Fluval Intake Tube

[bortsamson]

I noticed that there is a little plastic ball inbetween the strainer and the intake tube for my fluval 204.
My question is, what exactly is it there for?
Recently I had take apart that strainer because there was a huge buildup of gunk. So, has anyone removed that? Does it cause problems? I dont think it would, but gotta ask the question to make sure!

 

[Raithan Ellis]

That ball is to help with the manual primer. When you are using the primer, the ball is forced back and forms a seal so that air is channeled out of the filter to the outflow tube which helps start the waterflow after maintenance. Does that make sense?

I've never had too much a problem with buildup there on my 404s, mainly on the outside of the mesh strainer there would be leaves and moss. There's an easy solution which makes maintenance a snap; Tetra makes a "SuperBrilliant" (thatfishplace.com carries them) prefilter sponge that you can slide right over the primer and strainer on the Fluval intakes. It just needs a rinsing at every week or two, helps to prevent so much crud from getting into your tubes and cannister. Also it is a fairly dense sponge that helps to polish the water as mechanical filtration and offers more surface for bacteria.