Customer Reviews

AquaClear 20 Power Filter - 110 V, UL Listed (Includes AquaClear 20 Carbon, AquaClear 20 Foam & AquaClear 20 BioMax)

5 star:		(28)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Unlike other filters that force you to spend money on new filters pads every two weeks, spending a lot on money you didn't think you would have to, this filter does not require replacement filter pads. Instead, it has a block of foam that is used to trap the dirt in the water. Every two weeks, simple clean the foam in water by squeezing it a few times! Just do it in your water changing bucket with de-chlorinated water.

You can change the carbon filter whenever you choose to. In fact, it is not needed all that much. I have run my tanks without carbon for a month at a time, no big deal. If the water starts to look yellow or brown, it is time to change it and put in some fresh carbon.

Like the other reviewer mentioned, this filter isn't exactly silent. The impeller makes noise. Not noticeable when there's activity in the same room, but when the room is quiet you can definitely hear it. That being said, the filtration that this unit provides is EXCELLENT. My water is so clear I can see the warm-water currents coming out of my heater. Performs wonderfully, and I appreciate being able to dial-down the force of the filter....I have this one in my 10 gallon aquarium, and my fish didn't like the current at full blast.

This filter is great because you don't have to constantly buy new filters. The sponge on the bottom just needs to be rinsed out, and the ammonia remover on the top should be left alone to grow beneficial bacteria. The only thing you really have to replace is the activated carbon. The guy at the pet store suggested I just get cheese cloth and a big carton of activated carbon. For the price a few inserts, I can make several dozen from the carbon and cheese cloth. This makes it even cheaper to maintain this already fairly low maintenance filter.

On top of almost never needing to buy new filter cartridges, this filter has kept my ten gallon tank crystal clear. The water looks beautiful, and my goldfish is really happy. Also, I'm about to upgrade to a twenty gallon tank, and I'll still be able to use this same unit. (The flow adjuster is easy to use and a great feature for different sized tanks.)

Finally, this filter is super quiet. Other than the noise of moving water, I haven't heard anything. Several people in my house are very noise sensitive, and they don't notice this at all. The pet store guy I talked to said the only time the impeller should make noise is if something is caught in it or it's off kilter. This can be easily remedied, and I haven't had a problem with it yet.

My daughter has a small aquarium (approx. 5 gallons),and we purchased a smaller filter, top of the line name brand, when we purchased the tank (as recommended). We had many problems; did not circulate well and left residue on the top of the water as if it were stagnant. Our angelfish kept dieing. I researched filters and decided to give this one a try as it said it did not allow "stagnant" water to happen since it was constantly circulating and flowing back into the tank from rim level. It is wonderful!! It sits comfortably on the rim of the tank in the cut out area. The water flows rather like a gentle waterfall. Our angelfish are doing well and I am very happy with the appearance and quality of the water in the small tank at all times. I have never seen any slimy areas and definitely have not seen the top look like pond water!! Our new angels love the filter and were hanging out by it and getting pushed around a little by the flow of the water...they seemed to be enjoying the activity. This is a very reasonably priced small filter that actually does the job it states it does....I highly recommend it to anyone.

I first learned of AquaClear when we purchased a used 20 gallon fish tank and it came with an AquaClear filter. The water in that tank has always been so clear when compared to our other two tanks. This filter was purchased for a 10 gallon tank that houses four fish with a divider. Prior to installing this filter the water would get very cloudy. Since installing this filter, the water is crystal clear. I'm seriously considering purchasing the larger model for our 30 gallon tank.

I've been through 2 TopFin power filters for my 20 Gallon in the 2 years I've had it. In comparison, AquaClean is quieter, has much better filtration techniques, and it didn't break like the TopFin did. I really love the 3 stage filter: a sponge for mechanical filter, a charcoal pouch for chemical filter, and a biofilter for healthy bacteria to adhere to. It provides adjustable water flow. I absolutely love this product!

After years of making due with a small-tank filter, we were tired of the yearly algae blooms and green water. Based on the reviews, I purchased this filter and saw the water turn from green to clean (clear) in less than a week. Highly recommended!

Hagen AquaClear 20 Aquarium Power Filter
I use this filter on my 10g planted tank and an Aqua Clear 30 on my 10g Shrimparium. These filters have a standard tube intake and waterfall outflow. They are quiet and efficient; however if you like the sound of falling water, reducing the water level in your aquarium slightly will produce a small waterfall. They have the ability to control water flow by moving the intake U-tube right or left in the receiving slot. I find them easy to clean. They can easily receive a DIYCO2 line with no modification. Triple filtration; nice foam block on the bottom, charcoal bag in the middle and ammo media I think, on the top. I use bio-tubes instead. The charcoal bag can also be replaced with bio-tubes. Great product.

I bought this for my 10g tank after buying the 70 version for my 29g tank. I was supprised at how small this is. It works really well. I would not use it for a tank bigger than 10g. It would be just fine for a 2.5g tank or even a 1g tank (which you can only fit a betta in.) The adjustable flow control is very nice and handy. This filter is very simmilar to a canister filter. The only negative thing that I have found it that it is not self priming. You have to put declorinated water in the filter before you turn it on. Other than that minor annoyance it is a perfect small filter. If I had known how small it was I probably would have gotten the Aquaclear 30. Overall a very great filter. You can have it up and running in a matter of minutes. One last thing that I would like to say is that you do not need to run the charcole most of the time. That is just for removing meds from the water. In the place of the charcole you should run an extra bag of biomax.

We got the AquaClear to replace the bubble filter that came with our aquarium starter kit. The filter is much quieter and much more effective than the bubble filter. The way that the filter works is that a small impeller drives a near siphon so not that much energy is required to suck the water up and out. Then the water flows up through a series of filters - a foam block for mechanical filtering, a bag of carbon for chemical filtering, and then finally a bag of rocks for biofiltering. The bag of rocks is near the top so it is partly in air which I suspects help encourage bacteria growth. The motor is sealed and drives a magnetic link to the impeller. One can dissasemble the filter to get at the impeller, and in fact it is recommended that you do this every couple of weeks to clean everything. The schedule for replacement of the foam, carbon, and biofilter is staggered so that one is not supposed to replace them all at once. In theory one should buy the official refills for filters from the manufacturer, but rocks are rocks, foam is foam, carbon is carbon, so generics should do just fine. The noise level is much less than the bubble filter, where the pump for that had a noisy 60 hz hum. This has a little bit of 60hz hum but it is much quieter. I suspect that some of the complaints about noisiness of this unit in other reviews may be due to the filter not being level, some debris in the impeller (which ought to be easy to clean), or damage, wear or defects. I suspect particularly that if the filter is not level the impeller might wear unevenly. Also the filter should be started only with water in it. If it were started dry, I bet that heat from friction would quickly damage the impeller.