Re: Filter Question   12/28/06
Thank you for your answers.  Your answer helped me save my money.  I know the FX5 is not cheap.  I do water change every two weeks (20 gallon) using purified water.  I clean my filter every month.  The live rocks are less than 80 pounds (70 LBS).  But if I add more rocks to the tank, there won't be enough room for my fish to swim around.  I have 3 power heads.  One of them is maxi-jet 1200.  The other two are SEIO super-flow 1500.  My nitrate right now is about 50(SALIFERT test kit).
Can I add any more fish in there?  I lost 2 ACHILLES tang in two weeks.
One died in the quarantine tank. What kind fish will be the better choice? THANK YOU SO MUCH!!
<Well, Ricky, I think you'll be ok if you clean the filters a bit more diligently, and do so at every water change. You should also consider doing weekly water changes until you get the nitrates under control. Once your nitrates are under control, I think you'll be ok to add a few more small fish. Hope this helps! -JustinN>

Broken Fluval
Help! I have spent this afternoon changing my 37 gallon tank to a 75 gallon tank. All the live sand, rocks, and fish are in the new tank. I went to turn on my Fluval filter and it wouldn't work. I took it to the sink to check it out and the whole thing smells and the foam filters are smoke black color. The bio max (biological filters) smell and have the black water deposits. It looks like the pump had quit early and I didn't know it and it got skunky. Should I throw away the bio max balls?
<You can probably clean these up with a soak in bleach and then a long rinse in tapwater.>
Should I get new foam filters or clean the old ones with Clorox?
<I would probably just toss these.>
I think my motor died on the unit.
<Me too!>
How long will the fish be ok without a filter?
<If this is all you have (I hope that is not the case) they will last perhaps a day before ammonia poisoning or lack of oxygen gets them.>
Should I put my protein skimmer on the new tank, right away?
<Yes>
Should I put the power head in the tank right away?
<Yes>
The only thing I have hooked now is the heater.
Thanks, Cheryl
<Good luck! -Steven Pro>

Filtration Problems II
Thank You so much for your reply, and so prompt :-) ! I've never heard of Trickle Filters. Where could I find these?
<If you go to Yahoo or Google or some other search engine, you will get a lot of hits on trickle filtration. Trickle filters are a type of wet/dry, biological filtration. These are excellent, but unlikely to work with your setup due to space constraints. You would also need to have your tank drilled for water to overflow to the trickle filter.>
Ah, sounds like sound advice. It's not just the brand of filter, it's not enough filters!
<Yes>
I shall save up and add another. Once a month would be heaven :-) I should never have to change the cylinders that the bacteria grow on, correct?
<Correct, the ceramic-like rings that the Fluval comes with never needs replaced. After prolonged use you may want to rinse them in some tank water to dislodge any debris.>
Just rinse the sponges and change the floss?
<Yes, but I would use the sponges, ceramic rings, and activated carbon, perhaps some ammonia removing media, instead of the filter floss.>
I'm learning a lot and I appreciate the time spent, as I know you people have got to be so busy.
<Oh, we do get swamped some days, but our crew is large enough now to handle most of the mail.>
My Best ~Robyn~ Happy Holidays!
<And you too! -Steven Pro>

- Canning the Canisters -
Hi, I need help <Ok, I will do my best. JasonC here at your service.>
First I have a 90g tank that is set up for a year know. I have a Fluval 404, and 204 set up on it. I am know starting to set it up for a reef. I just purchased a wet / dry. I was told that instead of getting a protein skimmer, I can use the ecosystem hang on 60. Would you recommend going that way? <I would can the wet/dry and do both the Ecosystem and the skimmer.> If its ok what is the best way to set up both systems, and removing the Fluvals? <Go slowly.> My second question is ever since I took my 2 lion fish, and snow flake eel out of the tank and replaced them with 2 maroon clowns, 1 coral beauty, and a cardinal fish. I also have 2 sea anemones for the clowns. I have noticed that there is a lot of air bubbles forming on the bottom of my tank. <Perhaps that new wet/dry filter... I'd suspect that much more than the mix of fish.> Plus I have also added a JBJ lighting system. I have noticed that I have more algae growing on the bottom of my tank. <Stands to reason that this is a result of that new lighting.>
Thank You,  
Chris
<Cheers, J -- >

Media Replacement And Skimmer Choices?
Gracias sir!
<No problem!>
"Do a little research on the WWM site about these fishes" I'm in there now...digging ;).  As far as the foam media in both the H.O.T. and Fluval is once a month "regular", I see that everyone pretty much agrees on once a month for the carbon but could the same be said for the foam media as well?
<Good question! I really like to get in the habit of weekly cleanings on these sponges. You will be amazed at the amount of yucky stuff that accumulates in 'em after just a few days, then breaks down. It's a bit of a pain to change them so often- but a great habit!>
As far as the skimmer is concerned I looked at my tank today and then looked at the skimmer and said to myself "hmmmm that thing is a bit small isn't it" but if I can get my $75 out of it for a while and upgrade in the future I think that's probably what I'll do. Thanx again. Kevin
<Well, Kevin- you could nurse along a second-rate skimmer for a while...But if it were me- I'd curse and kick and scream and then buy a better skimmer from the start...Better off in the long run, IMO! Good luck! Scott F>

Filters and RO/DI
Hi guys hope you are well. I need some advice again please. I currently have a 100g reef tank with live sand, live rock, and a Fluval 404. I have recently purchased a 125 g tank with a 20 g sump. Should I get rid of the Fluval 404 and can I utilize instead by making new salt water mixes and top off water? Do I have to have a RO/DI filter?
<Hi Werner, the Fluval is a great piece of equipment, if you keep it clean.
Personally, I am kinda lazy and would not give the device the attention it needs so I don't these types of filters. I would think it would work well in the new mix solution. Or, you could use it as a carbon only container.
As far at RO/DI, I would have the source (tap) water checked to see how far out of whack it is. Then if there are high concentrations
of stuff you don't want, use the RO/DI (or just DI, higher output/less waste.
Hope the helps, Don>
Werner

Fluval burning out...
Dear WWM,
There is a problem that I often have with my powerheads propeller.
<FYI, it's called an impeller. A propeller is something that goes on a plane :) >
If I unplug it and it stops, probably half of the time it will not start up properly the next time.  The only method I can come up with is to poke at it with the end of a pencil and eventually it will start up.  The problem I am having now has to do with a Fluval 303 canister filter.  I have it set up properly (as far as I can tell, I bought it on eBay so there are no directions) but the propeller will not start.  There is definitely power, the propeller will kind of slowly meander back and forth, only covering about 40% of the total circle it is supposed to do before reversing and going back the other way.  I have tried jump starting it with a wire, but it will not keep going.  It sometimes will start zipping around the full circle for a few seconds but then will stall out.  I'm not really sure what to do, any advice would be appreciated.
<Sounds like the pump itself and not the impeller. A quick check to see if your impeller is broken is to hold it by the magnet part and try to spin the blades. They should only turn 90-180 degrees, and not all the way around freely. If this is the case, the impeller is broken. Try cleaning out the impeller chamber as well as the impeller itself and try to restart it. It is likely that the motor is on its way out so you may want to contact Hagen or your LFS for a replacement motor. Good luck! -Kevin>
Thanks,
Scott

- Canister Filter, Replace or Not -
Hi crew,
My Fluval Canister filter packed in last night, now ideally I would like to spend more time trawling your pages for advice but I am concerned that the loss of the canister will effect my water and I may not have that time.
Its a 50g tank with 2 fish (Damsel and Clown) plus some crabs and snails, I also have some mushrooms and xenia. Its been running for 2 years.
My current "filtration" set up without the Fluval Canister is
Aqua C Remora (Maxi Jet 1200)
2 Maxi Jet 1000 opposing powerheads (breaking surface)
Lots of live rock in tank
I perform a water change every second week 10% approx)
My questions, what would you recommend I replace the Fluval with, another canister filter? <If you can get one, perhaps an Eheim, but the Fluvals are good products.> Should I be looking at something else? <Hmm...>
Should I be rushing out to buy a replacement? <I wouldn't... I think your tank can run the way it is provided that "lots" of live rocks means about one pound per gallon. The canister filter certainly provides benefit, but you might make up for its loss with more regular water changes, perhaps 5% a week.>
Thanks in advance
John
<Cheers, J-- >

Fluval fix
Hi
Wondered if you could help.
I have a Fluval 304 about 4 yrs old. It always ran fine until the other day.
I clean it once a month basically replace the carbon and rinse the foam. I use it more for chemical filtration as I have a Bio-Wheel and Aquaclear on the tank as well. I also like it because of the flow it gives me as well.
Anyway I stripped it down and put it back together as I have done a hundred times. I put it back under the tank. When I came home at lunch the following day the water in the tank was down about 1 1/2" ( its a 65g by the way). I thought it was the tank but after some investigation I discovered it was leaking from the filter. There was a steady drip of water running down from the blue handles on either side. I thought it might be because I had filled up the baskets to the top with some carbon and pre-filter material more than is usually in there and it was restricting the flow of the water through the filter in some way. I took out the extra material and returned it to how it was before but this didn't fix it. I then thought it might be the seal for the motor housing so I have just run down to the LFS and replaced that but that isn't working either.
I will try to describe where the water is coming from.
Where the two parts lock together all the way around there is a kind of bulge well on the part where the handles are it kinda flares out and creates a well next to the handle. At the top of these wells there are small holes and that is where the water comes from. The canister part of the filter not the motor housing. I hope you understand and can either help me or let me know who can.
Thanks
PS - I sent in a question about 3 weeks ago and didn't get an answer. No biggie I solved that problem now but would really appreciate an answer to this.
< I had a guy at work with a similar problem and he asked me to take a look at it. I think the problem is with a dried out O ring that seals the upper and lower pieces together. I never got a chance to try it but I think if you grease the O ring with a white grease or even try some petroleum jelly you may have some luck. I know that he had called the company rep and got no answers and I never talked to him again to see how it turned out. I think he just bought a new filter from a different company.-Chuck>
Dean K. Smith

Re: Leaking filter, FW
Thanks for the prompt answer.
I replaced the seal with a new one yesterday and the leak slowed down a little but didn't stop.
So I called the company today ( I am in Canada by the way) and as soon as I told them the problem the told me to return the filter for repair. They seemed to know exactly what it was and weren't concerned that the filter was no longer under warranty. Seems to me this must be a common problem with this filter. Anyway they told me to send it to them at my cost they will return it in a couple of days at there cost. Hopefully it turns out well and I am glad I am also running another filter on this tank.
Thanks again for the quick response and keep up the great work with the site I visit everyday.
< When it  comes back please write and let me know what they did. thanks.-Chuck>

 Re: Leaking filter, FW
Thanks for the prompt answer.
I replaced the seal with a new one yesterday and the leak slowed down a little but didn't stop.
So I called the company today ( I am in Canada by the way) and as soon as I told them the problem the told me to return the filter for repair. They seemed to know exactly what it was and weren't concerned that the filter was no longer under warranty. Seems to me this must be a common problem with this filter. Anyway they told me to send it to them at my cost they will return it in a couple of days at there cost. Hopefully it turns out well and I am glad I am also running another filter on this tank.
Thanks again for the quick response and keep up the great work with the site I visit everyday.
< When it  comes back please write and let me know what they did. thanks.-Chuck>