Was this stupid? AQ 70 for 10 gallon tank

[Wayne Dwops]

I bought it because I thought it was cool that the heater could fit in the basket. But I will have to cut my hood for the filter to fit and now I'm wondering if getting the AQ70 was a stupid idea and I should have just gotten the AQ30 that would fit with my hood? (the Marineland LED 10g hood)

[somewhatshocked]

If you're comfortable modifying your hood, the AC70 will work fine. You'll just have to turn the flow down a bit.

If you aren't comfortable with it, you could always buy a smaller AquaClear and sell the 70.

[OrangeSoda]

I am of the opinion that no decision is stupid as long as you have a Dremel, the will to cut and enough patience to plan a nice looking cut.

[secuono]

I would do the same thing, get a big filter, modify the hood.

[Wayne Dwops]

I asked my father and he said he could cut the hood no problem, so I'll stick with the 70! Are there any other filter medias I should look into besides the 3 it comes with?

[kevmo911]

Get rid of the carbon, and replace it with either more bio or mechanical media. I'd go with some filter floss or an extra sponge.

[secuono]

I keep the carbon, but don't keep the bag, it will disintegrate in time making a huge mess.
Doesn't carbon have a high porous surface? So it's good for beneficial bacteria to grow?

[steven p]

Polyfill is the shiznit of the filter media world, if your filters accomidate it. $3 a year for media...

[Knox_legend]

More water volume in a small tank is a good thing. I used to run a AC 70 in a small 5 gallon reef. If your worried about flow put the AC 30 or 20 impeller in the 70.

[Wayne Dwops]

Wow conflicting ideas. Why is the carbon no good? I want to try the bio pellets just to see what happens but i can already see they are going to be a hassle. Anyway, my AQ70 came today and where do i put the Hydor ThEO heater! Do I have to cut the sponge to get it to fit?