The true capacity of Aquaclear 110s!

[FINWIN]

Compare with your favorite filtration as needed. I did a full breakdown/clean of the 3 aquaclear 110s on the 225. Here's what you can do:

First, no baskets. Just stuff and go.

Each of mine has 4lbs of ceramic rings, 1 gallon volume of bio bale, followed by 2 x 9" (20 grade) poret foam slab. Love these. Only annoyance is having to prime them but I can live with that. Bio Bale has 250 square feet of surface area per cubic foot and 33 square feet per gallon.

 

[phreeflow]

What’s bio bale and how often does it need replacing?

 

[Bsixxx]

Why not use marine pure media instead of ceramic rings? Better yet, why not utilize a sump or canister filter for more media?

 

[FINWIN]

What’s bio bale and how often does it need replacing?

Bio bale is basically plastic ribbon with a rough, textured surface. It lasts forever and only needs a rinsing to clean. It also comes in a blue color. It has massive surface area and is lightweight, so the efficiency of it is off the charts. It's been around for years.

 

[FINWIN]

Why not use marine pure media instead of ceramic rings? Better yet, why not utilize a sump or canister filter for more media?

Because of the massive surface area of bio bale you don't need a sump or canister. It's so efficient and has about the highest rated surface area. I only use the ceramic rings because they came with some filters I purchased awhile back. If I wanted I could just have 2 gallons each of bio bale topped by the poret foam.

Information on Bio-Bale

 

[phreeflow]

Ah…I remember the stuff from my reef-keeping days. I used to have it in my hang on skimmer by CPR-BakPak. Never thought to use it in freshwater and didn’t know it was so efficient. Good to know

 

[Bsixxx]

"MarinePure provides approximately 150,000 sq. Ft per cu. Ft (510 m2/L) of accessible surface area." Per their website.

That hay stuff looks like it also collects sludge and other stuff you don't want sitting around. Just my view on this as I've never seen it before in aquariums and only for ranch ponds.

 

[FINWIN]

"MarinePure provides approximately 150,000 sq. Ft per cu. Ft (510 m2/L) of accessible surface area." Per their website.

That hay stuff looks like it also collects sludge and other stuff you don't want sitting around. Just my view on this as I've never seen it before in aquariums and only for ranch ponds.

Mulm and stuff mostly falls to the bottom and you can rinse it off (I swish mine in tank water in a bucket or dechlorinated water). Cleans in a few seconds because nothing sticks to it. There's no squeezing because it's plastic. You just pick up the whole wad, shake it in the water and it's clean. I use it in all my filters. You would just need to pour the old water at the bottom out. This stuff cleans faster than any other media I've used, including filter pads.

 

[phreeflow]

I use MarinePure and their blocks are horrible and fall apart in my sump. The balls are much more solid and I have them in canisters and sumps. Can’t tell if their claims are true but have had no issues. Matala mats are also great. Curious about bio bale.

 

[LukeOscar]

Compare with your favorite filtration as needed. I did a full breakdown/clean of the 3 aquaclear 110s on the 225. Here's what you can do:

First, no baskets. Just stuff and go.

Each of mine has 4lbs of ceramic rings, 1 gallon volume of bio bale, followed by 2 x 9" (20 grade) poret foam slab. Love these. Only annoyance is having to prime them but I can live with that. Bio Bale has 250 square feet of surface area per cubic foot and 33 square feet per gallon.

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kinda just looks like unwoven pot scrubies to me.