AquaClear CycleGuard Fish Tank Power Filter EXPIRED

Thanks

Why would these be on S&S🤣

Awesome filters though - I've got a pair of my 60 and a spare, so I'm not really in the market.... Unless this is fate telling me to start a new tank? 🤷

Decent hob that is well regarded, but I have flow issues in a small planted 20 gallon. It would seem like massive overkill, but that flow is only strong the first few hours. After that, it slowly declines to a halt. A canister filter works much better and doesn't reduce the flow to a trickle, but more labor intensive when it comes to maintenance.

Good deal though

This is widely considered among fish hobbyists as the best hang-on-back filter you can buy. Unless you're looking to invest in a much more expensive canister filter, this is your best choice. It's also the cheapest this has been on Amazon in 4+ years.

A few key tips.
- There's no need to change either the sponge or the biomax unless they start to disintegrate (which will take many years.) If you're going to use the carbon, that does need to be changed every month or so. But you can also use your own mesh bags, and buy loose carbon, rather than buying the more expensive prefilled bags from Fluval. (Although they sometimes go on big sale at Amazon.)
- Rinse the sponge and the bags in a small bucket of water from the tank. The chlorine in tap water will kill most of the beneficial bacteria which is the entire point of the biomax and one of the main points of the sponge.
- The Fluval Edge pre-filter fits on the intake tube of most Aquaclear filters. It's $2.44 on Amazon and is S&S eligible. (It would also make a good filer item as one of 4 other S&S items to get you the higher S&S discount.) Putting this on your intake valve performs three important functions.
1) it collects debris, keeping it from clogging up your filter. This means you don't have to clean out the sponge and bags inside as often. (And won't rinse off as much beneficial bacteria.) You just have to pull the pre-filter sponge off and rinse it in a little bit of tank water in a pitcher.
2) It also hosts beneficial bacteria, neutralizing poisonous ammonia and nitrate in the water.
3) it prevents very small fish, especially babies from being sucked into the filter. The intake tube has a strainer, but it's got big enough holes that some smaller fish (RIP one of my chili rasbora, before i bought my pre-filter. And he cost more than the pre-filter!)

Quote from Davidhh : This is widely considered among fish hobbyists as the best hang-on-back filter you can buy. Unless you're looking to invest in a much more expensive canister filter, this is your best choice. It's also the cheapest this has been on Amazon in 4+ years. A few key tips. - There's no need to change either the sponge or the biomax unless they start to disintegrate (which will take many years.) If you're going to use the carbon, that does need to be changed every month or so. But you can also use your own mesh bags, and buy loose carbon, rather than buying the more expensive prefilled bags from Fluval. (Although they sometimes go on big sale at Amazon.) - Rinse the sponge and the bags in a small bucket of water from the tank. The chlorine in tap water will kill most of the beneficial bacteria which is the entire point of the biomax and one of the main points of the sponge. - The Fluval Edge pre-filter fits on the intake tube of most Aquaclear filters. It's $2.44 on Amazon and is S&S eligible. (It would also make a good filer item as one of 4 other S&S items to get you the higher S&S discount.) Putting this on your intake valve performs three important functions. 1) it collects debris, keeping it from clogging up your filter. This means you don't have to clean out the sponge and bags inside as often. (And won't rinse off as much beneficial bacteria.) You just have to pull the pre-filter sponge off and rinse it in a little bit of tank water in a pitcher. 2) It also hosts beneficial bacteria, neutralizing poisonous ammonia and nitrate in the water. 3) it prevents very small fish, especially babies from being sucked into the filter. The intake tube has a strainer, but it's got big enough holes that some smaller fish (RIP one of my chili rasbora, before i bought my pre-filter. And he cost more than the pre-filter!)

The ac110 which is the big brother to this one is the best

Can someone recommend a good filter for a 5-10 gallon aquarium?

Quote from Overlord001 : Can someone recommend a good filter for a 5-10 gallon aquarium?

Get a bigger tank. Water temp and quality fluctuate too much in tiny tanks making them much more labor intensive...

As for this filter, I have had it on my 65 gallon for 6 years now, and it works well. I generally clean my tank every 6 weeks by draining 5 gallons in a bucket, and hand washing the sponge, charcoal bag, and ceramic media in said bucket. I then water my plants with the rich poopy fish water. You would be amazed how long you can stretch these components - easily a year. I only spend about 20 mins every month and a half on fish tank cleaning. I have some 12 yo fish in that tank...

Quote from Overlord001 : Can someone recommend a good filter for a 5-10 gallon aquarium?

These Aqua Clear filters are pretty good. I have one and haven't had any issues. There is an Aqua Clear 20 that would be good for a 5-10 gallon tank but it isn't on sale. Alternatively you could get an air pump and a sponge filter for a tank like that. Depending on what you are keeping in the tank and what type of filtration you want.

Quote from Overlord001 : Can someone recommend a good filter for a 5-10 gallon aquarium?

AquaClear 20 or AquaClear30, these are great filters.

Quote from Davidhh : This is widely considered among fish hobbyists as the best hang-on-back filter you can buy. Unless you're looking to invest in a much more expensive canister filter, this is your best choice. It's also the cheapest this has been on Amazon in 4+ years. A few key tips. - There's no need to change either the sponge or the biomax unless they start to disintegrate (which will take many years.) If you're going to use the carbon, that does need to be changed every month or so. But you can also use your own mesh bags, and buy loose carbon, rather than buying the more expensive prefilled bags from Fluval. (Although they sometimes go on big sale at Amazon.) - Rinse the sponge and the bags in a small bucket of water from the tank. The chlorine in tap water will kill most of the beneficial bacteria which is the entire point of the biomax and one of the main points of the sponge. - The Fluval Edge pre-filter fits on the intake tube of most Aquaclear filters. It's $2.44 on Amazon and is S&S eligible. (It would also make a good filer item as one of 4 other S&S items to get you the higher S&S discount.) Putting this on your intake valve performs three important functions. 1) it collects debris, keeping it from clogging up your filter. This means you don't have to clean out the sponge and bags inside as often. (And won't rinse off as much beneficial bacteria.) You just have to pull the pre-filter sponge off and rinse it in a little bit of tank water in a pitcher. 2) It also hosts beneficial bacteria, neutralizing poisonous ammonia and nitrate in the water. 3) it prevents very small fish, especially babies from being sucked into the filter. The intake tube has a strainer, but it's got big enough holes that some smaller fish (RIP one of my chili rasbora, before i bought my pre-filter. And he cost more than the pre-filter!)

I have owned two of these brand filters for my 75 gallon and I love them (both are different sizes).

I fashioner a home-made filter to siphon our debris on the intake, but I like the idea of the pre-filter you mentioned. Last time I used something like that the suction didn't work properly and the filter eventually failed on me. No problems using these pre-filters, and do you just rinse them off when you do water changes, or do you just replace them?

Looking at my filters set up, I have an Aquaclear 70 (the one in this SD) and a 110. Wondering if this is overkill for my 75 gallon, and if I should downgrade the 110 to this 70? I like having two HOB filters to cover both ends of the tank. Thoughts?

My sponges keep rising.

Quote from Overlord001 : Can someone recommend a good filter for a 5-10 gallon aquarium?

I have an aquaclear 30 on my planted 10 with a betta. It grinds a little but is otherwise rock solid. Need to replace the impeller shaft I think. I've lubricated it but that only helped for about a day. I previously ran a small zoo med canister on each of my 10s, and both worked great, until the fittings got brittle on one and I tossed it before it started leaking. Other still works but the tank is in the process of being replaced with a 29, which I'll run an aquaclear 50 on. HOB might not be as pretty, but is just easier for maintenance than a canister.
edit: actually I'll just pick up this 70 for the 29 I think.