Shrimpie123 Posted June 21, 2016 Report Share Posted June 21, 2016 Morning, I have a 3 gallon JBJ Picotobe planted shrimp tank and I noticed my AC 30 with low flow over the last few days. I keep filter sponge, bio rings, and purigen in the HOB. About 2 weeks ago I had taken it apart for maintenance and cleaning with no issues. Now, it's trickling and usually has a nice flow. I started with checking the pre filter sponge with no resolve, then the main media sponge in HOB with no resolve, and finally checked the impeller which I was able to get a bit of junk out again, but still no true resolve. Thoughts? I'm about to be gone for five days and I'm a little concerned. Thoughts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shrimpie123 Posted June 21, 2016 Author Report Share Posted June 21, 2016 My tank Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jem_xxiii Posted June 21, 2016 Report Share Posted June 21, 2016 Is there anything inside the filter that is clogging it up? Such as something that is stuck to the impeller, or is the prefilter clogged? Shrimpie123 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
35ppt Posted June 21, 2016 Report Share Posted June 21, 2016 Isolate each phase. Run it with no media (I think you can do that?) and add each item back in one at a time. You may need to replace the sponges if they are too clogged. Shrimpie123 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shrimpie123 Posted June 21, 2016 Author Report Share Posted June 21, 2016 3 hours ago, jem_xxiii said: Is there anything inside the filter that is clogging it up? Such as something that is stuck to the impeller, or is the prefilter clogged? I took the impeller out and gave it a good cleaning. While some sediment did come out, it didn't seem enough to cause this problem. 2 hours ago, 35ppt said: Isolate each phase. Run it with no media (I think you can do that?) and add each item back in one at a time. You may need to replace the sponges if they are too clogged. I have a feeling it is the large foam sponge inside the HOB filter. I gave it many good squeezes in the tank water and the water was unreal. I am nervous to just switch it out with a brand new one even in nasty squeezed out water. Do you think that would cause a mini-cycle? In the interim, I put my stock HOB in addition to the AC 30 to provide a certain proper filtration should the AC30 continue to fail. I tested the water and so far it is not causing issues...yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shrimpie123 Posted June 21, 2016 Author Report Share Posted June 21, 2016 So I went back through each phase. This is the third round. Not one phase really shed light, but I noticed the pre filter wasn't tied on as tight as it once had been. I use a thin plastic wire that I had for stringing beads. Anyway, I grabbed a new pre-filter just because and tied it super tight. Problem solved. I feel somewhat foolish for not seeing it the first round. KISS principle for sure. Lots of lessons learned in tank keeping. Thanks for the help everyone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
35ppt Posted June 23, 2016 Report Share Posted June 23, 2016 What prefilter are you using? I got the generic fluval one (iirc) and it fits the tube without having to be tied on. Mr. F 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shrimpie123 Posted June 23, 2016 Author Report Share Posted June 23, 2016 12 minutes ago, 35ppt said: What prefilter are you using? I got the generic fluval one (iirc) and it fits the tube without having to be tied on. That's what I have. For some reason, tying it more securely made the difference. Go figure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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