ATI Filter Max III, Pre-Filter Review

[DMD123]

Just a brief review of the ATI Filter Max III, Pre-Filter

This kit includes adapters that will fit an Aquaclear 70 and 110

What it looks like in my tank, had to shorten extension tube to fit :

I had been looking at the sponge pre-filters carried by Aquarium Co-Op and liked the coarse sponge but did not like the mods required to make them work for the Aquaclear filters. Watching the videos were a great way to get all the info needed on the installation process and I think the sponges Cory carries are much larger since vinyl tubing had to be added around the Aquaclear intake tube for his pre-filters to fit.

Doing some research I found the ATI brand (Aquarium Technology, Inc.) and that the model III was made to fit Aquaclear 70, and 110. I ordered mine from good old Amazon for around $12. The kit was a perfect fit and the elbows and adapter made for a nice fit that pulled the unit off the back tank wall so you get flow all the way around.

I did have one small issue, not the products fault but the shipping was rough and an elbow was cracked. Usable but did not exactly lock together tightly. I didnt want to send it back because I needed it so I found the replacement parts at Kens and it was all working the way it should.
https://kensfish.com/collections/ati-replacement-parts

If needed I also found replacement sponges at Aquacave
https://www.aquacave.com/replacement-sponges-for-filter-max-prefilters.html

The whole Pre-filter thing was needed because I will be housing my puffer with a fine sand in this tank and didnt want the filter getting chewed up by sand getting sucked in. While I dont have the sand in yet I can tell this does a wonderful job since I see pleco poo on it all the time... lol.

I think this is a great product and just wanted to write up a little something on it.

 

[fishguy1978]

Can you rotate the elbow so that the sponge is horizontal?

 

[DMD123]

Can you rotate the elbow so that the sponge is horizontal?

Yes you can.

Edit 7/15 to add pic

You can see in the pic it is mounted horizontally. This was during the cracked elbow phase so only one elbow was installed at the time. Sorry bad pic, blew it up to show filter better.

 

[Betty]

I'll be interested to see if it's a pain to clean. When I've used prefilters (diy), if I wait too long to clean them, it usually makes a mess when I remove them. Same problem with regular sponge filters. (I have a feeling you would never have that issue with how spotless your tanks are kept.) And maybe that course sponge won't collect as much crap in it.

My cichlids carry sand around and spit it out so I would still get some sand in the filters with the prefilter, but no doubt it cut back on the amount. And fortunately the filters don't have much trouble handling the sand. Once in a very great while a grain will get in the impeller area and rattle around, but usually I dump a small amount of sand out of the bottom at filter cleaning time.

 

[DMD123]

I still have not tried the sand in that tank yet. The puffer will sometimes bury himself and then dart out for food which brings the sand up to areas that could get sucked up into the filter. So the pre-filter sponge is just an precaution.

When I take off the pre-filter to rinse, it will sometimes drop stuff off it or the water coming off will be brown but that usually means I waited too long to clean it.

I dont think I would use this on every tank but I like it on the one its on currently. I might add one to another tank because the fish tends to bump into the intake a lot and scratch himself. I figure the sponge could act as a protection for him.

 

[DMD123]

I decided to revisit this one now that its been up and running a while. It has worked effectively to keep out sand but I hated how it looked in such a little tank. So I bought a couple medium sponges from the Aquarium Co-Op to try something else.

Here is the comparison of the two set ups

The Co-Op sponge needed to have a stub piece of filter tube inserted into sponge in order for it to work well. If you tried to stick in the aquaclear tube the sharp pointed strainer hit bottom of sponge and did not fit well. I used this mini extension I made and inserted it into the sponge.

Another idea of the comparison between the two
The new Co-Op sponge much sleeker look to it. Im liking this much more. It is a much coarser sponge but hopefully will keep sand out.

 

[DMD123]

So I was thinking about this and realized that all the intake is coming from the bottom. I need to drill some holes in the side of my little adapter. Would probably help if I could limit flow on the bottom. Going to do a bit of thinking on this

 

[DMD123]

Turns out it was just a stiff new sponge and thats why it would not go on well to the strainer tube. After a bit of squishing it around it fit fine without my adapter tube.

 

[FishBeast]

I think drilling the holes is a great idea!