Polar Aurora 302's

[Magnum Man]

They are rated for a 75, but most of my tanks are river tanks, and I run 2 per tank, which is more of an anal “2 is 1” train of thought, and that also means one is running, while I service the other, which goes super fast anyway…

 

[Magnum Man]

The Aquaclear brand is good, I just prefer the Tidals

 

[JohnnyReb]

They are rated for a 75, but most of my tanks are river tanks, and I run 2 per tank, which is more of an anal “2 is 1” train of thought, and that also means one is running, while I service the other, which goes super fast anyway…

I am of the same thought process... 2 for me as well. Have you been able to improvise a media alternative or straight manufacturer requirements that are most cost effective at a lower price??

 

[JohnnyReb]

The Aquaclear brand is good, I just prefer the Tidals

I may try 2 of each as a test.

 

[JohnnyReb]

I may try 2 of each as a test.

2..... Aqua Clear 70's or go for 1.. Aqua Clear 110?

 

[Magnum Man]

They come with a 1.5 inch thick coarse sponge, and a mesh pouch with ceramic rocks in… I’m not a fan of that ceramic media, and I think the mesh bags are too fine a mesh, I use their “rocks” and a different bag, with a coarser mesh, and I add about as many as the rocks they provide, of little ceramic tubes, because I have a bunch… but in a different thread discussion, I have a Tidal in a place that’s difficult to service, so I just bought some sheets of Japan Mat, I going to cut to fit, as it won’t plug up as fast as the foam, and extend my time between maintenance… there is a lot of space there, that you could put a lot of one or more filter medias in it…

 

[Magnum Man]

About half the time, I put the filters on the sides, so if that were a possibility for you, just make sure the bigger filter lbs aren’t wider than your sides
BTW… they also make a double size Tidal… I just try to have one kind of/ size of filter, so all the consumables are the same…

 

[JohnnyReb]

About half the time, I put the filters on the sides, so if that were a possibility for you, just make sure the bigger filter lbs aren’t wider than your sides
BTW… they also make a double size Tidal… I just try to have one kind of/ size of filter, so all the consumables are the same…

Have you tried lava rock?

 

[Magnum Man]

I use lava rock in my 275 gallon grow out tanks outside… a 5 gallon bucket full… I think they are too coarse, for the size of the filter area

 

[JohnnyReb]

I use lava rock in my 275 gallon grow out tanks outside… a 5 gallon bucket full… I think they are too coarse, for the size of the filter area

You use them straight out of the Walmart bag or crush them?

 

[Magnum Man]

In my outside filter, they average 1 inch diameter… I’ve had them forever… I think they were originally sold for gas grills

 

[JohnnyReb]

In my outside filter, they average 1 inch diameter… I’ve had them forever… I think they were originally sold for gas grills

Yes, I have seen them, mine are landscape rocks.

 

[CassCats]

For what it's worth, I've had a lot of issues with HOB filters to the point that I despise them. Have had them shut off on me and drain out and burned out the motor. Crashed my cycle because it drained itself and dried all my media overnight. No clue why it did that, but it happened more than once with the AquaClear filters. Then I've had them leak from the motor seal too. Or the impeller gets noisy as heck and I've had enough of it lol.


If needing to *see* if there's a clog, the eheim classic canisters are see through, so very easy to see when it needs a cleaning. But most canisters if they have a clog starting, the flow starts slowing down or it spits out a lot of crud when you need it cleaned.

 

[Magnum Man]

That’s one thing I like about the Tidal’s, is the pump is below the water level, inside the tank, they self start, and go through the housing inside the tank, so no leaks… they are a completely different design, than the Aquaclear, and their copies… still not perfect, but are much more customizable, than anything else I’ve tried

 

[JohnnyReb]

For what it's worth, I've had a lot of issues with HOB filters to the point that I despise them. Have had them shut off on me and drain out and burned out the motor. Crashed my cycle because it drained itself and dried all my media overnight. No clue why it did that, but it happened more than once with the AquaClear filters. Then I've had them leak from the motor seal too. Or the impeller gets noisy as heck and I've had enough of it lol.


If needing to *see* if there's a clog, the eheim classic canisters are see through, so very easy to see when it needs a cleaning. But most canisters if they have a clog starting, the flow starts slowing down or it spits out a lot of crud when you need it cleaned.

I have two SunSun HW304B filters and they do not seem to be sucking hard enough (TWSS).