Tropical Fish Forum
Tropical Fish Keeping Help and Advice => The Emergency Room => Topic started by: TrenchyLs on July 20, 2017, 08:52:40 PM
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Cleaned out my external filter tonight as part of the TLC on my 120L tank.
Now it won't stop leaking :vcross:
It's an Allpondsolutions one (in other words, cheap tat) but was working fine until tonight.
I've cleaned off the seal and mating face, used some off-cuts of air line under under the securing clips and, after a look on the Internet, emptied all the water from the top section that seems to keep building up.
Sadly, I don't have any silicon grease (or Vaseline) tonight.
Any other suggestions?
And how will the tank fare with only a tiny, part cycled, foam filter until I can get to my LFS tomorrow afternoon?
I tried sitting it in a bucket, but after 30 minutes it was about a quarter full, so that's not an option while I'm asleep or at work!
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Definately a few things you could consider:
Can any of the cycled media be used with the sponge filter?
Do you have live plants? Could you transfer some over from your other tank? These would definitely help.
Also dont feed them if you haven't already to cut down on waste production.
Do a water change in the morning before you go to work.
EIither way i think you should be fine... provided your cycled media can be put back into use by this time tomorrow.
:cheers:
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@Matt Tank is planted, add another month's growth onto this to get an idea of how it is now.
(http://i.imgur.com/uTrMXZw.jpg)
Definitely won't feed them!
The only chemical I have is Seachem Prime. It says this can detoxify Ammonia and help with Nitrite spikes. Obviously used it on the 35L of water that went in earlier, but is it wort adding more to try and control the Nitrogen cycle for 24 hours?
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I'm also going to have another stab at sorting the filter.
I'll strip the top down (nothing to lose!) and see what is going on but I need to eat first!
I may also go all "Blue Peter" if that fails. I've got an air stone and a milk bottle so I might try and get a flow across some media as an emergency measure.
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Yes adding Prime definately will be helpful. Personally I wouldn't add a huge amount and would probably do so in the morning if you've just changed some of the water.
Floating plants are especially good too FYI
Your best option by far will be to get the Blue Peter skills going :) but I know Sue had a filter out of action for 24 hours before now with no special measures taken and there was no detectable impact to water quality. So no need to go too crazy... :))
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I turned the filter off for a few minutes then forgot to turn it back on. I only realised 24 hours later when I went to feed the fish.
This is a tank that has been running for 3 and a half years now - a bit less when I left the filter off - so it will be covered in biofilm. And the filter was running on my old tank for several years before I got the current one. However, it does have quite a lot of plants which are probably what saved the day. For the most part I have slow growing plants like java fern and anubias, but I also have a lot of water sprite floating on the surface and floating plants are ammonia sinks.
With the looks of your tank, you hopefully have enough plants to keep the levels down overnight.
I think Prime says it is safe to add 5 times the stated dose (check with the bottle before overdosing!) and float as much of the external's media as you can - the bacteria will take up some ammonia and nitrite by just being in contact with the water.
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Good luck with your tank & filter issues.
With your plants, filter media, water change/Prime, & Blue Peter plans, things should be fine until you can get the problem with your leaking filter resolved.
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Thanks all.
No moving parts and absolutely nothing that could cause a leak under the cover of the top section :(
I shall be resolving the issue tomorrow with a Fluval 306. Been considering one for a while now so it's not the end of the world!
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Just ensure to put your old media in your new filter :) even if you want to transition to the new media, you want to start with at least 2/3s old media when you first set it up.
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Well, half way through knocking up a temporary filter, I had a bright idea and fixed the damn thing!
Opened it up, spun the media trays and top through 180 degrees and put it back together.
No leaks :o
It's a ridiculous state of affairs to have an allegedly symmetrical item only go together one way, so it's still going to be replaced.
At least now I'll have a spare, instead of chucking it away.
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At least you managed to sort it out before you went to bed. And a spare filter is not a bad thing.
We'll have to remember that and next time anyone posts about buying an APS external, warn them.
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So, I set up the 306 last night and the water is soooo much clearer this morning which means that some of the stuff I read yesterday about water bypassing much of the filter media in SunSun canisters looks to be true.
I'll look at how to resolve that eventually so it will work properly if I ever need it again!
The Fluval has less room for media (but a lot more mechanical filtration) which means I now have a load of BioHome with no home!
Is it just a case of rinsing and drying out before storing it, or do I need to look at any other cleaning process?
Thanks.
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What exactly is the BioHome media like? If you used something like bleach, would that soak right inside it and be difficult to get back out? If yes, I would just wash it and let it dry, then give it a thorough washing before using it again.
I would only risk bleach - and I mean cheap basic range bleach that has no perfume or detergent, or babies' bottle sterilising liquid - if the surface is non-absorbent.
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It's very, very porous.
Looks like Wotsits, but made of sintered glass.
So just fresh water it is then.