Filters Not Working

[macdonald20]

Our power flickered last night and when the power came back on the filters would not come back on. We have two filters, both plugged in separetly. We tried unplugging them and plugging them back in. Nothing. We left them plugged in for a while and they felt like they were getting hot. So we unplugged them again. Any ideas what could be causing this?

 

[KittyKat]

Check the impellers, do you ever clean them? If not, then they're probably gunked up and the filter doesn't have the power to start them moving again now that they've stopped.

Last night.. your bacteria are probably on their way out! Make sure you get it fixed soon, or find a replacement filter which will take your sponges.

 

[JoshuaA]

Last night.. your bacteria are probably on their way out! Make sure you get it fixed soon, or find a replacement filter which will take your sponges.

The bacteria will last quite some time before it becomes an issue. Though like you said if he hasn't cleaned it a gunking up of the impeller might be the cause.

 

[TwoTankAmin]

If the filters are kept plugged in/turned on while the impeller is clogged and not moving, there will be a heat build up in the filter which will eventually harm the bacteria. Clean the impellers and the wells. Often, one can manually give the impeller blade a nudge to make it restart when its clogged if one doesn't have time for a big clean then and there.

 

[OldMan47]

Emergency response.
Take a small bucket of water from the tank and pour it into any hang on back filter so that it must flow through the filter media to return to the tank every hour or so. That way you will keep the bacterial colony alive until you can sort out the flow problem. Clean the impeller and the well that it sits in thoroughly. Then try running the filter again and see if it starts working. I use a test tube brush, looks like a skinny bottle brush, to clean that well in my own filter and it works very nicely. It is almost unheard of that a clean impeller and well will not pump water quite nicely.