Agree about the skimmer. The issue I have with it is when the water level starts getting a tad low, you can really hear the air gurgling in it. Without it, you could let the water level drop a lot lower, but I guess it's kind of like a maintenance reminder, so maybe a mixed blessing, lol
I have a Tidal 110 going on my 46 gallon bowfront for 4 years now. It’s a cichlid tank with crushed coral substrate. The adjustability and multilevel intakes make this filter very well suited for sand and crushed coral use. I bought 2 replacement 110 size Matrix biomedia pouches and added that to the bag of Matrix that came with it for a total of 1500 ml of Biomedia. I don’t use anything else except for the stock blue coarse sponge that came with it. 450 gph flow rate and easy maintenance make this filter a canister killer.
TIDAL Filters: Not really as good for these reasons: Im really not sure why so many leave these important points out of their reviews. BYPASS: The Tidal (at least with the T-75) bypass is horrendous. Water flows out, from the two huge openings at the front of the basket. Even with just the blue sponge in, it doesnt take long for bypass to begin from the back of the basket also. The "full" indicator pops up very soon after the filter is turned on with only the blue sponge in. Any more media in the basket and bypass seems to increase even more so. With a new blue sponge and some Seachem matrix, water was flowing out from the front and back of the basket. This can be mitigated by turning the flow down, but in that case get one size bigger on these Tidals than you thought you needed. FILTRATION AREA: For the Tidal-75, given the design of the basket, the filter area is about the same, or perhaps a bit less than the Aquaclear-70. Lesser area means lesser filtration, and more bypass in the Tidal's design. Also lesser area = faster clogging. VIBRATION: The motor in the tank seems to increase vibrations to the level that placing my palm against the front of the aquarium feels the vibrations. In comparison the AC-70 feels a lot less vibration. I understand that this is not a scientific measurement, but the difference is clearly there. Its the contruction of the filter body that just vibrates. NOISE: There is a low frequency, rather loud hum that happens because of the filter body vibrating. I tried two units, and the second one was louder than the first. I even used some silicone grease on the impeller shaft to try and lessen it. Even after a few days of use, the low frequency hum was still there. In fairness there is a hum from the AC-70 also, but its not an annoying low frequency and neither as loud as the T-75 SELF-STARTING: Yes, it self starts, which is a good thing, but how much work is it to prime something like an AC anyways. After a few days the gunk in the Tidal motor housing will build up as has been said by many, and one has to remove the entire filter unit to get to the motor to clean it. POWER-OUT: The Tidal will self start if the level of water in your tank covers at least the surface skimmer slots partially (the motor seems to sit around halfway below of the surface skimmer slots). Aquaclears would suffer in this case, that is, if you keep the water level lower than where the motor on the AC is at. If you keep it above where the intake tube feeds the impeller, this should not be a problem since air cannot enter the intake tube in that case. SURFACE SKIMMER: It keeps the surface clean, but it cannot be turned off, and even with a sponge that I taped to its front, a couple of snails needed help to get off it. The pull is rather strong. However, this is easily solved using a piece of plastic that blocks off the flow from it. Same with the intake at the bottom of the motor housing, which seems to be less strong than the surface skimmer.
Thank you for the extensive comment. This review was an initial unboxing. I would agree with you that these are not perfect by any means. I have experienced the issues that you have noise. The one things that I have found in terms of noise is that it makes a god awful noise when snail get into the surface skimmer. I also don't like the fact fish can hide behing the motor are difficult to get out. That being said I am still running them in fish room.
Just came across this, have been using Tidals for over a year now. If you want to help the skimmer with sucking in things just cut two pieces filter foam to fit the slits and jam them up there. Has worked for a long time and nice to have a prefilter for the skimmer as well.
I recently quit the hobby due to health reasons, but i ran 2 seachem tidal 110s on my 55g. I absolutely loved them, and there's tons of videos on my channel where they're visible
I use my Tidal filter with a Pre-Sponge Filter on the intake. Aquarium Co-op sells an excellent pre-sponge filter. Too cover up the skimmer from sucking up my fish fry’s and Baby shrimp, I use a cut piece of Nylon Stocking and super glue it over the whole area of the skimmer, so that fry’s and baby shrimp don’t get sucked up into the impeller. You also need to protect the side with another piece of nylon. I also put a nylon piece over my whole Pre- filter sponge to protect fry’s and shrimp from going through the pre- filter. I think it’s the best HOB out there. Good luck!
I added a coarse sponge into the inside of the surface skimmer. I really love this filter but I didn’t want to lose any fry. I’m coming from an overstocked 75 gallon with a Fluval Fx6. My Fx6 kept getting clogged up and so I’d have to take it apart 2x a month to clean it out. I’m 4ft 11in, really small lady, I’m on my own in my house with the fish keeping. So, it was just getting to be too big of pain. I am using 2 seachem tidal 110’s on my 75 gallon. I just installed, so I will let you know how I like it. I have a tidal 35 on my 29 gallon, and really enjoyed it. When I was putting the heater holders on my tidal 110’s I noticed there was a gap, so when I pulled on the pump motor, the whole thing came out giving me clear access to the surface skimmer. So I added the coarse sponge and then easily put the pump motor back on. I should have video taped it, but I wasn’t sure if it was gonna work.
Great review, Mike! For the skimmer, I took a semi-coarse net, cut it up, and superglued the netting onto the skimmer section. I did two layers of the netting, just to be safe. While I had it running, it seemed to prevent fry from getting sucked in. I can't speak for the longevity of the filter, because I only chose to run it for 3 months before taking it down. As always, I hope you are having a wonderful day!
When I was installing the heater holder on my new tidal 110, I noticed there was a gap to the surface skimmer. I gently pulled on the pump motor and it easily slid out. I then had full access to the surface skimmer. I added a coarse sponge to cover the inside of the surface skimmer. Also, it shouldn’t be too hard to access to do maintenance cause it was super easy to get to.
I'm not a fan of HOB filters, but this one I had to purchase (The Seachem 75) for the ease of maintaining among other cool features! I'm very happy with it! It does a great job of filtration and a lot less expensive the the canister filters!
@@FishTankBarn Thanks for your reply! And to maintenance a canister filter, can be be a little bit of a burden which at times I tend to be lazy about! Lol!
I placed a plastic mesh at the bottom of mine so the sponge does not get squished into the open holes and limit water intake. No overflow and much better filtration I have found. Full flow and no bypass. I use about 3 inches of course sponge. Half inch of filter floss, a bag of Seachem Matrix and a bag of Seachem Purigen. All fits with no restrictions. Crystal clear water.
Another vote for the aquaclear. First, I think the power stoppages and running dry issue hype is a bit overblown. If the power goes out, and AS LONG AS you typically keep the water level in your tank above the level of the motor in the aquaclear, it's impossible for the filter to ever run dry. Second, I used to run a Tidal, but I went back to the Aquaclear. Why? It's actually because of the opposite of your finding. After running the Tidal for a couple of years, I found that enough mulm and algae builds up in the in-tank motor after a month or two that if the power goes out for any reason, the motor won't start up and you have to take the entire filter assembly out of the tank, disassemble the motor and clean it out, then reassemble, put it back into the tank and then it'll work. On the aquaclear, if there's a mulm-induced jam in the motor during a power outage, once the power comes on all I have to do is turn the impeller with a chopstick and all's well again. Plus the "surface skimmer" on the Tidalreally is a gimmick; it simply doesn't pull enough water for it to work. As someone else has mentioned, the skimmer on the Tidal kind of interferes with the functionality of an intake prefilter (if you wanted to put one on). I just find the aquaclear has the best overall design, has no gimmicks, and by far the easiest to maintain and MOD out of all the HOBs out there. I also really wanted to like the Tidal. But in the end, went back to the aquaclear. There's a good reason why the design has remained unchanged for the past 40 years!
Hi I love this filter as per your video I filled in the surface skimmer with black silicone, made it nice and neat, because I keep alot of live bearers, that's just the was I fixed mine
I was a avid user of the aqua clear, in fact i have parts for all the models in a box, that's because they are made of a plastic thats like glass, they work great but break so easy, so i bought the tidal 75 and have it about a year, it works good and im using the heater holder, although it does hold the heater loose over time, the only thing i want to do is add a second sponge to it and may return to the aqua clear some day because i feel that they are the best hang on back you can get
Good review! Point of clarification though - the lower adjustment knob is to change the ratio of intake between the lower tube and the upper skimming intake. Leave it wide open and most of the water will come up from the tube.
All the lower adjustment does is Open or Reduce the Intake Tube, it doesn't affect the Skimmer much. There are 3 Intakes on all 55, 75, and 110 Tidals - the Skimmer, the lower Gratings, and the Intake Tube. Watch when the Leveling Screw is installed. The housing is upside down and you can see the Tube Opening and the lower grating.
You could cut a piece of plastic window screen and silicone it over the skimmer and motor slots, to make it shrimp and fry proof. Then put a sponge over the bottom intake tube, and everything would be safe.
I bought a Tidal 75 and have never been so disappointed in a filter. It is so noisy all the time. If I do get it to be quiet for a minute or two it doesn't last for more than a day at best. Anything else is a better choice.
i have a 55 on my 10 gallon, need some modification inside the filter like adding uv light and crushed lava rocks and additional finer sponge at top. And really need to modify the grills under the motor and the skimmer with sponge too because shrimps can be suck inside.
Short answer, NO! At least the 35 ones cause that's the one I own. It gave me nothing but trouble and eventually just broke down. I can't get my money back either cause I threw out my receipt. I'm smashing this freaking thing
@@FishTankBarnthanks so much for the reply! I would definitely set it on the low side, yeah i reeeally want the intake pipe feature that the 35 doesnt provide. So as long as it is 100% safe to have a low flow 55 on a 15, i would definitely do it
Really like the Fluval C series Filtration System. But the skimmer built in on this Tidal got my attention. Been considering just buying a Skimmer to put on the other side.
I have hot rodded my Tidal 55's with intake sponges and extra coarse filter media and filter floss. I turn off the skimmer feature for live bearers. It will soon be my only hang on the back filter.
How do you turn off the skimmer on yours? I’ve got a 110 that’s a rockstar for intake and flow in my 100 (no fry, but in case I ever get one for another tank). I only see a main flow dial and the dial that runs the bottom tube intake.
You can only turn off the pick up tube intake. The filter also takes in water from the grate below the pump and upper skimmer grates . The lower pump area grates ate a clown fish on my 110.
@@joec2174 I don't know about the 110 as I am not fortunate enough to have tanks that large I have the 55's on the majority of my tanks. On page 9 of the owners manual at the bottom marked 3. Adjust the Amount of flow intake from the surface vs the telescoping intake. When I use the top control for the skimmer it seems (?) to mostly shut it down and I get next to no flow through it ? I leave the intake tube control (which control is at the bottom) completely open and I have a coarse pre-filter over the intake. I have no instruments to quantify this only my eyes which are not the best. However on my nano tank I have a colony of cherry shrimp, otocinclets cat fish, and endlers live bearers. Both the cherry shrimp and the otocinclets crawly all over the filter including the skimmer intake and I haven't found anyone in the filter so far. I put a 1" thick coarse filter pad under the blue pad that came with the units and I put a bonded fine pad on top of it. Then I top it off with the fine filter floss (pillow stuffing) on the very top. Seems to work for me so far, but as my tanks populations grow I will keep a closer eye on them. I am planning to adding a Tidal 55 on a Sunset Variatus tank if they every arrive. I hope it works out for you!!! Best of Luck and Happy New Year!!!
@@noelbrucker135 Hi Noel see my response below to Joe C. I put down what is working for me with the Tidal 55. I don't claim to be an expert but only shared what is working in my 36 gal. tank that I have nano fish and shrimp in. I have a 40 gallon breeder with the Tidal 55 with Roseline Sharks and Common Goldfish that I have everything open running full blast even though I set the filter up the same as below. I am about to set up another tank of live bearers and I had plan to use the 55 on it as well. I have a smaller guppy and shrimp tank that I was going to try the 35 on but I didn't see a way to put a pre-filter on it and it is basically just a skimmer. Best of Luck and Happy New Year!
Out of the box. The top flow control was inop per a video I saw online. I had to disassemble to straighten plastic. I am finding that mine bypasses unless all flow at minimum
How much crap did you stuff into the Media Basket? *Tidals are designed to bypass when the Media gets dirty and clogs, to provide continuous Circulation and Oxygenation of the Water Column.* You have Restricted the Flow through the Media Basket by "pimping your filter". The bypass is your own fault.
Very good review I agreed with you I don’t like the blue control adjusters. And I’m not gone on the idea of sticking a heater right next to what is essentially the intake and the outtake. But other than that it looks like you could pack it with lots of media it’s got a good flow Which is the most important thing for most people. 👍🏻
Great content i personally like the concept but not the exocution of this filter but think it has its place first i think the tank size they are rated for is a bit stretched however you can run different medias also the lid doubles as a stand ,,,but thanks for the review
Clearly you didn't notice that the sponge of of the lowest quality if you use it in a stocked aquarium with chiclids you are asking for a filter that will not catch dirt and detritus just one that can be used like a fancy water pump also the bottom knob doesn't control the water flow just shuts off the intake tube entirely and makes it a useless surface skimmer that catches nothing but small fry and fish food
have found it bullit proof the skimmer only needs patch of gauze.your other minus are no point to them.i have it working on 75 gal tropheus breeding group 24 in all they love it.thats everything to me you soon know if your fish arent happy all in all good review. FAIR
Looking for more product reviews! Check out this playlist! ua-cam.com/video/54A3kSHVw7w/v-deo.html
Agree about the skimmer. The issue I have with it is when the water level starts getting a tad low, you can really hear the air gurgling in it. Without it, you could let the water level drop a lot lower, but I guess it's kind of like a maintenance reminder, so maybe a mixed blessing, lol
For sure, I also gurgles if you get plants matter and algae in the skimmer as well.
I have a Tidal 110 going on my 46 gallon bowfront for 4 years now. It’s a cichlid tank with crushed coral substrate. The adjustability and multilevel intakes make this filter very well suited for sand and crushed coral use. I bought 2 replacement 110 size Matrix biomedia pouches and added that to the bag of Matrix that came with it for a total of 1500 ml of Biomedia. I don’t use anything else except for the stock blue coarse sponge that came with it. 450 gph flow rate and easy maintenance make this filter a canister killer.
Nice to see that you have the reliability on that filter. I am still happy with my filters as well.
I normally don't like a hang on back filters but this looks a lot better than most. I really like the media. Very good review and instructions.
Thanks Terry. I run a lot of sponge filters as well.
TIDAL Filters: Not really as good for these reasons: Im really not sure why so many leave these important points out of their reviews.
BYPASS: The Tidal (at least with the T-75) bypass is horrendous. Water flows out, from the two huge openings at the front of the basket. Even with just the blue sponge in, it doesnt take long for bypass to begin from the back of the basket also. The "full" indicator pops up very soon after the filter is turned on with only the blue sponge in. Any more media in the basket and bypass seems to increase even more so. With a new blue sponge and some Seachem matrix, water was flowing out from the front and back of the basket. This can be mitigated by turning the flow down, but in that case get one size bigger on these Tidals than you thought you needed.
FILTRATION AREA: For the Tidal-75, given the design of the basket, the filter area is about the same, or perhaps a bit less than the Aquaclear-70. Lesser area means lesser filtration, and more bypass in the Tidal's design. Also lesser area = faster clogging.
VIBRATION: The motor in the tank seems to increase vibrations to the level that placing my palm against the front of the aquarium feels the vibrations. In comparison the AC-70 feels a lot less vibration. I understand that this is not a scientific measurement, but the difference is clearly there. Its the contruction of the filter body that just vibrates.
NOISE: There is a low frequency, rather loud hum that happens because of the filter body vibrating. I tried two units, and the second one was louder than the first. I even used some silicone grease on the impeller shaft to try and lessen it. Even after a few days of use, the low frequency hum was still there. In fairness there is a hum from the AC-70 also, but its not an annoying low frequency and neither as loud as the T-75
SELF-STARTING: Yes, it self starts, which is a good thing, but how much work is it to prime something like an AC anyways. After a few days the gunk in the Tidal motor housing will build up as has been said by many, and one has to remove the entire filter unit to get to the motor to clean it.
POWER-OUT: The Tidal will self start if the level of water in your tank covers at least the surface skimmer slots partially (the motor seems to sit around halfway below of the surface skimmer slots). Aquaclears would suffer in this case, that is, if you keep the water level lower than where the motor on the AC is at. If you keep it above where the intake tube feeds the impeller, this should not be a problem since air cannot enter the intake tube in that case.
SURFACE SKIMMER: It keeps the surface clean, but it cannot be turned off, and even with a sponge that I taped to its front, a couple of snails needed help to get off it. The pull is rather strong. However, this is easily solved using a piece of plastic that blocks off the flow from it. Same with the intake at the bottom of the motor housing, which seems to be less strong than the surface skimmer.
Thank you for the extensive comment. This review was an initial unboxing. I would agree with you that these are not perfect by any means. I have experienced the issues that you have noise. The one things that I have found in terms of noise is that it makes a god awful noise when snail get into the surface skimmer. I also don't like the fact fish can hide behing the motor are difficult to get out. That being said I am still running them in fish room.
Great review! I’m running 3 right now. I absolutely love them!
Thanks Carrie! There will be some more in my fishroom as well.
Just came across this, have been using Tidals for over a year now. If you want to help the skimmer with sucking in things just cut two pieces filter foam to fit the slits and jam them up there. Has worked for a long time and nice to have a prefilter for the skimmer as well.
Thanks Lar. I will have to look into that
I recently quit the hobby due to health reasons, but i ran 2 seachem tidal 110s on my 55g. I absolutely loved them, and there's tons of videos on my channel where they're visible
Sorry that you had to quit. I generally like the tidals as well
I use my Tidal filter with a Pre-Sponge Filter on the intake. Aquarium Co-op sells an excellent pre-sponge filter. Too cover up the skimmer from sucking up my fish fry’s and Baby shrimp, I use a cut piece of Nylon Stocking and super glue it over the whole area of the skimmer, so that fry’s and baby shrimp don’t get sucked up into the impeller. You also need to protect the side with another piece of nylon. I also put a nylon piece over my whole Pre- filter sponge to protect fry’s and shrimp from going through the pre- filter. I think it’s the best HOB out there. Good luck!
Thanks for the idea! Someone should make an exact spong to fit over the Tidal though
You can place cuts of sponges (2) inside the skimmer grill.
Nice idea Robert.
I added a coarse sponge into the inside of the surface skimmer. I really love this filter but I didn’t want to lose any fry. I’m coming from an overstocked 75 gallon with a Fluval Fx6. My Fx6 kept getting clogged up and so I’d have to take it apart 2x a month to clean it out. I’m 4ft 11in, really small lady, I’m on my own in my house with the fish keeping. So, it was just getting to be too big of pain. I am using 2 seachem tidal 110’s on my 75 gallon. I just installed, so I will let you know how I like it. I have a tidal 35 on my 29 gallon, and really enjoyed it. When I was putting the heater holders on my tidal 110’s I noticed there was a gap, so when I pulled on the pump motor, the whole thing came out giving me clear access to the surface skimmer. So I added the coarse sponge and then easily put the pump motor back on. I should have video taped it, but I wasn’t sure if it was gonna work.
Thanks Lazy JX! Let me know who they work out. Nice modification on the filter as well!
Great review, Mike! For the skimmer, I took a semi-coarse net, cut it up, and superglued the netting onto the skimmer section. I did two layers of the netting, just to be safe. While I had it running, it seemed to prevent fry from getting sucked in. I can't speak for the longevity of the filter, because I only chose to run it for 3 months before taking it down. As always, I hope you are having a wonderful day!
Thanks @Mridul Singh! That definitely would work, you would have to watch it to make sure that it didn't get clogged.
When I was installing the heater holder on my new tidal 110, I noticed there was a gap to the surface skimmer. I gently pulled on the pump motor and it easily slid out. I then had full access to the surface skimmer. I added a coarse sponge to cover the inside of the surface skimmer. Also, it shouldn’t be too hard to access to do maintenance cause it was super easy to get to.
I use the tidal 35 and 110, I think they are well worth the money, I honestly don’t care about the blue bits, I don’t really notice them 😊
Thanks for commenting John! I have gotten used to the blue bits. No one has still made the perfect filter though
I'm not a fan of HOB filters, but this one I had to purchase (The Seachem 75) for the ease of maintaining among other cool features! I'm very happy with it! It does a great job of filtration and a lot less expensive the the canister filters!
Thanks @Jay Bird! I like that it is quiet as well. I am not much of a canister filter guy. Too out of sight out of mind for me.
@@FishTankBarn Thanks for your reply! And to maintenance a canister filter, can be be a little bit of a burden which at times I tend to be lazy about! Lol!
I placed a plastic mesh at the bottom of mine so the sponge does not get squished into the open holes and limit water intake. No overflow and much better filtration I have found. Full flow and no bypass. I use about 3 inches of course sponge. Half inch of filter floss, a bag of Seachem Matrix and a bag of Seachem Purigen. All fits with no restrictions. Crystal clear water.
Thanks for the suggestion Travis! I appreciate it.
Another vote for the aquaclear.
First, I think the power stoppages and running dry issue hype is a bit overblown. If the power goes out, and AS LONG AS you typically keep the water level in your tank above the level of the motor in the aquaclear, it's impossible for the filter to ever run dry.
Second, I used to run a Tidal, but I went back to the Aquaclear. Why? It's actually because of the opposite of your finding. After running the Tidal for a couple of years, I found that enough mulm and algae builds up in the in-tank motor after a month or two that if the power goes out for any reason, the motor won't start up and you have to take the entire filter assembly out of the tank, disassemble the motor and clean it out, then reassemble, put it back into the tank and then it'll work. On the aquaclear, if there's a mulm-induced jam in the motor during a power outage, once the power comes on all I have to do is turn the impeller with a chopstick and all's well again. Plus the "surface skimmer" on the Tidalreally is a gimmick; it simply doesn't pull enough water for it to work. As someone else has mentioned, the skimmer on the Tidal kind of interferes with the functionality of an intake prefilter (if you wanted to put one on).
I just find the aquaclear has the best overall design, has no gimmicks, and by far the easiest to maintain and MOD out of all the HOBs out there.
I also really wanted to like the Tidal. But in the end, went back to the aquaclear. There's a good reason why the design has remained unchanged for the past 40 years!
Those are all definately valid points. I appreciate your comment.
Hi I love this filter as per your video I filled in the surface skimmer with black silicone, made it nice and neat, because I keep alot of live bearers, that's just the was I fixed mine
Great idea
I was a avid user of the aqua clear, in fact i have parts for all the models in a box, that's because they are made of a plastic thats like glass, they work great but break so easy, so i bought the tidal 75 and have it about a year, it works good and im using the heater holder, although it does hold the heater loose over time, the only thing i want to do is add a second sponge to it and may return to the aqua clear some day because i feel that they are the best hang on back you can get
I still debate between the 2. Maybe someday someone will come up with the best filter ever.
Good review! Point of clarification though - the lower adjustment knob is to change the ratio of intake between the lower tube and the upper skimming intake. Leave it wide open and most of the water will come up from the tube.
Thanks David for the clarification. I appreciate it
All the lower adjustment does is Open or Reduce the Intake Tube, it doesn't affect the Skimmer much.
There are 3 Intakes on all 55, 75, and 110 Tidals - the Skimmer, the lower Gratings, and the Intake Tube.
Watch when the Leveling Screw is installed. The housing is upside down and you can see the Tube Opening and the lower grating.
What should the ratio be do you think?
I prefer to maximize skimming so I mostly close it off, but that's just me!
If you just want to block off the skimmer. Use black electrical tape, Make sure the areas clean first, it's pretty waterproof once its on.
That’s a great idea. You could use the flex seal tape as well
Great review, I too have concerns about the skimmer and fry, but I still have tanks it would work on, Thanks for sharing!
You're welcome Sandy. I plenty of tanks that I can use it in.
You could cut a piece of plastic window screen and silicone it over the skimmer and motor slots, to make it shrimp and fry proof. Then put a sponge over the bottom intake tube, and everything would be safe.
I bought a Tidal 75 and have never been so disappointed in a filter. It is so noisy all the time. If I do get it to be quiet for a minute or two it doesn't last for more than a day at best. Anything else is a better choice.
Understood Butch. Do you have the water level high enough on the slats on the top. I have had problems with that when my water level is too low.
Really like my Tidal 55 - ordered a 2nd one.
Thanks Winston! Definitely a good product.
i have a 55 on my 10 gallon, need some modification inside the filter like adding uv light and crushed lava rocks and additional finer sponge at top. And really need to modify the grills under the motor and the skimmer with sponge too because shrimps can be suck inside.
Agree on the sponge for the grills .... Someone could make a bit of money if they come out with one.
Short answer, NO! At least the 35 ones cause that's the one I own. It gave me nothing but trouble and eventually just broke down. I can't get my money back either cause I threw out my receipt. I'm smashing this freaking thing
Sorry to hear that. I have had good luck with my 110s. Unfortunately I can't give you much help.
@@FishTankBarn its cool. I already got a fluval aqua clear, and it's way better.
Hello! Can I use a tidal 55 for a 15 gallon? Cuz the tidal 35 doesnt have much abilities.
You can but I would probably lower the flow
@@FishTankBarnthanks so much for the reply! I would definitely set it on the low side, yeah i reeeally want the intake pipe feature that the 35 doesnt provide. So as long as it is 100% safe to have a low flow 55 on a 15, i would definitely do it
I painted my blue parts with krylon fusion. Looks awesome now
That’s a great suggestion Guitar Man
@@FishTankBarn I’ve done it to all 5 of my tidals
Buy buy buy buy buy buy buy👍🏽👍🏽👍🏽👍🏽👍🏽👍🏽👍🏽👍🏽👍🏽👍🏽
Thanks AH mad!
Route the power cord properly before installing the filter.
Ok
Really like the Fluval C series Filtration System. But the skimmer built in on this Tidal got my attention. Been considering just buying a Skimmer to put on the other side.
I have liked the Tidal so far. It has been doing really well in systems.
i got the 75 on my 20 gal reel tank best hob on the market for a reeftank it was made for reef tank a matter of fact!!
Excellent review. Thanks for doing that..
Thanks Chris! Your welcome
I have hot rodded my Tidal 55's with intake sponges and extra coarse filter media and filter floss. I turn off the skimmer feature for live bearers. It will soon be my only hang on the back filter.
I do really like these. I may look at a couple other as well.
How do you turn off the skimmer on yours? I’ve got a 110 that’s a rockstar for intake and flow in my 100 (no fry, but in case I ever get one for another tank). I only see a main flow dial and the dial that runs the bottom tube intake.
You can only turn off the pick up tube intake. The filter also takes in water from the grate below the pump and upper skimmer grates . The lower pump area grates ate a clown fish on my 110.
@@joec2174 I don't know about the 110 as I am not fortunate enough to have tanks that large I have the 55's on the majority of my tanks. On page 9 of the owners manual at the bottom marked 3. Adjust the Amount of flow intake from the surface vs the telescoping intake. When I use the top control for the skimmer it seems (?) to mostly shut it down and I get next to no flow through it ? I leave the intake tube control (which control is at the bottom) completely open and I have a coarse pre-filter over the intake. I have no instruments to quantify this only my eyes which are not the best. However on my nano tank I have a colony of cherry shrimp, otocinclets cat fish, and endlers live bearers. Both the cherry shrimp and the otocinclets crawly all over the filter including the skimmer intake and I haven't found anyone in the filter so far. I put a 1" thick coarse filter pad under the blue pad that came with the units and I put a bonded fine pad on top of it. Then I top it off with the fine filter floss (pillow stuffing) on the very top. Seems to work for me so far, but as my tanks populations grow I will keep a closer eye on them. I am planning to adding a Tidal 55 on a Sunset Variatus tank if they every arrive. I hope it works out for you!!! Best of Luck and Happy New Year!!!
@@noelbrucker135 Hi Noel see my response below to Joe C. I put down what is working for me with the Tidal 55. I don't claim to be an expert but only shared what is working in my 36 gal. tank that I have nano fish and shrimp in. I have a 40 gallon breeder with the Tidal 55 with Roseline Sharks and Common Goldfish that I have everything open running full blast even though I set the filter up the same as below. I am about to set up another tank of live bearers and I had plan to use the 55 on it as well. I have a smaller guppy and shrimp tank that I was going to try the 35 on but I didn't see a way to put a pre-filter on it and it is basically just a skimmer. Best of Luck and Happy New Year!
Paint the blue parts with krylon fusion that’s what I did
Thanks Guitar Man! That is an absolutely great suggestion!
Out of the box. The top flow control was inop per a video I saw online. I had to disassemble to straighten plastic. I am finding that mine bypasses unless all flow at minimum
Thanks Gary! Hopefully it wasn't too hard to fix.
How much crap did you stuff into the Media Basket?
*Tidals are designed to bypass when the Media gets dirty and clogs, to provide continuous Circulation and Oxygenation of the Water Column.*
You have Restricted the Flow through the Media Basket by "pimping your filter". The bypass is your own fault.
Very nice review. Thank you. 👍
Thanks David!
I def love it
Thanks TankTastic. Glad that you enjoyed it.
Very good review I agreed with you I don’t like the blue control adjusters. And I’m not gone on the idea of sticking a heater right next to what is essentially the intake and the outtake. But other than that it looks like you could pack it with lots of media it’s got a good flow Which is the most important thing for most people. 👍🏻
I agree. The heater control is kind of a gimmick. I does have really good flow and is easy to use.
It's a myth about heaters being at a 45 degrees angle.
I think you are supposed to. I can’t remember why? I think it may have to do with flow over the heater.
@@FishTankBarn Eheim Jaeger tells you to Mount their Heaters VERTICALLY for proper Thermostat Regulation and Operation.
Great content i personally like the concept but not the exocution of this filter but think it has its place first i think the tank size they are rated for is a bit stretched however you can run different medias also the lid doubles as a stand ,,,but thanks for the review
@Aquaguy. I would agree with you filter ratings are kind subjective to say the least.
If you could turn off the skimmer or if they had a model that didn’t have it, this would be the greatest HOB filter.
Thanks Epic! I agree.
There are a couple videos out there now that show you how to shrimp / fry proof the Seachem Tidal 35. I've done it myself and it WORKS GREAT!!
I have not seen before, who sells it? is it new?
You get can get them on Amazon, KG Tropicals, and a variety of other places
Clearly you didn't notice that the sponge of of the lowest quality if you use it in a stocked aquarium with chiclids you are asking for a filter that will not catch dirt and detritus just one that can be used like a fancy water pump also the bottom knob doesn't control the water flow just shuts off the intake tube entirely and makes it a useless surface skimmer that catches nothing but small fry and fish food
Obviously, you never saw the lower Gratings. Tidal 55, 75, and 110 Filters all have THREE intakes.
The lid acts as a drip tray
For sure
Good job Mike.
Thanks Rounded Rob!
have found it bullit proof the skimmer only needs patch of gauze.your other minus are no point to them.i have it working on 75 gal tropheus breeding group 24 in all they love it.thats everything to me you soon know if your fish arent happy all in all good review. FAIR
Thank Kenneth. I have grown these filter quite a bit
Nah heater holder is good for water changes
Fair point depending on how much water you change
@@FishTankBarn true