Seachem Tidal 110 vs AquaClear 110: Which to Choose

Today we are here to compare the Seachem Tidal 110 VS Aqua Clear 110. Both are good filters, but only one of them might be right for you.

We have done a complete breakdown of each filter, looking at: size/capacity, filtration types, installation, maintenance,  and pros and cons of each to help you make an informed decision on which is better for you.

At a Glance:

Seachem Tidal 110 vs Aqua Clear 110 Filter

Let us first look at the Tidal 110:

Seachem Tidal 110

This is a simple and straightforward aquarium filter to go with. It does not take up a lot of space, it hangs off the back of your aquarium, and it has really good filtration capacity too. Let us look at it in more detail.

Size & Capacity

The Seachem Tidal 110 Filter comes in at 15 x 6 x 15 inches in size. So, it is not the smallest filter around. Yes, it does not take up any space within the tank, but beware that you will need a good deal of clearance in the rear of the tank. It is 6 inches deep, so all things considered, be sure to have about 8 inches of room behind your tank to fit this thing.

Now, the Tidal 110 is intended for aquariums up to 110 gallons in size. It has the ability to process over 450 gallons of water per hour.

This means that it can easily filter the total volume of a 110-gallon tank 4 times over per hour. Although it is not a very large filtration unit, it does certainly have high filtration capacity and can handle a heck of a lot of water.

Filtration Types

In terms of filtration types, the Seachem Tidal 110 comes with a single media basket, one which you can customize depending on your needs. Now, something we do want to say here is that this filter comes with mechanical and biological media included, which is nice, but it does not come with any chemicals filters, such as activated carbon.

We could say that this is because the Tidal 110 is just not designed for chemical filtration, which is partially true. Simply put, this thing just does not have all that much room for media, so you need to be selective when choosing what kind of media to use.

So, technically this filter could perform all 3 major types of filtration, but realistically, the best you will get here is mechanical and biological filtration. However, with that said, it does perform those 2 types of filtration quite well.

Installation & Maintenance

In terms of installation, the Seachem Tidal 110 is very easy and simple. Simply place the filtration unit over the rim of your aquarium, clip it on, and it is good to go. Insert the media into the media basket, and as we discussed before, you can choose which type of media to use here.

What is convenient about this filtration unit is that it comes with a self-priming pump. In other words, you can just turn it on as there is no need for any priming.

When it comes to maintenance, the Tidal 110  is very easy to take care of. It actually comes with a maintenance alert feature that tells you when the media needs to be changed or cleaned.

The filter itself is very easy to open up, the media basket is easy to take out, and the whole thing really does not take all that much effort to clean at all.

Other

One thing which does need to be said about the Tidal 110 is that it is somewhat loud. It’s definitely not the quietest filter around. Moreover, we do like that this fish tank filter is fairly durable.

It’s made out of pretty solid materials that should last for quite some time to come. On a side note, it does require regular maintenance, at least if you expect the pump and impeller to last for more than a few months.

Aqua Clear 110

Now it is time to take a closer look at the Aqua Clear 110 Filter. This is quite the advanced power filter, also known as a hang on back filter.

It’s also a unit that you would get for a very large tank, one that should not cost you an arm and a leg, and its function is very good as well. Let’s take a closer look at it right now.

Size & Capacity

First off, when it comes to size, the Aqua Clear 110 Filter comes in at 7.1 x 13.9 x 9.1 inches. As you can see, in terms of depth, it is slightly larger than the Seachem Tidal 110.

So, while it will still not take up any room inside of the aquarium, it does require quite some clearance behind the tank, more than the Seachem, so be prepared to provide the Aqua Clear 110 with a lot of rear clearance. It might not be the best if you have very limited space to work with.

With that being said, the Aqua Clear 110 does have excellent filtration capacity, by which we mean that it can filter a whole lot of water per hour. This thing is meant for aquariums between 60 and 110 gallons, so far so good.

When it comes to hourly filtration volume, this thing can process up to 500 gallons of water per hour. As you can tell, it can process about 50 gallons of water more per hour than the Seachem Tidal 110.

Filtration Types

Somewhere the Aqua Clear 110 Filter excels is in terms of filtration types. Here, you get a very large media basket, one that has a lot of room for media.

Strictly speaking, whereas the Seachem was not able to hold all 3 major types of media without issue, this one can hold all 3 types with ease, which includes mechanical, biological, and chemical filtration media.

Simply put, it does a better job at engaging in all 3 major types of filtration, it has more room for media, and is more highly customizable as well. What is also nice about the Aqua Clear 110 Filter is that it comes with all 3 types of media included.

Something else we like here is that this filtration unit comes with a re-filtration system. This means that when you turn the flow rate on it down, the water is forced to be filtered for a longer time, and more times, so even when the flow rate is turned down, it still does an excellent job with water filtration.

Installation & Maintenance

In terms of installation, the Aqua Clear 110 is just as easy to install as the Seachem, more or less anyway. All you have to do is place this filtration unit over the rim of the tank, plug it in, put the media in, and it is good to go, besides one small thing.

The Aqua Clear 110 does not come with a self-priming pump like the Tidal 110 does, so you do need to prime this thing before it is functional.

When it comes to maintenance, the Aqua Clear 110 is a bit harder to maintain than the Seachem Tidal. There is more room in the media basket, and due to the way it is designed, to get to bottom of it, you need to remove all of the media.

Simply put, it just is not as easy to open up, clean, and maintain as the Seachem, but it does still require a fair bit of maintenance nonetheless.

Other

If you keep it well-maintained, the Aqua Clear 110  is definitely a durable filtration unit to go with. Although, we would say that it is not quite as durable as the Seachem 110.

It has been known to suffer from some issues in relation to the pump and the impeller. Also, it does not have a super-strong shell, so a big bump could crack it. Besides that, the other thing worth noting here is that the Aqua Clear 110  is also quite loud.

Conclusion

Ok, so when it comes down to it, the Aqua Clear 110 Filter has an increased ability to effectively engage in all three major types of filtration, plus it has a large hourly filtration rate.

On the other hand, the Seachem Tidal 110 takes up less room behind the tank, and it is easy to install and maintain. Now that you know what is what, you can make your own decision in terms of which filter is the better one for you.

Featured Image Credit: Amazon