How to keep floating plants at bay

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Jan Cavalieri

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I use a fair amount of floating plants because the fish enjoy hiding and napping in them and if I were to have any babies the new fry would have a place to hide. I've used java moss, frogbit and a number of other plants that don't mind floating and all they do is get sucked into the filter and clogging it up. 2 days ago I woke up to one of my fish rooms covered in water because the filter (An AquaClear) was totally clogged in plant debris. I clear the plant debris in the tubing all the time but have to dissassemble the filter to get rid of the rest of it. AquaClears have this basket that holds a sponge, a charcoal filter and your biofilter - it's about the only filter I know that allows you to have so many items in the filter. So I took it apart (now this thing had just been cleaned 5 days before) and the bottom of that basket was COMPLETELY clogged with plant debris, as was the sponge, I cleaned the sponge (it was time) and scraped out all the plant debris all over the inside of the filter - reassembled it and it started working perfectly again.

Then within hours it was clogged enough to push the lid off the top of the filter so I put something fairly heavy on it. Today it had pushed the lid and the heavy weight off completely - getting ready to pour on the floor again so I unplugged it and did ANOTHER filter cleaning. I cleaned every square inch AGAIN and put it back together. It's fine for now but it's either the moss or frogbit clogging that thing constantly because it keeps floating next to the filter.

I would be lovely to be able to stuff the foilage in a bag and put it back in the tank - but the fish wouldn't get much use out of it. Fishing line in a few places might work as well - but would the fish get tangled in it?

Any ideas or is this another one of my "you just have to live with it" problems? Is this problem exclusive to the AquaClear filter - I was told it was the best so I own 6 of them - 2 are used for parts while the other 4 are in tanks. I think they are great filters but very high maintenance, Thanks in advance.
 
I'll confess that I'm confused... the inlet strainer is just above the substrate, so how are floating plants on the surface getting into the filter???
 
Have you tried Water Sprite? You might need an inlet sponge or wrap with nylon stocking? Perhaps a water bottle baffle on the outlet to stop floaters from getting dunked down under?
 
Get a round sponge and put it over the filter intake to stop things blocking it up.

Get some plastic airline and a joiner and make a loop of airline. Tie some string (about 12 inches long) to the airline and to a suction cup. Stick the suction cup on the glass about half way down. This will allow the loop to move up and down when you do water changes.

The plastic loop should stop the plants getting washed around the tank.

If airline doesn't work, get some 1/2 to 1 inch diametre plastic hose from a hardware store and use that to make a loop.
 
If inlet strainer isn't close to the substrate, you could buy an extension piece to lower it further and , being further away from floating plants, may stop clogging up.

If you tilt the Aquaclear filter slightly inward, the chance of flooding will be avoided. If it were to overflow, the water would go back in the tank.
 
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The floating plants may be on the surface of the water but they get sucked into the inlet tube - some worse than others. The input tubes are all different lengths depending on which one fell off that day - (and how tall the aquarium is) - I generally like them about 3/4 down from the top of the tank. The AquaClear is titled forward using that strange little plastic piece they give you that falls out and gets lost under some piece of furniture LOL - but I always find them. For the life of me I still haven't figured out how that much water got out of a tilted filter especially one with a lid on it - I swear somebody is telling me to stop buying AquaClears.

Colin I have a set of those sponges your talking about and for some reason they are so thick they cut off the water flow completely. They'd work great if they were about 1/2 that thick. Colin - Your airline/joiner thng sounds like a possibility - I have LOTS of airline but no joiners that I'm aware of (and I save everything aquarium related) but there is always a hardware store or Amazon since I rarely drive. And I have string. Nothing sounds like a fish would get caught in any of it. Thanks - will give it a try;
 

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