cichlid-gal said:
I just had an Aquaclear "leak" on me onto my hardwood floors. I think what happened was that it had the little leveler thing fall out so it was tipping backwards some and I had it loaded up with media so the flow got a little slow and out the back and over the side it started to drip and I didn't notice it. Something I'm now watching on all my Aquaclears. It was an AC50. Even with this though I love the Aquaclears as HOB's. They do a bang up job.
Spyral said:
Aquaclear HOB's have to be level and always make sure the motor seal (o-ring) is pliable and not cracked and dry. They really are the best HOB you can get, IMO.
The "problem" with the Aquaclears isn't necessarily with the product itself, but lack of cleaning out the sponge that's in it. What usually happens is when the sponge gets full of gunk, the flow of water becomes weaker to the point where it just pushes the foam block upwards, and causes the cover of the filter to come off, and then leakage happens shortly after =P
This can be prevented though, by cleaning the sponge, maybe once a month, or every other week.
The O-Ring seal can be fixed by applying a small amount of vaseline/petroleum jelly on the ring itself (I believe it can be removed, or even replaced if you buy the spare part for it, kinda like how canister filters have o-rings that can be replaced as well).
As far as having petroleum jelly in contact with water for the fish, I haven't had any adverse effects, granted I use a very small amount, like, half the size of a grain of rice on my o-rings for my canister filters, so I would assume that you would need a lot less for a smaller o-ring for the aquaclears.