If you’re thinking about getting into fish keeping, then the 10-gallon aquarium is the perfect size to dip your toes into the hobby. Not only is it large enough to allow you to keep a wide variety of fish, but it’s still small enough that any maintenance is quick and easy. But that doesn’t mean […]
Aquaclear Aquarium Filter Review
Pros
- Extremely quiet filtration
- Very good durability
- Provides excellent filtration
- Highly customizable internal layout
Cons
- Smaller models can suffer from flow issues if they aren’t regularly cleaned
Overview
The Aquaclear series of filters easily ranks among the best aquarium filters on the market, and are a solid choice for nearly any aquarium. They are well known for both their excellent filtration and nearly legendary durability. It’s not that unusual to see these filters still operating reliably after a decade or more, and most will give years of trouble free operation.
One of the major selling points of an Aquaclear filter, is their whisper quiet operation. As long as they are reasonably well maintained and the water is regularly topped up in the aquarium, you would be hard pressed to hear the filter operating. Even when it is kept in smaller rooms like bedrooms and offices, sound is rarely an issue – something that anyone who has a home office with a fish tank will appreciate.
Now for the downside of Aquaclear filters, which is thankfully quite limited. The only problem that occasionally appears in Aquaclear filters is that the smaller models can suffer from flow problems. It can usually be remedied with a thorough cleaning, and is normally only found in the smallest model, but it can be frustrating experience for a new aquarist.
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Personal Experience
I personally use Aquaclear filters on most of my tanks and have had few problems with them in the past. Most have been functioning with no loss of filtration power for several years on my tanks, and a few of the larger ones recently have recently just passed five years of operation.
As I stated in the review, I do tend to stay away from them on my smaller tanks. This is mainly because I have encountered the flow issue in the past, but only on the 10 gallon model. I haven’t had similar problems on the 20 gallon model that they offer.
Out of personal preference, I also normally remove the carbon filter and replace it with more Aquaclear Power Filter
You can read more reviews on the AquaClear Power Filter at Amazon.com
My Aquaclear70 is the best, I have it on my 35g in combination with a marineland penguin200,,used the carbon insert for awhile then stopped, have had it for about 9monthes, very quiet, my tank is in bedroom,customized my media with Biohome ultimate, and cobolt ceramic rings, along with 10% of the media that came with it,,kept the mechanical and added Dr. fosters blue bonded filter pad,,Best HOB ever,Next to a canister,,Water is crystal,,,Hope this helps anyone who might be considering this filter…
I have the exact same filter on one of my tanks, and like all the other Aquaclears it’s a great filter. You also have the Marineland Penguin which is always my second choice for filters, so it looks like you chose well. Thanks for contributing.
I use the Aquaclear 50 in a 10 gallon tank, and a 20 in a 5 gallon tank-these are my quarantine tanks before they go into my 75 gallon tank on which I use the 110 model. These filters are absolutely the best filters on the market today, for an HOB filter. I use Chemipure elite instead of just regular carbon and my water is always crystal clear and with great water perimeters. I would never use another HOB filter, this truly does a fantastic job while being so quiet you don’t know it is even running . I highly recommend these filters!
I totally agree Cynthia. I use the Aquaclear on most of my tanks, though I do have a few Marineland Penguin Power filters which are almost as good in my opinion. I tried Chemipure elite about a year ago, but I wasn’t that impressed with it. In fact, I don’t even use carbon on most of my tanks, but that’s just my personal preference.
I use the 70,50 and a older model 150 on my two cichlid tanks.I love this filter!I use to run the emperor and penguin but I noticed a difference from the later models.They seem cheaper and not as well made as they use to be.The aqua clear are almost silent,powerful water flow and you can customize it to your needs!
I’ve noticed the same thing with penguin filters in recent years. And I can’t recommend Aquaclear highly enough. I use them on almost all of my aquariums now, and I would recommend anyone looking for a filter to pick one of these up.