How To Improve Aqua Clear Waterfall?

[BBrain]

Has anyone altered the waterfall-type inflow on an Aqua Clear filter?

I recently added some floating Watersprite plants, and they get constantly tumbled about in the filter inflow.
I don't know if this stresses the fish, but it stresses me......my tank is no longer peaceful to watch. Also, these floating plants get caught in the planted plants, as they are tumbled down into the lower depths.

The Aqua Clear filter inflow points downward, so I wonder if a piece of plastic sheet or something could be attached, to direct the inflow straight across the water surface? Has anyone done anything like this?

I've tried floating a long, thin, curved piece of root, and that keeps the plants from drifting into the filter's inflow. I was happy with that, because the wood fitted the natural look of my tank, but it got waterlogged within a few days.

Thanks in advance for any ideas!

 

[Griz]

I used a clear piece of clear plastic from an empty container, the type that some baked goods come in from in grocery stores. I cut a piece with the right sort of bend in it (took a few tries) and placed it over the edge of the tank. Then I placed the filter on top of it to hold it in place. You'll have to adjust the size of the lip to get the effect you want. Works for me and the price is right.

 

[Alps]

Yah, something like what penguins use with the water fountain then a lip l so the water runs down and hits
l the bottom of the L
L

Like what Griz is using i guess.

 

[BBrain]

Thanks people. It's good to know that others have done this, and the tank still gets filtered okay. That was one of my concerns, if I create a problem by altering the manufacturer's design.

But I have to do something: this morning it was ridiculous! The filter intake was almost totally blocked by several of these floating plants! That's happened several times already, and I thought I had fixed that when I added an extension tube to the intake, so it pulls from just off the gravel.

Okay, must go now and buy some baked goods...for the packaging, of course....for the good of my fishees, of course! B) Hmmm, would they like plastic from chocolate chip cookies, or perhaps a lemon meringue pie?

 

[Alps]

But, if you did do this modification wouldn't it somewhat prevent a current from circulating in the tank?
yah, it would filter the water just as much but wouldn't it create pockets of low flow?

 

[BBrain]

But, if you did do this modification wouldn't it somewhat prevent a current from circulating in the tank?
yah, it would filter the water just as much but wouldn't it create pockets of low flow?

That's a really good point, Alps. With this modification, the main current would be horizontally at the surface. I guess that would reduce the upward current that gets drawn up to replace that downward current, in an unmodified filter. But...powerheads have a horizontal, surface current, don't they? I've never used one.

One thing I've done, that increases current regardless of any modifications, is added a second, smaller HOB filter; an Aqua Clear 30. I wanted to add a second filter anyway, so I could operate them both at low speed; a low speed increases the water's contact time with the biofilter bacteria in filters. (I'd also have a cycled spare filter, in case I need to set up a hospital tank.)

Anyway, I've gone ahead and made the modification. The floating plants no long get pushed down into the leaves of the planted plants, so that's good. My Lemon Tetras may not be as happy, though. They often liked to swim in the strong downflow, right in front of the filter. Oh well, compromise is necessary sometimes.

Here's some pics of my modification:

I took a couple of those plastic clips that hold paper reports together:

Cut 2 pieces of folder clip, and a piece of plastic yoghurt tub, and fitted them together. Here it is, part way on:

All the way on:

Side view:

Back in operation (I think I'll change the deflector to clear plastic):

 

[dylema]

Thats a very neat little modification

 

[Alps]

Classic. Great design. did you have to glue the two pieces of the plastic clip together or did they fit tightly?

- also what size tank and filter do you have? No plants affected by the ac 30?

- I have a ac 20/mini on my 10g now, should I buy one more and use 2 ac20s on my 20g long?

- can u include a pic of your overall tank so we can see the filters and their placement?

Thanks,

Alps

 

[BBrain]

Thanks, peoples! All I did was scrounge around my place, looking at odds and ends for some sort of clip made of plastic. I'm a packrat, and found a few of those report clips....they're probably 25 years old!

You can see that one clip is large, which I needed to fit over the filter. The other clip only needed to be big enough to clip into the other one, plus a tiny bit more for the thin plastic sheet from the yoghurt tub. Everything is just held together by friction; no glue is needed.

Alps, there is one AC50 and one AC30 filter on this 27 gal. tank. I've read that your filters are supposed to give at least 5 water changes per hour. Five times 27 gal. equals 135 gallons per hour. The specs say the those two filters combined give 117 gal/hr, when on low, which is a little low, so I've set one at medium. If I turn them both to high, I get 350 gal/hr, which is 13 water changes per hour! I tried that today, after clouding up the water by scraping algae off the front glass, and it cleared the water really fast. At any speed, the floating plants stay on top, so I'm happy. And the rooted plants are also not tossed about much at all, even at high speed.

Here's a top view, to show you the filter placement that you wanted to see. (I know, the lights look wierd.... because I tinkered with them, too! There's now four T8 bulbs over the tank, each 18 watts, each with a separate switch. If anyone's interested, I could make a separate post about that little project.):

And here's a front view, to show the new filter deflectors (white things), and the landscaping:

Alps, I think two AC Mini/20 filters would be great on your 20 gallon tank. Looking at the AC specs here, the AC Mini/20 pumps 100 gal/hr on high, and 33 gal/hr on low. So two of them would give you double those figures, which would change the water 10 times per hour with both filters on high, and about 3 times per hour with both on low. According to what I've read, that would give enough filtering.