# What media do you use in your AquaClear 110?



## Ridewithme38 (Oct 16, 2011)

so i got an AquaClear 110 about a month ago....and am just using the stock sponge and stock Bio Media...but with the customizable tray i figure most of you guys aren't still using the stock stuff...

So what are you using in your AquaClear 110?


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## Nubster (Aug 1, 2011)

Sponges...two of them. That's all you need. Maybe floss if you need to polish or carbon to clear meds, but for everyday use, just the sponges.


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## 1077 (Apr 16, 2008)

I Have this filter on 55 gal pleco tank with five smaller plecos. Mustard spot,Bristlenose,Clown Pleco, Inspector Pleco (2),banjo cat, and Emperor Tetra's along with white cloud minnow's.
I use the stock foam insert,Eheim substrat Pro that I removed from canister filter on planted tank,and a bag of Chemi-Pure.


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## AbbeysDad (Mar 28, 2011)

I have two AquaClear 70's on my 60g. (I started with just the one and quite liked it but wanted a bit more media capacity. Rather than dump the AC and get a canister, I thought why not add another AC?)
The one filter has a fluval pre-filter sponge on the inlet tube. It has a scotchbrite type pad, then is loaded with seachem Matric bio-filter media. The pre-filter prevents mechanical filtration loading so with the exception of routinely cleaning/rotating the prefilter sponge, this "bio-filter" just runs and runs.
The second filter has the AC sponge, a custom cut filter pad (pictured here), 2 100ml bags of Seachem Purigen, filter floss and another AC sponge. (The Purigen is a new experiment. It's a synthetic polymer adsorbant that attracts dissolved organics to it's surface - the removal of dissolved organics is not unlike what a protein skimmer does in SW aquariums.)
Note that both filters are set for minimum flow, maximum re-filtration and use simple water bottle baffles to reduce flow back into the tank.

Now I gonna have to disagree with Nubster - the AC sponges are very porous. Although they make an excellent mechanical filter and 'platform' for beneficial bacteria, by themselves they will let small particles through, so you really do need some filter floss or other fine filter pad in there.

If I was you, I'd start out with the AC sponge, a finer filter pad, the AC bio-max and a good hunk of filter floss. (Keep the activated carbon in reserve for when you made need it for temporary use to remove meds or something.


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## Nubster (Aug 1, 2011)

Well...it just so happens that I have two sponges, the second one being a much smaller pore size than the first so it is on top of the coarser one. It just happened to come that way...it wasn't something I ordered specifically. Even so, I never had an issue with stuff making it through two course sponges either. Maybe I am set in my ways but this is how I have always ran and will always run my AC's.


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## AbbeysDad (Mar 28, 2011)

Nubster said:


> Well...it just so happens that I have two sponges, the second one being a much smaller pore size than the first so it is on top of the coarser one. It just happened to come that way...it wasn't something I ordered specifically. Even so, I never had an issue with stuff making it through two course sponges either. Maybe I am set in my ways but this is how I have always ran and will always run my AC's.


I noticed a difference in clarity after I started using floss after two course sponges - I'm not saying you have too, just recommending that fine filter floss adds a level of polish to the water.


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## Trofishlore (Dec 4, 2011)

AbbeysDad said:


> I noticed a difference in clarity after I started using floss after two course sponges - I'm not saying you have too, just recommending that fine filter floss adds a level of polish to the water.



I Agree with you. :lol:
Variety of filter media will enable you with different effects and changes.


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## AbbeysDad (Mar 28, 2011)

Trofishlore said:


> I Agree with you. :lol:
> Variety of filter media will enable you with different effects and changes.


Thanks - you just have to experiment. I just had the sponges but I kept seeing tiny particles in the water stream coming out of the filter. Just for the heck of it I added some filter floss. Not only was the water clearer, but the floss gets really dirty. It makes a difference. Like I've always said, I'd rather have a slower flow with finer filtration because true filtration isn't about gph water flow, but how well we filter the crud out of the water.


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