Filters are a very important piece of equipment in an aquarium and critical to your aquarium’s success. The job of the filter is to move the water through the filter cartridge where it is processed to remove odors and small particles of waste and through the BIO-Fiber to eliminate the toxic ammonia and nitrites from the aquarium water. Each of the AQUA-Tech^® Power Filters provides this 3-stage filtration for healthier fish and cleaner water.

The first stage of the AQUA-Tech^® filtration is mechanical. The blue polyfiber pad that is integrated onto the EZ-Change^TM Filter Cartridge screens out dirt and debris as water passes through.

The second stage of the AQUA-Tech^® filtration is chemical. The activated carbon that is in the EZ-Change^TM Filter Cartridge removes dissolved waste and cleans the water of odors.

The third stage of the AQUA-Tech^® filtration is biological. The BIO-Fiber that is included in each AQUA-Tech^® Power Filter provides additional surface area for beneficial bacteria to grow and thrive. The bacteria then eliminate toxic ammonia and nitrites that can be fatal to fish.  You should never clean or throw away the BIO-Fiber. If the BIO-Fiber becomes too clogged, rinse it with conditioned water only.

AQUA-Tech^® Power Filters come in four sizes providing 3-stage filtration for aquarium sizes from 5 to 60 gallons.

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Aqua-Tech 30-60 Review:

By Kmuda

Overview

If you bought a 55 gallon Aquarium Kit at Wal-Mart, this is the filter that came with that kit. They are an inexpensive standard HOB filter, limited in biofiltration capacity. I do not recommend using these as primary filtration on anything other than a community tank containing small fish.

As mechanical filters, they are serviceable, so they make decent secondary filters with a decent flow rate.

Pros:

• Inexpensive

• Uses the same media as a Penguin 350

• Easy maintenance

Cons:

• Cannot be considered "silent". If absolute silence is at the top of your list, spend more money

• Replacement cartridges can be an added expense, look under "Other information" for recommendations

• Looses prime relatively easy during water changes (when the water drops to a certain level) and may not self prime on power up after a water change (may have to pour water into the filter to get it restarted).

• Extremely limited in biofiltration capacity. This filter should not be used as the primary filtration on an Oscar tank.

• Difficult to retrofit with a prefilter so use on sand tanks is questionable

Other information:

• I don't use the manufacturer cartridges. Instead, I use Bio3 Penguin Filter Cartridges, only using the clamshell and blue sponge, setting the carbon pads aside, and using blue bonded padding cut to fit, using four of these cartridges in each Penguin 350. 

• I have several "cut to fit pads". Each week, I pull the cartridges, removing the blue bonded padding, replacing it with a recyled pad, and squeeze the blue sponge out into a bucket of water. The dirty pads are taken to the sink, rinsed clean with a dish sprayer, and then boiled for several minutes. Boiling returns the pad to "like new" condition (including fluffing it back up). This cleaned pad is then dried and stored for reuse. Using this process, I have not purchased additional media in several years. 

• Can be retrofit with Biowheels from a Penguin 330, which would minimize the limited biofiltration concerns.

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