# aquaclear 70



## hbruce11 (May 28, 2010)

I have a 55 gallon tank with 5 electric yellows, 3 acei's, and a female auratus. I have a cheap wal mart filter. It's an aqua tech, I believe. I am also running an ac70. The ac is sooooo loud and I was just curious if anyone else has had this problem with this type of filter.


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## AeonzMike (Dec 9, 2010)

I have 3 aquaclear here (one 110 and two 50)on 2 different tanks.. they all have been working fine for about 2 years. Very silent and easy to clean.
BUT.. about two weeks ago, I had to net a fish and I forgot to turn off the ac110 before doing so. I believe some sand got into the impeller and its been making a VERY annoying grinding noise ever since. No matter how much i try to clean the impeller it remains noisy.

So bottom line for me is, they are very good filters but not the best with a sand substrate. I am now looking for a replacement motor/impeller for my AC110. If I find one I think I will put a sponge around the intake to prevent further sand damage.

Also, if your AC is noisy you should try to clean the motor and impeller using super hot water in the shower. The more water pressure the better. I also use q-tips to make sure there is no more gunk in there. Sometime the noise also comes from the impeller blades hitting the grey plastic piece (opaque) .


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## GTZ (Apr 21, 2010)

I have an AC 70, not much noise.
Try dissassembling and cleaning. 
The motor twists out, the impeller lifts out of the motor.


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## smitty (May 7, 2004)

Also check the impeller and shaft maybe they are worn.


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## Dj823cichild (Mar 30, 2009)

I gotta add my 2 cents as well. I have 2 Ac 110's on my Oscar tank and they are awesome. I did have the sand problem like Aeonz cause my Oscar would stir up the sand and the intake sucked it up. I cleaned the impeller and after a while it worked itself out my AC's are quiet again. I mean your going to hear a lil hum regardless but after a while they will work themselves out at least mine did I hope the same for you good luck! :thumb: I used a wet Q tip I was careful not to leave anything behind if that helps on cleaning the impeller.


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## dark SSide (Feb 12, 2010)

I have seen on a few forums and threads that sometimes that running them with the lid off quiets them down. I just put a tiny amout of silicone on the four corners of the filter and it gives the lid something (softer) to sit on.


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## fatcat660 (Nov 29, 2005)

I have had my two Ac 300s now known as AC 70s running for 7 years now on my 55 still going strong with no problems. I have gravel as a substrate, I have heard that sand causes a problem unless you add some sponge over the intake. :fish:


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## ridley25 (Jan 5, 2008)

dark SSide said:


> I have seen on a few forums and threads that sometimes that running them with the lid off quiets them down. I just put a tiny amout of silicone on the four corners of the filter and it gives the lid something (softer) to sit on.


That's the only issue I have with noise on my ACs - the lids rattle a bit. I've never had sand in my impeller, but then I have them on tanks with tetras...

kevin


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## Chubbs the Jellybean (Jun 16, 2009)

I took the lid off and put aluminum foil on top And that fixes the noise :thumb:


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## GTZ (Apr 21, 2010)

Chubbs the Jellybean said:


> I took the lid off and put aluminum foil on top And that fixes the noise :thumb:


lol, ******* chrome, or is that duct tape? (No offense to ********)


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## FbodyFan (Jun 20, 2010)

My AC110 is extremely noisy. It wasn't always like that though, its due to sand getting in the motor. Anytime sand got in, i would take it apart and clean it but I could never get it all out (very fine sand). My impeller shaft has been ground down pretty bad now and sometimes it doesnt spin and i have to put a qtip in there to turn the prop and get it going again. I'll be picking up a new motor soon lol.

Anyway, my point is, they are certainly louder than a canister but nothing crazy til you get sand in the motor. :thumb:

BTW, they are def quieter with the lid off.


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## 60gallon (Dec 14, 2010)

I have a AC110 thats pretty loud (motor, not water) so I though it was because it was old...I cleaned it all out and it was still loud. So I bought 3 brand new AC70s and they were all somewhat loud too (again motor, not water). And the lid did rattle making the noise worse but even with it off it was still annoying to me...I returned them all and just got another Eheim 2217.

Nothing compares to a super quiet 2217!!


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## Nick55G (Aug 30, 2010)

My AC 70 is only noisy when sand gets into it, I run it with the lid off so it can't vibrate. It is noisy for the first day or so until that tank slime lubricates things. When everything is running smooth it is silent.


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## Kaie (Feb 2, 2011)

Theres a quite a few threads on this forum about loud ACs. As a owner of 3 on the same tank [got a really good second hand deal over CraigsList] for 3 years i have 0 issues. I have one that isnt as strong as the other 2 but no noise.

As far as sand in the intake issues, i would get some bulk pond filter and either stuff a tiny bit in the tube or zip tie it to the outside of the intake hole.


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