AC 50 Disaster thread

PsyKick

PsyKick

AC Members
Aug 14, 2008
203
0
16
Arcata Ca
So let me just start off by saying that I dont think its AC's fault at all, but this is what happened:

A few weeks ago the power went out for an hour, and my Penguin 100 burned siphoned out and burned out.

I bought an AC50 to replace it because I have another one on another tank which has worked out wonderfully for me.

It was working fine for a couple of weeks, and then the basket started to push up and knock the lid loose. All in all it wasn't too big of a deal, I would just push it down and it would sit there for awhile until one day it would push up again.

Well...last night it pushed up far enough that it blocked the water from falling back into the tank, so I woke up this morning at 6 to hear my tank draining onto the living room floor.
Aghhh, what a day its been, cleaning and drying everything!!!

Anyway, does anyone have any advice on how to keep the basket from pushing up?
 
Put a heavy rock in it?
 
Cleaning the things in the basket solves the problem. It has happened with my AC 50 before. When I see that...it's urgent cleaning time (way past due). It also happens with too much filter media.
 
I agree with gustavo. While I don't have an AC 50, I have 4 AC70s and an AC30. They all show the same symptoms as yours did whenever they get dirty, or you use too much filter media. Regular cleaning (not that you don't do this anyway !) will help rectify the problem. And a heavy object on top won't hurt !
 
Hmmm, Im fairly sure its not getting clogged, since I do clean it regularly and it was only in there for a few weeks anyway... I might have too much filter media, I have been doing:
1/2 foam block (rinsed out every water change)
some filter floss (replaced every water change)
1/2 foam block (rinsed every water change)
biomedia in the mess bag
1/2 foam block (rinsed every water change)

Thats worked really well for me in my 29 gallon, so I did it in the 20 too when I got the new filter. Maybe its too much, Ill try taking out a foam block and using less floss...

Also a nice big rock on top...
 
Are you using the plastic leveling piece that inserts into the hole beneath the filter? This should prevent the water from spilling out of the rear casing.
 
I had the same problem with a huge AC i got second hand and i ended up just getting creative with the ducktape. it worked/works really well. haven't had a problem since lol
 
I agree with gustavo and vanillarum, and you may have a tad bit too much media in the filter. When my AC 110's start to pop up, I clean and problem is solved.
 
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