reid@decwrl.dec.com (Brian Reid) (04/09/88)
I really like AquaClear power filters because they are so damn convenient and I'm always in a hurry. But I get real tired of having the motors burn out every time there is a 1-second power glitch. Has anybody else noticed this? All of my AquaClears fried their motors again today, so there must have been some kind of a power transient while I wasn't home. A replacement motor costs almost as much as a new filter, alas. Meanwhile I use Magnum canister filters, quickly converted from diatom use to continuous use, but the fish cower in fear behind the rocks and decorations because of the huge flow rate of the Magnum pumps. Why are motors so hard? Why can't Magnum sell motors that run slower and why can't Hagen sell motors that don't burn out.
agd@homxb.UUCP (A.DEACON) (04/09/88)
In article <363@bacchus.DEC.COM>, reid@decwrl.dec.com (Brian Reid) writes: > > I really like AquaClear power filters because they are so damn convenient and > I'm always in a hurry. But I get real tired of having the motors burn out > every time there is a 1-second power glitch. Has anybody else noticed this? > All of my AquaClears fried their motors again today, so there must have been > some kind of a power transient while I wasn't home. > > A replacement motor costs almost as much as a new filter, alas. > Meanwhile I use Magnum canister filters, quickly converted from diatom use to > continuous use, but the fish cower in fear behind the rocks and decorations > because of the huge flow rate of the Magnum pumps. Why are motors so hard? > Why can't Magnum sell motors that run slower and why can't Hagen sell motors > that don't burn out. I have used an Aqua Clear for 2 years with no problems with the motor. Take it back and ask for a replacement, they shouldn't go that quickly. If that doesn't work, write directly to the importer. While the Aqua Clears are easy to use, the are not optimal in terms of filtering. The "cartridge" form of the carbon and foam blocks allow a significant amount of water to go around the cartridges. If you want a filter to hang on the tank, SUPREME make the best in my opinion. It is messier to use because you layer the filter stuff in the box, but it does a much better job of cleaning the water and the motors are bears. What size Magnum are you using on what size tank? The flow rate of the filter should be 3-5 times the volume of the tank per hour. Art Deacon homxb!agd
Ram-Ashwin@cs.yale.edu (Ashwin Ram) (04/11/88)
In article <363@bacchus.DEC.COM>, reid@decwrl (Brian Reid) writes: > I really like AquaClear power filters because they are so damn convenient and > I'm always in a hurry. But I get real tired of having the motors burn out > every time there is a 1-second power glitch. Has anybody else noticed this? > All of my AquaClears fried their motors again today, so there must have been > some kind of a power transient while I wasn't home. Hmmm... just when I was considering buying an AquaClear. I currently have a Whisper, but I find that Whisper's aren't really auto-start. I switch them off before feeding, and about 50% of the time they don't start up again when I turn the power on -- I have to jiggle the inlet tube to get it to start. Not hard, but annoying, and also possible to overlook. It would be nice to have some discussion on good and bad power filters. Could you take a couple of minutes to say which filters you have used (mention names!), whether you were happy or unhappy with them, and why? Particular features you liked or disliked? I'll post a summary to the net if you e-mail your responses; on the other hand, this group isn't exactly swamped with articles, so posting is fine too. -- Ashwin. ARPA: Ram-Ashwin@cs.yale.edu UUCP: {decvax,ucbvax,harvard,cmcl2,...}!yale!Ram-Ashwin BITNET: Ram@yalecs
dalka@ihlpg.ATT.COM (Ken Dalka) (04/11/88)
> I really like AquaClear power filters because they are so damn convenient and > I'm always in a hurry. But I get real tired of having the motors burn out > every time there is a 1-second power glitch. Has anybody else noticed this? I have used 3 Aquaclear filters for 2 years and have never had a problem with them. I get plenty of power glitches too! Is it possible your power glitches are more severe than mine? I've never considered putting my power filters on a power filter (voltage regulator that is). The size of your tank dictates the size of your canister filter. I had a magnum 330 on a 55 gal tank for a while and decided it was too small. This was due to the overcrowded condition of the tank so I replaced it with a Hagen Fluval 403. Now there's a jet stream for you! Fortunately the fish are large and don't mind. -- Ken Dalka (Bell Labs) ihnp4!ihlpg!dalka IE 2F-518 (312) 416-7437
reid@decwrl.dec.com (Brian Reid) (04/11/88)
I took one of my AquaClear 1200 filters offline and did some experiments with it to see about the motor failure problem. Here's the poop. If you turn the power off for a second or two and then turn it back on again, the motor might or might not start. It seems random. If you turn the power off for a minute or two and then turn it back on again, it almost always starts. I suspect that this has to do with reverse flow of water siphoning backwards through the input tube: until that reverse flow is finished, the motor has a little bit more work to do when starting. If the motor doesn't start turning when it is first powered on, then it will never start on its own. The more the filter is in need of cleaning, the more likely it is to fail to start after a short power interruption. I am guessing that the motor burnout comes from several days of sitting there being plugged in but not running. The motors probably depend on the flow of water for cooling. Brian
farrens@speedy.cs.wisc.edu (Matthew Farrens) (04/12/88)
In article <26859@yale-celray.yale.UUCP> Ram-Ashwin@cs.yale.edu (Ashwin Ram) writes: >In article <363@bacchus.DEC.COM>, reid@decwrl (Brian Reid) writes: >> I really like AquaClear power filters because they are so damn convenient and >> I'm always in a hurry. But I get real tired of having the motors burn out >> every time there is a 1-second power glitch. Has anybody else noticed this? > >It would be nice to have some discussion on good and bad power filters. Could We have two 39 gallon tanks, one with an undergravel filter with a power head and the other one with two big AquaClear filters. We have never had any problem with motors burning out, although our oldest filter likes to stop (sometimes 2-3 times daily, sometimes weeks without stopping). Someone mentioned them not doing as good a job of filtering, and this might be possible - Originally we were only using one filter and we had a lot of fish loss, but once we set up the second one our tank is absolutely crystal clear and we have not lost a fish since (about 6 months now). I don't know about the filtering capabilities, but I like the sponge since it seems like it is a good place for beneficial bacteria to grow. It certainly does get brown and smelly after a week or so! We also have some 10 gallon tanks, one with a (what the heck is it? Not Whisper, nor AquaClear, RATS! Drawn a blank) filter on it that I don't like as well (there, that's really helpful, isn't it?). This filter has an insert (Maybe it's a PennPlax?) that is supposed to catch large stuff and a carbon bag and a zeolite bag. I am not convinced there is anywhere for the bacteria to grow, and the insert is so porous that almost any and everything gets through. However, the fish in there have not expired, so something must be working. Anyway, I would very much like to hear about other setups. I have only been doing this for about a year and would like to know if there are better ways to do things. We have our AquaClears in a tank with a sand bottom, and it has become a fabulous tank since plants grow very well in the sand and the combination of filters keeps the water so clean and clear. The only problem right now is with the sand washing due to all the water movement. I would like to hear more about these cannister filters - perhaps I should filter both 39 gallon tanks with one filter? I really enjoy this news group and hope the content stays as friendly and informative as it has been. Matthew Farrens P.S. As for building ideas, we built a rack like at pet stores for our 6 10-gallon tanks. Three tanks on each level with two levels, this allows a long cheap 4-foot shop-light to be hung above each group of 3 tanks and one can play with the lighting as one pleases. We currently have one regular bulb and one grow-light bulb in each of the two shop-lights. Works really nicely - makes a reasonably attractive wall. (It winds up being about the size of a large bookcase - about 6' by 6')
Ram-Ashwin@cs.yale.edu (Ashwin Ram) (04/13/88)
In article <5558@spool.cs.wisc.edu>, farrens@speedy (Matthew Farrens) writes: > We have two 39 gallon tanks, one with an undergravel filter with a power head > and the other one with two big AquaClear filters. > Anyway, I would very much like to hear about other setups. We have both an undergravel and a power filter on our 40-gallon. We use a power head because it's a lot more silent, but keep it turned way down because the plants don't do so well with too much UG filtering. That's the reason we use both a UG and an external, since we don't have enough UG flow to do it alone. Also, the external is good for getting rid of floating crud, such as stuff kicked up after cleaning. > this allows a long > cheap 4-foot shop-light to be hung above each group of 3 tanks and one can play > with the lighting as one pleases. We currently have one regular bulb and one > grow-light bulb in each of the two shop-lights. We've done the same thing, but over a 40-gallon. Yeah, it works well -- I think it's better (and a lot cheaper) than a ready-made hood. It would be nice, though, to be able to control the two lights independently. If you turn off the regular (cool) light, the grow (warm) light is dim enough that you can simulate a reasonably good dawn and dusk period. The fish are much happier with this because a sudden transition from bright light to darkness (or v.v.) bothers them a lot, some more than others. Also, besides being good for the plants, the two kinds of lights make the tank look a lot nicer. One question -- how much wattage should one use? -- Ashwin.
jason@lanai.cs.ucla.edu (Jason Rosenberg) (04/13/88)
I have had an AquaClear filter for a year now. Absolutely no problems.
--jason
Jason Rosenberg Mira Hershey Hall
801 Hilgard Avenue
jason@cs.ucla.edu Los Angeles, CA 90024
{ihnp4,ucbvax}!ucla-cs!jason (213) 209-1806SXA00047@BAGAMCOK.BITNET (04/13/88)
I've had an AquaClear filter for about three years now. It runs great except if I haven't cleaned it for awhile and the electricity goes off. Even if it goes off for a split second, it just sits there...so I have to unplug it and clean it out. As a result, every time I feed the fish, I take a look at the filter to make sure that it is running and I always make sure that I clean it before I go away for a few days. ------- ACE 2505 RYAN LANE ELGIN, S.C. 29045
oleg@gryphon.CTS.COM (Oleg Kiselev) (04/13/88)
In article <364@bacchus.DEC.COM> reid@decwrl.UUCP (Brian Reid) writes: >The more the filter is in need of cleaning, the more likely it is to fail to >start after a short power interruption. Same if the washers are worn out. I had a similar problem, but never had a burn-out, because I was in a habbit of checking on the tank twice a day. >I am guessing that the motor burnout comes from several days of sitting there >being plugged in but not running. The motors probably depend on the flow of >water for cooling. I seem to recall the documentation explicitly stating that fact. They warn not to turn the filter on without water in it. -- Oleg Kiselev {frodo|bilbo|lcc}.oleg@seas.ucla.edu ...!ihnp4!lcc!oleg oleg@quad1.quad.com (forward) DISCLAIMER: I speak for myself only.
richard@gryphon.CTS.COM (Richard Sexton) (04/14/88)
In article <26997@yale-celray.yale.UUCP> Ram-Ashwin@cs.yale.edu (Ashwin Ram) writes: > Aww nuts, I used to know this. The best I can do is point out a TFH press book: _Light in the Aquarium_ Or was it _Light on the aquarium_ ? i *think* it was about 1 flourescent watt per gallon, roughly; that pretty close to what i use. Incandescent lights are a real bad idea, except for some special cases. The simulation of dawn and dusk is a nice touch, I hadnt heard of that and that is a very good solution to the problem of: "good morning fish, time to bash your faces against the glass for 5 minutes". -- ............................................................................... richard@gryphon.CTS.COM rutgers!marque!gryphon!richard