogging then theres no need to clean it out so often.

when i was younger i had 3 big oscars in a 55 with a 110 running. constantly fed them feeders so the filter needed cleaning a lot. it got really noisy after a couple months and started seizing up constantly.

but any other times with a reasonably stocked tank ive been fine. how nasty does your filter get after a week? to the point its clogging?

No where near clogging Ive gone about 3 weeks with out cleaning it and it still does fine

 

[Backfromthedead]

No where near clogging Ive gone about 3 weeks with out cleaning it and it still does fine

i see. how low is your intake positioned? you could put it as high as you could to minimize any issues from shifting sand. i have my 110 and 70 just three inches below the surface in my sandy 75.

if you havent done that already that is.

 

[Hendre]

i always found that my aquaclears worked best when i clean them once every 2 or 3 months. you can rinse the filter media out every week or so but unless its really gunked up and clogging then theres no need to clean it out so often.

when i was younger i had 3 big oscars in a 55 with a 110 running. constantly fed them feeders so the filter needed cleaning a lot. it got really noisy after a couple months and started seizing up constantly.

but any other times with a reasonably stocked tank ive been fine. how nasty does your filter get after a week? to the point its clogging?

Filter gets full quickly, at least my fine mech but I like cleaning it all out to keep max flow through the media