Help, Filter Not Working!

[TylerFerretLord]

Well, I spent two hours changing over to sand.

The first two bags were not cloudy at all when I was washing them, so I did not wash the other four. However, the sand keeps getting attached to bubbles of air and floating to the top. Some of the bubbles are even being weighed down enough to sit on the bottom(It looks like I have a bad case of BGA)

Some of this got sucked into the filter. It stopped flowing, so I took out the impeller and rinsed it out. It worked for about five seconds before clogging again. It keeps doing this when I clean it.

So now I'm stuck without a filter. I've taken the media basket out and put it over the bubble wand in order to keep the bacteria alive and have some biological filtration.

What should I do? Is it normal for sand to get stuck to air like this? I used pre-washed black aquarium sand. It came in 5-pound bags.

 

[LosC519]

If your filter sucked in sand than it may have damaged it and you may have to replace the motor, you dont necessarily have to buy a new filter again. Check the filter manual and it will show you how to properly clean all the parts of the filter, if that doesn't solve the problem than you need to replace.

 

[TylerFerretLord]

It works after I clean it, but it gets clogged again quickly.

How long will the sand be sticking to the bubbles? If it stops floating it will work fine.

 

[TylerFerretLord]

Well, it seems to be floating less. I'm going to stir it up to try and remove the last of the bubbles.

 

[Cory_Dad]

Go buy a sponge for an Aqua Clear 30 filter, punch a hole in one end with a screw drive and work it around. Get a really sharp knife and cut an X in the hole (about the thickness of your tube, to expand the hole). Then slip it over the intake tube of your filter.

That should solve the problem.

Also make sure your intake tube is 2 inches above the substrate.

Cheers.

 

[TylerFerretLord]

I did what you said, but had to clean the impeller out before I could switch it back on. I dropped it, and two of the plastic pieces broke off. Now I have no filter.

Any suggestions for a new one? Cheap, preferably.

I'm having some low ammonia readings, but considering that it's been off for almost three days that's not that bad.

 

[Cory_Dad]

Can't you buy a replacement impeller? I think most manufacturers sell them. You may even be able to pick one up at one of the larger fish stores.

If the ammonia is high, do a water change.

Also, be careful with your filter material. You need to try to keep the bacteria alive otherwise you'll have to clean it all out and cycle it from scratch.

Good luck.

 

[LosC519]

I had an impeller problem and the owner of the lfs I went to opened a new box of the same filter I had and sold me the impeller, shouldn't be more than $20.

 

[TylerFerretLord]

I'd prefer to just get a brand new filter for $30.

This one I got for $5 at a garage sale, and it's really quite old.

 

[Davo86]

once the sand settle it should be ok, i changed over to sand about 6 weeks ago and i had to constantly unclog the filter for the first day or two