# Aqua clear filters & power loss Help!!!



## fish_luva (Nov 24, 2009)

Hi everyone,, i'm wondering if anyone else experiences issues with their Aquaclears if the power goes out. i'm running about 10 of these now.
300/70 x 5, 200/50 x 3 & 500/110's x 2 

Once the power goes out all the water reverse syphons back out the intake and then my filters will not start back up. I have to let the motors cool down and then add water back in with a measuring cup... I might be lucky 2 get 1 or two start up on their own, unless it's a really quick power hit. I'm concerned with the motors burning out and all the bacteria dying... 
Sigh....

1. Does anyone else experience the water syphon effect in power loss?
2. Does yours start back up?
3. Have you found any solutions to fix this issue if you experience the no start up after power loss.

Thanks for all your help and tips etc....
sheldon


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## BillD (Jun 5, 2006)

How high is your water level? They really shouldn't siphon to a level lower than the tank level.


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## fish_luva (Nov 24, 2009)

HI Bill, heh, I think you might of just hit the nail on the head... Well i keep my water level just at the edge of the black trim on all my tanks,, i don't go beyond that because you never know if the edge has a good bead of silicone or not. 

I push all the HOb's tight down as far as they can go. i've even tested it and you can watch the water just suck out in no time......

Very very strange.... 

i don't really want to raise the water level any higher......

cheers!!!!


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## Y2KGT (Jul 20, 2009)

Hey Sheldon,
Yeah make sure your water level is as high as you can get it. I like all my tanks to be just above the bottom of the top trim which is approximately 1 inch from the top of the tank.

If this doesn't help, you may want to switch to the Marineland Emperor line of HOB filters. You can still use foam blocks in these rather than the cartidges they come with. I personally think these filters are way better than the Aquaclears. The motors are sealed which means no leaks where the motor meets the filter housing. Very easy to clean as well. I find that if you don't clean the impeller area on the Aquaclears once a month, the impeller won't start after a water change. Not to mention the bio-wheel is an additional biological media that you never replace.

This is just my personal opinion and experience.

Best of luck my friend.
--
Paul


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## Fish_Man (Apr 9, 2010)

That has happen to me before with some of my AC.
The reason was because it wasn't leveled. Don't know if that is the case for you.


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## fish_luva (Nov 24, 2009)

Y2KGT said:


> Hey Sheldon,
> Yeah make sure your water level is as high as you can get it. I like all my tanks to be just above the bottom of the top trim which is approximately 1 inch from the top of the tank.
> 
> If this doesn't help, you may want to switch to the Marineland Emperor line of HOB filters. . I find that if you don't clean the impeller area on the Aquaclears once a month, the impeller won't start after a water change.
> ...


Thanks for sharing your experience. I keep mine running during a water change as i do about 20-30% and drop the water to just above teh intake opening.. anyways, Darn,, i just sold my two emporer 400's as i didn't know enough about them..... i should have kept them now that i have much bigger tanks......
i'll try increasing some water levels to see how that goes and do some testing. Billd touched on this as well.....

appreciate the comments.....


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## dl88dl (Mar 8, 2010)

I am running over 20 ACs and 10 EMPs and the last power outage they all were still working except for 1 AC300 and the level in that tank is about 3" below the trim...can not fill this tank higher since the bulkhead. But I also have my 135gal filled only half way since it just spunk a very slow leak near the half way mark and the 2 AC500/110 was still working after the power came back. So I am not sure how much the water level will cause it to stop working after the power outage. Like what the Fish Man mention above the leveling of the AC filter might cause the water to reverse syphons back out the intake
I like both AC & EMP(rig with 1.5" thick sponge and fill the media baskets with K1 media) and they both have their good and bad points. Even if the EMP motor is seal and don't leak but if the water level drops below 3" to 4" this filter will stop working. AC filters has a chance to leak around the motor but they still works even if the water level is very low and there are many more advantages and disadvantages on these 2 types of filters.


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## fish_luva (Nov 24, 2009)

Fish_Man said:


> That has happen to me before with some of my AC.
> The reason was because it wasn't leveled. Don't know if that is the case for you.


Thanks fish_man,,,, i'll make sure they are level which could be a key point. but it seems the norm that maybe my water level is not high enough......

i'll have to test that and see


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## fish_luva (Nov 24, 2009)

dl88dl said:


> I am running over 20 ACs and 10 EMPs and the last power outage they all were still working except for 1 AC300 and the level in that tank is about 3" below the trim...can not fill this tank higher since the bulkhead. But I also have my 135gal filled only half way since it just spunk a very slow leak near the half way mark and the 2 AC500/110 was still working after the power came back. So I am not sure how much the water level will cause it to stop working after the power outage. Like what the Fish Man mention above the leveling of the AC filter might cause the water to reverse syphons back out the intake
> I like both AC & EMP(rig with 1.5" thick sponge and fill the media baskets with K1 media) and they both have their good and bad points. Even if the EMP motor is seal and don't leak but if the water level drops below 3" to 4" this filter will stop working. AC filters has a chance to leak around the motor but they still works even if the water level is very low and there are many more advantages and disadvantages on these 2 types of filters.


Dave, nice to hear from you and to get your perspectives on both filters and what's happening with mine. It seems the consensus is maybe the water level, I keep it just to the edge of the trim,, 1.5 inch from top, then you have the filter that sits a bit above the tanks as well so that could be causing it..... I will have to go with the consensus here and check that out and test........

appreciate it... heh,,,, send me a PM dave where you got your K-1 media... t
thanks dave and to everyone for all throwing in what looks like might be the solution....

cheers!!!!


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## dl88dl (Mar 8, 2010)

fish_luva said:


> Dave, nice to hear from you and to get your perspectives on both filters and what's happening with mine. It seems the consensus is maybe the water level, I keep it just to the edge of the trim,, 1.5 inch from top, then you have the filter that sits a bit above the tanks as well so that could be causing it..... I will have to go with the consensus here and check that out and test........
> 
> appreciate it... heh,,,, send me a PM dave where you got your K-1 media... t
> thanks dave and to everyone for all throwing in what looks like might be the solution....
> ...


So the filter that sits just a bit above the tank...is it because the trim is to thick for the filter? If it sit just above then for sure you will have issues.

Here is the link where I got it from 50L for $104 + HST but I got mine 4 years ago and they were $90 + taxes.

http://www.canadiankoiandpond.ca/productsEA.html

Good luck


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## BettaBeats (Jan 14, 2010)

I had this issue, I just let my filter rest. One time the impeller was jammed. I always fill the filter with water after a power-stop as I don't want my filter running dry.


I think it comes with the age of the filter. my AC always started up after power outages until this year. It is about 1.4 years old now.


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## fish_luva (Nov 24, 2009)

tks Betta,,,, Ya... most of mine were purchased used.. all in good shape of course though..... from what i can see though,, a lot of it was water level,,, so i've raised it a bit higher and i'm going to do some testing and see what happens......

cheers!!!


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## Holidays (Apr 18, 2010)

I have ac 300 and my water level is as high as it can be, if it's a short outage (a sec or two) then it won't stop but if the outage is longer then yes it's dead and won't start. I don't think there is anything you can do. I had to drain the water out and let it spin again. This is the same as marineland HOB filter...so I don't think there is anything I can do more, I have air pump as a backup way of water movement, it will start when the power is back on.


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## Holidays (Apr 18, 2010)

^ and the filter is clean, the water turbine thing is clean too. Test them, unplug it and plug it back on, mine never work, both AC and marine land (this one is pretty new). I have to drain it and let it spin first.


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## kev416 (Aug 22, 2010)

Holidays said:


> I have ac 300 and my water level is as high as it can be, if it's a short outage (a sec or two) then it won't stop but if the outage is longer then yes it's dead and won't start. I don't think there is anything you can do. I had to drain the water out and let it spin again. This is the same as marineland HOB filter...so I don't think there is anything I can do more, I have air pump as a backup way of water movement, it will start when the power is back on.


Is your motor six or seven watts? It's on the side in raised letters.


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## Holidays (Apr 18, 2010)

kev416 said:


> Is your motor six or seven watts? It's on the side in raised letters.


it's a 7 watts: 120VAC 60Hz 7W


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## kev416 (Aug 22, 2010)

Did you pull the impeller out and clean the gunk out? Sometimes a few grits of sand can stop an impeller from spinning. With all things considered and the more powerful cUL /CSA 7 watt motor... you can only conclude that the impeller has become demagnetized. It probably needs to be replaced. Any chance you can switch it with another?


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## Holidays (Apr 18, 2010)

kev416 said:


> Did you pull the impeller out and clean the gunk out? Sometimes a few grits of sand can stop an impeller from spinning. With all things considered and the more powerful cUL /CSA 7 watt motor... you can only conclude that the impeller has become demagnetized. It probably needs to be replaced. Any chance you can switch it with another?


Ya I cleaned it, other than the power outage, it's working fine, so I'll keep using it and just use air pump as a backup.


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## Cory (May 2, 2008)

After a major power outage I go into the fishroom and check all my filters. Normally the penguins dont stop working but if they drain enough they do too. The Acs usually start up ok too but if they've drained out the problem is the same. All you need to do in any case, is use a chopstick to move the impeller. A few pushes gets them all going again and if I need to I'll add some tank water to the filter. It is more a problem with the ACs but can happen to any filter.


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## fish_luva (Nov 24, 2009)

thanks cory and everyone else.... looks like i'm not the only one noticing this..... .I guess my concern is that i'm gone for about 10-12 hours when i go to work with the commuting and these motors would sit all day,, wish they had some sort of run dry autoshut-off feature... But i'm guessing tehy would sit powered all day and burn out. thoughts?


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