Tetratec Power Filters

DOH! Probably gallons per hour. ;D

 

Yup, usually means GPH!

 

Well, after 5 days or so I had to start adjusting the siphon last night and this morning. It was just draining instead of filling and draining.

I know what's up though. It's evaporation. Makes sense.

Once I start dripping top off water, I bet it will stay longer.

Still pretty impressed with the cross-currents in the tank. Although the bubbles are definitely not for everybody. Maybe some floss or some spout adjustment would help.

 

Well it's been almost a month so I thought I would update this thread.....

THIS FILTER IS COOL.

Now that I have a lot of plants in the tank, it really highlights the ebb & flows this filter puts out. It looks so natural.

THE KEY - FIND THE SWEET SPOT.

After turning the filter on and off a few times and having done a water change, I can honestly say it's becoming a little easier to dial this thing in.

If you don't lose the siphon in the filter from doing a big water change, you can sometimes just turn it back on and it will work.

Otherwise, it takes a little time, maybe 3-5 minutes of tinkering to find the 'spot,' but once you get it, it seems to stick well.

Again, it works best if you keep your tank water level near the top, a little over the trim line. If you let it go lower, it's hard to adjust correctly.

After a while, it seems to break in and the delays between surges seem to get longer which is really cool. I was looking at the tank last night and it sometimes went 2-3 minutes between surges! 8)

The effect in the tank is impressive. Seriously. Not much off the shelf will give you this realism.

If you have a NANO reef tank and you are looking for a hang on the back filter, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS ONE.

If current is more important than silence and you don't mind some bubbles in your tank. Check this out!

(Look for updates on how I modify it to get rid of the bubbles because I am getting Sea Horses - Ironically the ONLY thing I wouldn't recommend this filter for. Live and learn.)

I wouldn't use them on large or deep tanks, but nanos and long tanks would be ideal. I could see one of these on both ends of a 30 long tank ping - ponging current across the tank. It would be sweet.

Inspite of it's flaws, this filter is truly unique.

[smiley=2thumbsup.gif]

 

I bougtht one of the PF 500 right when they came out and it has been up and running for months now. I love this filter and it is in a class of its own. Pop quiz name all the other HOB filters that can hold 2 liters of media, has a built in heater, has a surge feature, and can move 500 gph. Zero, nad dah, zilch. Heck not many cansiter can compete. The one down side is it is noisy, really noisy. I siphon thing sound like a little toliet fushing in your living room ever 2 seconds and my lid rattles. The 500 is on a freshwater tank but I am thinking of buying two of the small one to use just as a wavemaker (no media). The ATS thing is a neet idea.

 

i got a 500 about 4 months ago and it works great in my 55gal imho. i'm still using 3 powerheads in the tank for circulation. i've found that if i keep the water level up, it's not as noisy. for me personally, the water sounds are part of what i enjoy about having an aquarium =)

the best thing about it is that i got it on sale at petsmart for 50 bucks!

 

I would like to share my opinion on these filters...
I have 2 of them which I have taken off of my tanks. I had a 150 on my 26 gallon salt water and I think it was a 500 on my 90 gallon fresh water tank. I bought these because of the heater that can be mounted inside of the units. I wish that I had not. The 500 leaks(a little) between the heater and the media holder. The water has a tendency to "jump" out of the filter. The smaller filter(150) I was having no problems with at first, but when I had to unplug it to change power strips, it would not start back up. It appeared that the motor was running but for the life of me I could not get it to start. I was not pleased because this filter was about a month old. So now I am back to the whisper filters that I used to use on my old 55 gal. I never had any problems with.

Steve

 

Thanks Mojo & Steve!

 

I would love it if they kept the heater and just improved the design. If that happened I would probably try it again.

Steve

 

[quote author=TheSteve link=board=Product;num=1037824626;start=15#16 date=08/13/04 at 21:39:19] The smaller filter(150) I was having no problems with at first, but when I had to unplug it to change power strips, it would not start back up.  It appeared that the motor was running but for the life of me I could not get it to start.  I was not pleased because this filter was about a month old.
Steve[/quote]

I have the same problem with my 150 Steve. But I was able to get it started again by putting in on my double sink with just some water in it and playing with the impeller (usually by taking the intake tube off with the power off and pulling the impeller out and putting it back in ) until it starts again. Once I get it going, I am able to unplug it and put it back on the tank and it starts up again most of the time.

Once I came home and it was not working at all. Took the impeller out and found it was caked with kalk. Cleaned it and it worked again.

All this does make it a pain in the butt, but I deal with it for now and don't turn it off!