Review on Cobalt Aquatics 26505 Internal Filter by Sara Murphy

My rating is four stars. If a one-star rating is important to you, you should read my comment at the end. 1. I bought this to start my aquarium, 55 gallons. The goal was to add 5 gallons of water and allow the live plants to root in the substrate (gravel covered red fluorite) for a few weeks. because I didn't want my Seachem 75 or Fluval 405 to work. As this current whips plants everywhere. So I used the ClearVue 20 in about 15 gallons of water just to circulate the water and get a small amount of biological growth (supposedly) in the cartridge.2. Second benefit. Clearvue 20 only draws 4.2 amps. As I plan to introduce some discus to my community aquarium over time (cherry barbs, cardinals etc.). I am very concerned about the possibility of a power outage. I plan on keeping this low power filter in the corner of the aquarium, connected via a backup battery. I haven't done a thorough calculation, but my best guess is that the Smart APC 1500 can power a 4.2 amp filter for an hour. (I have a mylar blanket to wrap the tank to keep it warm. The heaters draw too much power and only last a few minutes on a computer battery).3. As an initial filter at just 15 and then at 30 gallons it did exactly what I wanted. I started using my Seachem 75. I give the plants at least 6 weeks to root firmly before I start using Fluval 405.4. It should be noted that this is a bit like a can. You must be careful when handling it. But hey, this is a small, low-power filter for a 20-gallon aquarium. Good for what it is.5. I just restarted this filter after moving it to a different location in the tank and was pleasantly surprised to see the plant being blown almost horizontally by the force of the water exiting this filter. Look, it's rated for 80 gallons per hour, and based on the movement of the rig I expect it to do that. One person gave this one star. As far as I know, his device wouldn't turn on and a piece was missing. However, it could be due to a faulty device.7. However, everyone should understand that especially if you are new to fish farming, you should understand that both the amount (in gallons per hour) and quality of filtration are very important to the life of your fish. This is a small filter and to be honest it may be fine for a 10 gallon aquarium but unless you have too many fish you should consider a SeaChem or AquaClear Hang on Back (HOB) filter instead to buy . Both are high quality HOB filters. I also suggest that you consider purchasing a filter that is twice the size of your aquarium. So if I am an experienced fish breeder and have Seachem 75 HOB in my 55 gallon aquarium and I am going to add Fluval 405 why am I using This Cobalt 20? Great question! That's why. In the event of a power failure. I connect this Cobalt 20 to a 1500VA APC UPS backup battery. This device is expected to be able to power a computer/office load of approximately 80W for one hour. One reviewer wrote that it powered his 250-watt computer with a 27-inch display for 45 minutes. I hope, I hope that in the event of a power outage, this APC 1500VA unit can power the Cobalt 20 for hours! And everyone should know that's not the case. The backup battery can power the aquarium heater for any reasonable duration. If the power goes out for many hours, consider wrapping the aquarium with Mylar blankets (available from Revain) and adding hot water (from Stive, just not near the fish!) every few hours. Watch the thermometer. I plan to add discus to my community aquarium in the near future. As these are somewhat fragile fish that require very good water quality, I hope the Kobalt 20 will support some biological (and water) filtration in the backup battery. movement) during a power outage and of course the air pump powered by D-cells with Aeroston must also run during a power outage.