Equipment Review and Discussion :: A VERY Quiet Aquaclear 110 :)

[marisa]

A slight hum exists (don't know if that's because its on a stock tank which has a somewhat angled side), but by siliconing plexiglass to the lip so that the water goes directly into the tank without a drop, the splashing is gone. (I keep going into the room it's in to make sure it's working--it's so quiet compared to before).

[steve]

hmm, i'm tempted to get one. i'm thinking of having it for mechanical filtration and then load the xp3 with more bio-media. then the 304 can be used whenever i get more turts.

[steve]

OK, I went ahead and got the 110 and I know it will make alot of noise since my tank is only about 60% filled. Is your plexiglass just basically an extension of the lip? I was thinking of making something that would angle the water flow towards the glass/tank.

[marisa]

I would just make it an extension on the lip. This is what I am in the process of doing with the second 110 I have, anyway. I thought I was being really clever with the first one and siliconed an inverted L-shaped piece to the lip, thinking that the water would follow the angle and flow toward the side of the tank (as you suggested). It doesn't--the water flows to the edge and then goes into the water, making the angled piece useless (I'm going to cut it next time I clean the filter).

[steve]

Good thing I asked first

My Fluval broke again, so I'm ready to get the 110 going. The Fluvals seem durable and well-made but I guess it's just not so.

[marisa]

Funny, from what I've read I've got the opposite impression.

[steve]

Things went downhill after the first 6 months. The leaking was the worst part since it was real subtle and not always noticeable until you're standing in a puddle. Then the parts started to break. The replacement case I bought had a redesigned latch which is better at locking but will still prone to leaking and made it difficult to lift. Today, the aquastop lever broke. I do like the flexible tubes/mozzles over what the XP3 has.. but I'm looking forward to the 110.
</end rant>

[steve]

I drilled 2 holes into the lid and 2 holes into a piece of acrylic. This had to be done slowly to ensure that the acrylic would not crack.



Filter not turned on. The water flow has warped the acrylic slightly making the filter slightly noisy.




Filter running. There is a few inches between the acrylic and water surface. I didn't want the acrylic submerged so there is still some noise but there is less splashing and less water evaporation this way.

[marisa]

So you attachec the plexiglass to the lid? That's interesting. I just siliconed the plexiglass to the lip of the filter of the one 110 I have. I actually just did this to an Aquaclear 50 (for baby painted Sid/Cyd) two days ago as well and am ready to put it in the tank.

With your solution does the water ever back up at all? I think yours must stay cleaner--my develops some algae on the top of the plexiglass after about 3 weeks.

[steve]

I had this idea when I realized the acrylic I had cut wasn't long enough to extend the lip into the water. There has been no backup at all, although the front does accumulate salt and water stains. When I had the "water fall", the splashed water created some mildew on the glass but it has not reoccurred.

It still produces more noise than I'd like, but it did address the other problems I had (such as rust).

[marisa]

Rust? Where was there rust?

How long would you say the piece of acrylic is? The piece I just put on the Aquaclear 50 extends the lip down about 6 inches, so the end will be in the water. I've rounded the pointed edges to prevent any eyes from accidently being poked out.

I also recently got an Aquaclear 70 (I've gone kind of crazy with them ). Maybe I'll try your solution on it and if I don't like it switch back to siliconing the filter lip.

BTW, in your second pic it looks like there's a second lip at the very bottom of the plexiglass.

[steve]

The top frame had started to rust since there was so much splashed water. You can see plastic wrap in both pics. That acrylic is about 9" long and there is a 3" drop for the water. You should easily be able to test this idea without any drilling. I think since my water still has a long way to travel, there is still more noise than I'd like.

[marisa]

Steve, I think I'm just going to try this with the Aquaclear 70. What size drill bit did you use and what did you back the plastic with when you were drilling?

[steve]

I think it was 5/32 and the backing was some paper towels on wood. It was also drilled in reverse.

I used 4 plastic zip ties to hold it together.

[marisa]

The Aquaclear 70 has a different lip compared to the 50 and 110. Instead of just sloping down, at the end the plastic straightens and there's an almost a half inch ledge the water must go over to drop into the tank. Rather bizzare. I was just going to silicone a piece on, but the the ledge requires a different tack, I think. Thanks.