I guess i will change that too, i don't know the special order it's supposed to go in, could you tell me?
Your Favorite AquaClear HOB Media Combo?
- Thread starter JakeH
- Start date
AC110 + AC70:
1st: AC sponge (I actually cut in 1/2 horizontally the long way - like a sandwich - thinking it will increase surface area, that's just me thinking logically or illogically)
2nd: poly filter floss
3rd: green pot scrubbies
4th: Ceramic rings (original AC sacks, but for AC110 I also use nylon stockings for both for the rings & if I use carbon/ammo-carb)
5th: poly filter floss at other water flow entries but on the side of the media compartment (at opening at top of the panel & the middle grid holes) & a pot scrubber placed on the intake side vertically so the sides of the panel are blocked (but may go back to poly fill since it is finer)
have found at the other water flow entries into the filter box compartment, debris has been flowing thru (as evidenced by the darkening floss upon changing/cleaning)
after reading joedodge thinking of putting bio media rings b-4 the sponge also...
1st: AC sponge (I actually cut in 1/2 horizontally the long way - like a sandwich - thinking it will increase surface area, that's just me thinking logically or illogically)
2nd: poly filter floss
3rd: green pot scrubbies
4th: Ceramic rings (original AC sacks, but for AC110 I also use nylon stockings for both for the rings & if I use carbon/ammo-carb)
5th: poly filter floss at other water flow entries but on the side of the media compartment (at opening at top of the panel & the middle grid holes) & a pot scrubber placed on the intake side vertically so the sides of the panel are blocked (but may go back to poly fill since it is finer)
have found at the other water flow entries into the filter box compartment, debris has been flowing thru (as evidenced by the darkening floss upon changing/cleaning)
after reading joedodge thinking of putting bio media rings b-4 the sponge also...
Redearsunfish;3614159; said:
hey there! I suggest adding some poly filter floss on top of your double sponge (if they are the AC sponges) & see if it catches more debris. I think it will since the sponge is tooo porous to capture smaller sized debris.
hope this helps.
joedodge;3614290; said:
I think this was a must using filter floss also. so your filter floss was all black & slimy right? how long did you have it in b-4 cleaning? how big is your tank & what fish/how many?
I have 2 ac110's running, but I did a DIY on one where I extended the intake tube with pvc & did a tee at the bottom so I have double intake on my DIY!
with the nice current flow from the left AC110 (using the given double intake tubes) & the right AC110 DIY the heavier poop/debris gets sucked up big time! so my bottom is cleared quickly after they ALL poop at the same time (espec. upon feeding they defecate their prior meal & when I do a w/c that scares the crap out of them also!!)
yes it was dark brown and slimy and you could see all the small fecis particles and such that got past the sponge it was in for 2 weeks. it is a 36" long 58 gallon with 10 gymnogeophagus quillero growouts-1 inchers. and 9 lemon tetras and 6 black neon tetras and i feed some what heavy. i think its a must as your last media in a ac110
Fishdude401;3614141; said:
I would call it "special"... but the general idea is to stack mechanical media in order of courseness...
Couse sponge... medium sponge... fine mmaterial...
If you put the fine material first (filter floss in your case)... then the course material... the fine material catches all of the waste and the course material doesn't really do anything...
I put the sponge at the top of my Aqua Clear HOBs... This has a few advantages primarily preventing bypass...
I have Bio Rings (the ones that come with the AC filters) tossed in the bottoms of some of my ACs. They get gummed up with waste which reduces their effectiveness (clogs pores thus reduces "surfce area"), but int eh bottom of the filter they do more good than being in the bottom of a box some where...
I've stuff fitler floss under the sponge, but it clogged to quickly and made the sponge rise which I didn't like...
I've use felt fabric at different times to better block potential bypass... While I like this application, I stopped doing it simply because some of the filters are difficult to reach and it complicated filter maintenance. I find if I keep it very quick and easy I do it more often.
I've also used felt to 'wrap' the standard Sponge (kept on top). With the filter turned off, I set the felt on top of the sponge, then tuck it in the front and rear of the sponge. This worked very well for adding finer filtration to the AC, but again added a step to maintenance.
At the end of a whole lot of tinkering... I just use the standard sponge on top... This allows me to very quickly and easily rinse them off very frequently.
All of the additional tricks I've tried, though some have improved efficiency, all have decreased ease of use which has made filter maintenance happen less often, which makes nitrates increase faster...
So essentially, after extensive experimentation... I find that Keeping It Simple is what works best for me...
I also do not find that my tanks are any less clean now than they were then...
Though I do have a couple Magnum HOT filters I use with the micron Cartridges. I do find they offer finer filtration...
I also use UV lights on some tanks, they also make a difference...
But we're only talking Aqua Clears here
2- ac 110s on a 90gal...cut sponges in half (length-wise) , 2 layers course filter fabric, 1 sheet polishing filter fabric, ceramic rings and small lava rock. 2-70acs with 3 layers course filter fabric, lava rock and cereamic...nothing fancy but am able to remove and clean course filter 1 to 2 times weekly...very easy and fabric lasts several months.
