Ooops, it happened again at 1:30 am!! I weeded out a ton of water sprite etc today & put a temporary sponge over the intake, cleaned the filter sponges...ok ...for now.,..Aggh! I replaced 1 "off brand" sponge with an genuine old AC;...so far so good? I don't want to continue like this; waking up in the night to check the gosh darn filter. What is different & causing problems now??
Aqua Clear issues!
- Thread starter fishorama
- Start date
Yeah, I'd give up on it as well. Without a detailed look at it, running on your setup I'm at a loss. Like said, I've never seen this.
I'm a big fan of 2 filters, my loaches like flow & I like redundancy. The Fluval is a major PITA to clean, even more than my Renas as I recall. I use 2 AC 70s with prefilters on my "riverish" 55g without any problems but now I often check for water on the floor. So, I'm hoping the intake sponge is the answer.
Yes, reduced flow keeps the filter (suddenly more vigorous?) inflow from washing over the filter box back edge (hopefully longer than 5 or 6 days?). My brain is hurting too...probably from waking up in the middle of the night to check the dadblasted thing.
I have to say I have a black sink that makes judging the amount of "crud" rinsing out of the sponges difficult. But this tank has been running with this same set up & maintenance for ~5 years, I feel stupid this is happening now with no apparent changes. OK, I did add 6 x 3 inch loaches 6 months ago but they cannot stir up enough or crap enough to make this difference. Besides, they're adorable!
I have to say I have a black sink that makes judging the amount of "crud" rinsing out of the sponges difficult. But this tank has been running with this same set up & maintenance for ~5 years, I feel stupid this is happening now with no apparent changes. OK, I did add 6 x 3 inch loaches 6 months ago but they cannot stir up enough or crap enough to make this difference. Besides, they're adorable!
My suggestion would be to replace all HOB media, including the prefilter too... Maybe not bother with bacterial media. You should not go through more than a teeny cycle with the other filter and the surface area in the tank.
That will at least blame or rule out the media used as being the root of this problem, maybe test daily for a couple of days to ensure you are cycled properly.
Like I say, I am not too familiar with HOB filters, easpecially ACs, but is it possible the housing is cracked or such?
It might be worthwhile just replacing for the peace of mind at this point.
Or just relying on the canister on its own, and getting better at cleaning it's media by frequent practice.
It isn't worth the risk or the sleepless nights to go on like this!
That will at least blame or rule out the media used as being the root of this problem, maybe test daily for a couple of days to ensure you are cycled properly.
Like I say, I am not too familiar with HOB filters, easpecially ACs, but is it possible the housing is cracked or such?
It might be worthwhile just replacing for the peace of mind at this point.
Or just relying on the canister on its own, and getting better at cleaning it's media by frequent practice.
It isn't worth the risk or the sleepless nights to go on like this!
Well, dougall, I took your suggestion of new sponges & an unused prefilter sponge. I had to take out the 3rd sponge to get it working well...for now. Thanks!
I also did my usual sponge rinsing under running water, lots of squeezing on the old sponges. Then in a white bucket I could see how much crud still came out especially from the first in line. I also cleaned my prefilter from another tank & after my "usual" rinse very little crud. It's also a jungle mess with lots duckweed but not many small or fined leaved plants otherwise.
I hope this is the answer, I will now add white bucket testing to my routine cleaning. Just another reason to hate my hard to clean black sinks
I also did my usual sponge rinsing under running water, lots of squeezing on the old sponges. Then in a white bucket I could see how much crud still came out especially from the first in line. I also cleaned my prefilter from another tank & after my "usual" rinse very little crud. It's also a jungle mess with lots duckweed but not many small or fined leaved plants otherwise.
I hope this is the answer, I will now add white bucket testing to my routine cleaning. Just another reason to hate my hard to clean black sinks
Well, 6 days later, things seem much, much better. I'm hopeful again. I haven't rinsed the sponges or prefilter yet...flow is good,whew! I still check when I wake up in the night...almost every night, but that's usual for me anymore. Good thing I'm "retired".
