Tidal 35 Review

Introduction

Tidal Power Filters is Seachem’s line of Hang On Back (HOB) filter. There are 4 variants in the Tidal line which are Tidal 35, 55, 75 and 110. These HOB filters comes with a huge array of features such as self-priming pump with self cleaning impeller, surface skimmer, adjustable flow, maintenance alert and a versatile filter basket to hold different kinds of filtration media.

Seachem website: https://www.seachem.com/tidal-filters.php

For the purpose of this review, I’ll be focusing on the Tidal 35. The other variants do come with additional features such as heater holder, adjustable intake flow, telescopic intake ( similar to those standard HOB filter intake ) so you might want to check it out.

Specifications

Features

Reversible filter cover
Maintenance alert device
Overflow prevention
Large-capacity filter basket
Aerating return flow
Flow regulation
Surface skimmer
Sub-surface intake
Leveling dial
Self-priming pump
Self-cleaning impeller

Whats in the box

Tidal 35 comes with the following:

Reversible Filter Cover
Filter Casing with Sicce pump attached
Filter Basket
Matrix with zip bag
Pre-cut Sponge
Documentation / Manual (Not shown in picture)

Note : Seachem also provides 3 years of guarantee against defects and workmanship for all their Tidal filters from the date of purchase. However, this does not cover the pump’s impeller. When you register your filter, your guarantee can be extended to 5 years. So remember to register them!

Why I decided to get it

I was not happy with the Dymax Slim Flo HOB that I got which has so little space for filter media and the flow pattern was back to front. So I looked at the available HOB and chanced upon Seachem’s Tidal HOB filters.

What attracted me was the bottom to top flow design giving great filtering capability as compared to back to front and the huge space for filter media. And I’m not going to lie, but I was also attracted to the surface skimming effect that they advertised.

I compared this model to its equivalent mainly the Aquaclear 30 and Fluval C2 HOB Filter.

I felt that the Fluval C2 HOB filter had very little space for biological media and much of its compartments are made in a way that only could house sponges. Only the chemical media chamber and the biological media chamber could be customised to house more biological media.

It was a tough comparison between the Aquaclear 30 and the Tidal. However, it comes with mostly sponges and a little bio media. If I went with the Aquaclear 30, I still had to buy more bio-media.

I chose Tidal in the end because it’s shipped with Matrix ( which is rated as one of the best media in the market) and of course with price being equivalent to Fluval C2 and Aquaclear 30 here in the Singapore.

My experience

Design

Upon unboxing the Tidal 35, the first thing that caught my attention was the build quality of this product. The filter is made of sturdy plastic that will definitely survive most accidental events.

I was astonished by how big this HOB filter can get with its bulky body. However, the amount of filter media is still determined by the size of the filter basket, which in my opinion, provides a decent amount of space.

Filter basket with the holes at the bottom. Plenty of space for filter media! The filter only comes in matte black colour which I love, however, I am not fond of the blue colour on the flow adjustment knob, levelling dial and the maintenance alert device. In my opinion, being a HOB filter, it already steals much attention away from the tank, so it would have been better if Seachem had used a less striking colour for those areas.

The filter cover comes with holes at the top of the filter to ensure aeration of the water. There are also groves on the other side of the cover such that the filter basket can sit on the groves during maintenance of the filter which I would cover later.

Setting up

Setting of up the filter is pretty much self-explanatory. After a quick rinse of the components, I assembled the filter by inserting the sponge into the filter basket, then followed by the Matrix. Once done, I then place whole basket into the filter casing and then hanging it on to my aquarium.

Using the levelling dial, it allowed me to adjust how the filter sits on the aquarium. As my tank is a rimless one, at default setting, the output of the filter would be slanted upwards. I had to adjust the dial to the max to make it level the water surface.

After turning on the power, unlike traditional HOBs, the filter will prime it self so no work is needed by me. Great!

Tidal fully set up in my newly planted aquarium. Note the curvy lines above the pump, that is the minimum water level

Note: Seachem has minimum water level indicator on the filter casing where the pump is. Always make sure water is around that level before starting the filter.

Flow

The tidal offers a simple yet efficient bottom up flow pattern. Water is sucked up and then forced into the bottom of the filter casing, which will then rise up and fill the filter basked via the holes located at the bottom of the filter basket. This allows water to come into contact with all the filter media and will not allow the water go around or over the filter media unlike other HOBs in the market with back to front flow.

The output of the filter is designed such a way that there is a smooth waterfall effect when the water enters the aquarium. This also encourages gas exchange from the surface of the water.

Water will exit the output, having the water fall effect back into the aquarium

If you notice beside the output, there are vertical holes. This is where Seachem’s advertised dual intake with surface skimming comes into play. Supposedly, surface of the water will also be sucked via those holes keeping the surface free of surface film. There are people on forums saying that water level has to be around the base of the output for the skimming to work. However, I never experienced such a luxury when using this filter as my water was always above those vertical holes.

The flow rate for Tidal 35 can be adjusted by turning the knob at the top of the filter.

Note: I clarified with Seachem support and they stated that, flow rate at the lowest setting on this unit is at 20% of the rated flow rate.

Noise level

For months of using this filter, I most of the time I would never hear the filter running. As my flow rate was tuned to the minimum, I had to look at the water exiting the filter to ensure that it is turned on.

There are times however, when the filter will make a vibration sound. This happens when air is stuck in the pump of the filter. I had to adjust the filter again or even turn it off an on to remove the air from the pump. But overall, this filter is still very silent!

Maintenance

When the filter media gets clogged, the overflow prevention of the tidal kicks in. Water will travel to the side of the filter which will raise the maintenance alert dial, alerting you to perform maintenance of the filter. When this happens, it is usually when I start to clean my filter which could be once a couple of months.

Maintenance of the Tidal is rather simple. I can simply just power off the filter, remove the basket from the filter and place it on the under side of the filter cover where the groves are and transfer the media into the drained tank water to rinse.

Look at that convenience! What a mess free way of taking out the media!

In the course of using this filter, I never once had to clean the pump and the filter was always providing good flow. Except when filter media or sponge is clogged, then the flow will decrease.

What I achieved with the Tidal 35

The Tidal 35 with its great filter media volume has kept my tank running for close to a year before I changed swapped it with a canister filter (which I will be doing another review on soon). The ease of maintenance really shines whenever I decided to clean it. Unlike my older HOB filter where cleaning was a chore. Noise which I experienced with other HOB filters was no where to be heard on the Tidal filter except for the occasional air bubble in the impeller.

Pros and Cons

Pros

Plenty of space for filter media
Self priming pump
Easy to maintain and mess free maintenance
Bottom to top flow design
Low power High flow rate
Quiet Operation
Comes with Matrix and zip bag

Cons

Surface Skimming is a gimmick (for my case)
Bulky design steals attention away from aquarium
Not safe for fry, shrimplets etc as you cannot place a pre-filter intake
Pump in tank means increased heat in the aquarium
Circulation of water flow depends on height of water. Especially when CO2 is involved

Conclusion

In my opinion, I think that the Tidal 35 is a great filter to have. It has great features such as large filter media capacity, self priming pumps and easy maintenance.

The surface skimmer feature didn’t work for me, perhaps due to water level being too high. If you do not have the habit of putting the water level too high, maybe it might work for you.

Due to the Tidal 35’s design (lack of ability to put a pre-filter at the intake), it is not safe for fry and shrimplets thus I would not recommend putting this in a breeding tank. Try the 55 variant if you are planning to get for a breeding tank as it has ability to place a pre-inlet sponge at the intake tube.

I would recommend for tanks up to 65 L, taking into account that with filter media in, the flow will be reduced by a conservative amount of 1/2 of what Seachem has recommended.