My New Filter Came Today!

[Angel1020 0]

I hooked it up immediately and it seems to be working fine. I have never worked with this type of filter before so I could use some pointers.

I put in the big white sponge thing and I put in the white bio stuff in the mesh bag. But, I left out the carbon bag, is that ok? I know many of you don't use carbon and I just got done removing all my carbon 2 days ago on the day of the filter mishap that started all this. lol!

Is that white-ish bio stuff available in pet stores so when it comes time to change it I can find some easily? What is that stuff called? It's like the chalky substance in little cylinder forms.

The filter seems really basic so I hope I have it set up right. I got the one that puts out 300gph, so added to my other 400gph and 200gph filter I'm now back up to 900gph for my 75gal tank. Whew!

[Cynders 0]

You did it all right, sponge and the biostars. You can even add an extra bag of the biostars to give you that extra bio-media boost.

Yes, I call them bio-stars, but they're available by the boxes in the lfs like Pet*co and Pet*smart for each filter size. Just look in the filter section and look for the aqua clear sponges and they're all around there

These filters are great because of how customizeable they are and they work like a charm. I hope you enjoy them!

[Sakura 500]

Yay, you got a new aquaclear! I love those things! For mine I cut the sponge part in half lengthwise to allow more space for the ceramic beads (those white chalky things). So I only put half of the sponge in the filter and save the other half for when that one gets too worn out. Then I just fill the rest with a little bit of filter floss, and a whole bunch of ceramic beads on top of that! It's that simple That's why I love 'em. Yes you can find the ceramic beads and also some little mesh baggies to put them in at pet stores. They are a little spendy sometimes though, so I usually look around for the best deal. Actually if you buy the aquaclear brand of replacement ceramic beads they come already packed into little baggies, so that's nice and convenient.

Have fun with your new filter!

[jeffteo 10]

wooohoo, congrats Angel. Glad that your tank is back in optimal condition.

[redfish 252]

And remember you don't need to replace the sponge or bio-beads until they are falling apart. They can last years! Just rinse in tank water every couple weeks. I love my AC filters!

[jody 1]

I have started to eliminate the media bags for the biomax. The ones you buy seperate are too fine and hard to clean. The ones packages with the biomax fall apart. Plus you can fit more biomax without the little bags.

[Jeana727 952]

Love those Aquaclears!!! My hubby found an online place (have to ask him where...he loves finding deals so I mention things I might want & presto they usually appear on my front porch!) but he got 4-5 packs of the mesh AQ bags (& there's 2 in each bag) so I am stocked up! I find the bags last along time as long as you pick them up carefully when filter cleaning. And the ceramic thingees last........ALONG TIME!! Gosh I wonder how long I've had mine?????

[blackteles 99]

Gotta love those AquaClear filters! Agreed with everyone above, use the media as long as you can...basically until they disintegrate! No need to buy replacements once a month as the manufacturer suggests, they just want your $$$$$$$. I regularly clean my sponges and carbon media (when I use it) in a bucket of tank water and good as new!

-Dennis