A Word for Aquaclear Filters

My experience with Aquaclear filters has been phenomenal. They have by far the greatest lift ability to work on a less than full tank of any of the major hang-on-the-tank filters. I know several veteran turtle keepers who have tried every filter brand, both hang-on-the-side and canister, and they have ended up using good old cheap Aquaclears exclusively. I have had several AquaClear 300s running continuously for over four years now without a problem and know keepers who have been running them much longer. I resisted trying them for a year before a keeper with 30-plus years experience convinced me to just try one. They’re simple and easy to adapt with pick-up extensions. The real advantage for me is that I find it very quick and convenient to pop out the sponge holder and rinse the sponges. I found I just didn’t take the time to break down the canister filters frequently enough to rinse the media for turtles. I put two sponges in each Aquaclear, but it’s very convenient to put a filter bag with other media in instead of both sponges. And the filter body acts as somewhat of a skimmer reservoir trapping dirt in it which can be periodically dumped with a complete filter cleaning. I’m actually switching more towards submersible filters such as Fluval 3s and 4s and small pond filters like the Pondmaster 190 as I switch to more Rubbermaid 50, 100, and 150 gallon plastic tubs instead of glass tanks. But I’ve seen Aquaclear 500s on the side of Rubbermaid tubs doing a great job, too. This actually became somewhat of a heated thread when this group was formed, but I just have to pass on that some of us have had great success with the AquaClears. Todd Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! SiteBuilder – Free, easy-to-use web site design software