I think I broke my filter - what do I do now

[Jan Cavalieri]

SKIP THIS PART UNLESS YOU LIKE SOB STORIES. I need to get this fixed or get one ordered ASAP - I'm homebound, especially when the weather is too hot or too cold - yesterday I actually collapsed on the ground trying to get to my doctor's appointment. Idiots didn't even have an available wheelchair to get me out of the heat. I have end stage COPD due to smoking and having some rather serious chemical spills when I was in graduate school. 15 yrs ago they said I had 5 yrs or less to survive depending on how many cold/flus' I caught. Well I'm still here but I shop by mail order almost 100%, have my groceries and RX's delivered etc. I just have to drive to Dr appointments (they are the ones trying to kill me quite frankly) Anyway - that will explain why I don't dare run down to the fish store but I will brave the heat and humidity if you all think that's the only solution. I can get one from Amazon in 1-2 days. I can actually take care of fish tanks (although not usually all three on one day - I do test them daily especially since two are cycling.

BEGINNING PART OF THE STORY: Anyway - sorry for the sob story. The filter that broke is in my prime tank (29 gallon). The filter is an AquaClear 50.no instructions came with the box (it was sealed but perhaps it wasn't new as advertised??) I've cleaned it before, changed filters once before (the carbon) and was now going to switch out the sponge filter and cut the old one in half and put in my other two tanks that refuse to show any reading but ammonia. One has my evil Zebra Danio's (started with 7 down to 3) - since they kept killing fish or perhaps were even sick - I had to get them out of my main tank. I had just bought a 29 gal tank that came with some no-name crap of a filter so I thought by adding part the sponge from my "perfect" tank that it might get the nitrogen cycling to rolling. A small piece will go into a 6 gallon tank (cute, but also a no name filter that I had planned to used for the 3 Zebra Danio's that are left, then once they've all passed away use it as a quarantine or hospital tank.

So - since I was planning on giving my main tank a good cleaning today - I unplugged everything and pulled out the filter, cleaning all the tubes - even lightly cleaning that little spinning motor inside. I've done this before so no problem Reassembled all the tubes, primed it and plugged it back in. The primer water just rolled out. It's getting a charge (I can feel heat from the little black box under the unit and the propeller thing is spinning perfectly but it is NOT MOVING ANY WATER!!!!!

WHAT DO I DO? I can't more the 19 fish to the fish with the Danios because it's showing high amounts of ammonia and just a small amount of nitrites and nothing else. There are too many to fit in the 6 gallon tank plus it's showing only a low level of ammonia and nothing else.

Would 2x a day 50% water changes be sufficient until the new filter arrives in two days? I don't think physically I'm capable of doing any more than that. Is there some trick I've missed or forgot about with this filter? All filters are in the right order, they are in good shape, the propeller thing seems to be working properly - when I add more prime water it just spits it out again and shuts down.

Fish stores close at 5 pm today - that's 1 1/2 hours and I don't think I could go out with all the firework smoke and heat and humidity but I'll try it if it's the only thing to save their lives

 

[Fishmanic]

Make sure the u shaped tube was put in the proper location. The pointy adjusting pin on top should be toward the rear, not the front.. The long strainer tube should be attached to the part of the u tube that does not have the adjusting pin . The plate that rest over the impeller area should have the hole directly over the center of the impeller and should be firmly in place. Be sure to push the tube down tightly over the impeller area. If the impeller is spinning it should work and move water through the filter.

 

[Jan Cavalieri]

I am SO glad you are here and responded so quickly. I will go fussing about what you mentioned. I can tell from memory that I did get all the parts in the right place but I ALWAYS have trouble with the impeller staying in place, or even worse, telling if the impeller is in place. The last time I did this I got the plate over the impeller but the pointy thing on top would never move - or if it did move, it never changed the amount of water going through (did you laugh when I called it "propeller"?) BRB with good news I hope.

 

[Fishmanic]

The pointy thing should move freely in the channels of the plate. Water flow is adusted with it. If the impeller ever gets stuck after restarting the filter, I use a long pointy tool like an ice pick and give it a bit of a spin.

 

[Jan Cavalieri]

OMG I LOVE YOU. You saved my 19 fishes lives! Actually other than force me to recheck it - I think it was a wonderful coincidence that would likely never happened if you hadn't asked me to check the impeller. . As I mentioned the black power supply under it was warm when I plugged it in (and still was warm when I went to check out the filter this time. I pulled out the filter and tipped it to the left to let all the water drain out before I removed the entire thing. I've been doing this exact same thing all day or perhaps I was always tipping to the right LOL. Anyway - my hand was on the black box power supply when I suddenly felt it vibrating and shaking. So I set it back upright in it's place. Suddenly the "need primer water" sound started so I poured some in and it all started working beautifully. I still think I have a defective something in the area of the impeller because the little pointer on top that your are supposed to use to adjust the water flow doesn't budge - it's only worked once, when I first had it - and I must have injured it on the first cleaning. I've had times where it budged and nothing changed and mostly I have tried to move it from the center position and not have it budge at all. Luckily - it's in the center position which is where I want it exactly.

You are a lifesaver - I bow to your genius! Since this filter has been a pain in the but ever since I've had it I think I'm going to purchase a new filter. When I bought this I did all sort of research and it was the most popular brand (yeah 'cause they want you to keep buying replacement filters for things that can be washed off.) A friend of mine suggested the pet store (mom and pop) one she visits says there isn't any better filter than those made by marine land.

 

[Fishmanic]

I have the exact filter that you have (aquaclear 50) and have had it for 6 years. It' a great filter. Occasionally after cleaning , the impeller won't start spinning but the ice pick pushed against the vanes get its started easily. I use two sponges (one thin and one thick) with filter floss on top of that and the ceramics on top of that. I throw out the floss every two weeks and replace it with new floss. I squeeze the sponges in tank water thoroughly and reuses them and rinse the ceramics in tank water and reinstall. I don't use carbon. That pointy lever should move easily in the grooves of the plate if it is installed with lever over the impeller area. Look inside the filter and see if it is properly in the wide groove.

I have the marineland penguin 200 filter on my 29 gallon tank and use my own media in that as well---one thick sponge and floss tied together with a wire tie. I removed the material from the orignal cartridge and put the floss on it and the sponge behind it. Works great.

Aren't you glad you found fishforums.net? There are lots of knowledgeable and helpful people here.

As a safeguard to a future breakdown, consider running a sponge filter as well as the hob in your tanks. If one fails, the other should help reduce any problems from ammonia and nitrite spikes.

 

[Jan Cavalieri]

can I just smash it a few times? I hate this filter. I hate being told you have to replace one filter a month (actually, the way their math works, you'd replace 1 filter every month, 2 filters after 2 months and a different two filters every three months, My other two tanks came with the really cheap filters where there are two or 3 filters wrapped in a single pouch - so when you switch one out (monthly of course) you're left relying on the gravel for bio maintenance. Marine land clearly states "no switching of costly filters every month" and I just love that little biowheel. I'll purchase one for the other big tank then if I like them switch all three and get an extra to have on hand. Sure wish I had a generator - got off easy last winter - but in years past we've had many power outages during ice storms. Used to worry about my parrots but gave up when I found my African grey trying find a way to take a bath in his little water dish in a 40 degree house. They just think they're smart. When my husband was alive his son owned (and stored at our house) a whole house generator -because between falling tree limbs and suicidal squirrels we had a ton of power outages. Since I'm on O2 24/7 I didn't have to rely on portable tanks (none of which alarm when empty - isn't that smart) and I would have been able to fix up all the fish tanks. With the parrots we just connected a closed oil heater (the others put out too many fumes for sensitive bird lungs) and they even put a connection in so I could run my hairdryer (and the refrigerator of course)

Anyway - thanks again!

 

[Fishmanic]

Read my post above about using your own media instead of cartridges. Sponges are reusable for years..just rinse in tank water every couple weeks. Floss can be bought in huge 20 square yard rolls and cut to size as needed. Don't buy their hype about replacing media every month...those companies just want you to buy their cartridges/media very often to boost their profits.

 

[Jan Cavalieri]

So I could just keep the two filters that came with my other tanks and use them as an emergency - then replace them for now with a marine land filter. Ever use a canister filter?

 

[Fishmanic]

I never tried canister filters. My tanks are 35 gallon, 29 gallon and 10 gallon. HOB filters and the sponge filters work well for me and my tanks. And I don’t see a need to replace my perfectly functioning aquaclear filter. If I had a 50 gallon or larger tank, I would run either 2 hob filters or a properly sized canister filter. And I'd probably still run a sponge filter as well.

Having a backup filter and backup heater if those should fail is a good idea.

 

[Fishmanic]

It is probably a small adjustment to make that lever work properly.

That pointy lever should move easily in the grooves of the plate if it is installed with lever over the impeller area. Look inside the filter and see if it is properly resting in the wide groove and be sure the plate is fully seated. .

 

[FishGuest5123]

I love happy endings.

 

[Fishmanic]

question .... do you still have the lid for that filter...you cannot put the u-shaped tube on incorrectly if you put the lid in proper position.

 

[Colin_T]

Here is a link to a pdf document of the AquaClear HOB filter instructions that should have come with the filter. The filters are all the same, just different sizes. View the link and save it on your hard drive.
http://www.hagen.com/pdf/aquatic/AquaClearPowerFilter_ProdInfo.pdf

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AquaClear HOB filters are very good and reliable if maintained. The impellor (magnet with plastic blades) should be cleaned every time you clean the filter. You should also rinse out the motor where the impellor sits.

After cleaning the filter case, motor and impellor, put the impellor back in the motor and smear a thin layer of Vaseline on the O-ring (thin rubber band) at the top of the motor. Reattach the motor to the case.

Put the cleaned filter media/ materials back in the filter and hang the filter on the side of the aquarium. Fill the filter up with tank water until it is full.

Make sure the water level in the aquarium is higher than the motor on the filter. If the water level in the aquarium is too low, the pump won't be able to draw water up and into the filter.

When the filter is full and the tank has enough water in, turn the pump on.

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Regarding the filter media, if you just have sponges or sponges and ceramic beads in the filter, you do not have to change them unless they start to break down and fall apart. And most filter sponges and ceramic beads will last at least 10 years, normally a lot longer.

You do not need carbon in a filter unless you have chemicals or heavy metals in the water. Carbon will remove these from the water but does eventually block up and need replacing. Carbon will also remove medications and plant fertilisers so I don't recommend it unless there is a problem with chemicals affecting the fish. Then doing a big water change will work faster than carbon.

Save your money and use sponges in the filter.

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In an emergency situation (eg: power failure, motor isn't working, etc), you can remove the lid from an AquaClear filter and scoop up some aquarium water from the tank, and pour it into the filter where the intake tube is. The water will flow through the filter media and back into the tank. If you do this 5 or 6 times in a row and repeat every hour or so, the bacteria will stay alive until the filter can be fixed. Leave the lid off until the filter is working again so air can get to the bacteria on the top part of the filter media.

If there is a power failure or the filter stops working, don't feed the fish for a few days or until the filter is going again. The fish can go for weeks without food and won't starve in a few days. However, if you add food and the filter is not working, you will probably kill the fish with ammonia.

If you have live plants and a light that works, leave the light on for 16 hours a day until the filter is fixed. The plants will use any ammonia and produce oxygen for the fish. When the filter is running again you can reduce the lighting times.
Don't worry if algae grows during this time, it is a simple plant that will use ammonia and produce oxygen too, and it can be wiped off after the filter is working again.

 

[Back in the fold]

Wow! That was a real spell binder reading this play out. Aquaclears can be a little fussy as you now know. TFF to the rescue.