AC Deal

[pogi2009]

I ordered 4. Tried to place it in my old 75g, as what FlareSide said, it doesn't fit on a wider trim. The AC110 fits thought. I wish they have AC110 at a great price too. I feel that AC70 is too small ;-(... but regardless I still bought 4. It is a great/simple design.

[Flareside]

what you can do with the AC70- to make it fit the larger tank trim is use a heat gun to warm the siphon tube- right where it makes contact with the tank's trim. Warming it slightly (not melting it) will allow for it to be "fitted" on the tank, and once it cools, the siphon tube will have a slight indent- allowing it to work the same, just on larger tanks

two of my filters had cracked housings. Someone must have dropped the box during shipment. I called Al's and I have to email them a photo showing the cracked housing and they will ship me new filters... Pretty cool cust service

[pogi2009]

Yah! I noticed that the AC plastic looks like a cheap one... am sure their margin is huge, wish they bring down the price...

[BlondeFishGal]

Originally Posted by triscuit

This was my first AC HOB- and I'm loving it! I replaced some random HOB I picked up used somewhere with the AC 70 and within a couple of hours I had a new tank. Amazing how the sand looked clean again! I packed biorings and filter floss on top of the sponge that came with.

And for those that don't believe in the bio rings, balls, etc- use a microscope some time to look at the media, and you might change your mind. The porosity of the ceramics is amazing. They have magnitudes more surface area than sponges or floss- which allow for more populous and varied bacterial colonies. While you made not need that capacity, it can sure come in handy when switching tanks around, seeding new filters, mitigating ammonia spikes, or to outlast the random power outtage/medication/chemical accident.

Thanks for the tips. I always enjoy your insights

Just FYI...for those who have planted tanks or are dabbling in them, as crazy as this sounds, you actually don't want too much in terms of the bacterial colonies b/c they compete with the plants for some of the same food stuff. THe plants serve similar roles as do the bacteria. In my planted tanks, I actually rinse my sponges in tap water, purposely killing off some of the bacteria.

Not in fish only tanks, but in heavily planted ones, yes.

[philk]

i had a ac 70 i wanted to put on a 75 so what i did was cut with a grinder(only cause it was readily available and easy to use) and cut out theineer plastic and fits fine now. if you just cut enough for the filter there will be no problem or the glass canopies to be still able to rest on the rest of teh plastic

philk

[zcfish]

I put two of them on a 75. Cut a small piece (< 2") of the trim just enough for the filter to rest on. Real easy to cut with a saw blade.

[triscuit]

Originally Posted by BlondeFishGal

Just FYI...for those who have planted tanks or are dabbling in them, as crazy as this sounds, you actually don't want too much in terms of the bacterial colonies b/c they compete with the plants for some of the same food stuff. THe plants serve similar roles as do the bacteria. In my planted tanks, I actually rinse my sponges in tap water, purposely killing off some of the bacteria.[/B][/COLOR]

Huh- that makes perfect sense! My plastic plants don't care!

Do you ever accumulate measurable nitrate in a planted tank? Ammonia is a much more bioavailable form of nitrogen for plants, so I wonder if a tank bypasses the NH3 -> NO2 -> NO3 cycle if the demand for NH3 is really high.



Oh, this is getting off topic, but what the heck.

[joe_jaskot]

In a healthy growing planted tank, nitrates are quickly used up. Most people end up adding potassium nitrate to their planted tanks. In a planted tank with low light plants (slow growers), nitrate will not usually have to be added.

[BlondeFishGal]

Originally Posted by triscuit

Huh- that makes perfect sense! My plastic plants don't care!

Do you ever accumulate measurable nitrate in a planted tank? Ammonia is a much more bioavailable form of nitrogen for plants, so I wonder if a tank bypasses the NH3 -> NO2 -> NO3 cycle if the demand for NH3 is really high.



Oh, this is getting off topic, but what the heck.

Originally Posted by joe_jaskot

In a healthy growing planted tank, nitrates are quickly used up. Most people end up adding potassium nitrate to their planted tanks. In a planted tank with low light plants (slow growers), nitrate will not usually have to be added.

Plants significantly cut cycle tank time and do an amazing job of continually improving water conditions, exactly for the reason you stated Triscuit.

As for adding nitrate to planted tanks, yup, as Joe said, folks certainly do (along with a host of other additives and trace elements). BUT it depends also on other factors b/c that will determine the growth rate. The key is balance. If you have compact lighting or T5 even, you will need to add CO2. This is how my planted tanks are set up. So with those factors, if you do NOT contribute additives for the plants, you will run into trouble. It depends also if the tank is stocked more with plants that take in their nutrients by their leaves (stem plants) or by their roots (amazon swords) as to how you add the nutrients.

If you add nutrients but do not have the plants' other factors in balance (lighting, CO2), the nutrients alone will not improve growth rate in the plants. This is a common error in newbie "wet thumb" plant keepers, they only add nutrients and do not have the other factors in balance, experience high algae growth, and then say planted tanks suck. See, if the tank is balanced, you will not have algae problems. When I hear someone who has a planted tank say they have algae problems, it is a red flag that something is out of balance.

Less demanding plants that require lower lighting and no CO2 do not need additives, b/c their needs are met already by the standard equipment, fish waste, and overall enviornment in the tank.

Okay, I am going to stop now.... I am WAY off topic!!!!