If Its Not Broke Should I Fix It...?

[sharpshark]

Hi, relavtive Newbie here with a if its not broke should I fix it question...
I have a 4-5 month old 90ltr aquaone aquastyle 620 tank, cycled, a couple of of plants, 20 odd fish (tiger barbs, platys, mollys, a plec, a frog etc etc) I have lost no fish, they all seem healthy, the Ph and nitrite levels are all good.

The problem I have is that when I initially set the tank up with the poor instructions from aquaone (which I have since learned is a common problem) I must have made an error (I think...!!).

Basically, after a couple of months, the outlet flow of the filter system has dropped, even though the inlet flow is good, and, as its built into the hood of the tank, the excess water flows back into the tank through the power head hole, and though this is not a problem itself, the spray bar is mostly underwater, and as this is supposed to be a wet/dry mechanical/biological/chemical all singing all dancing system, It is most certainly not "dry".

I know that this is hard to explain, so I have a crudely drawn picture of the system, and hopefully it makes more sense than the above garbage I have just written.

SO... my issue is, the fish are fine (at the minute) the tank is fine, so should I ignore it, pr will it lead to future problems?

I presume the problem to be the way I have the filter pads ceramic noodles and carbon pad set up, so, if I have to try and sort it out, how should it be done?

Anyones help or comments will be greatly appreciated, thanks!!

 

[The-Lion]

I use to have one of those tanks i used elastic bands to stop the back flow through the powerhead hole the reduced output is most likely due to gunk building up in the in or out pipes so stop the flow take out the pipes & give them a clean with a bottle brush.

 

[sharpshark]

Thanks for the elastic band idea, that should stop some back flow, but the in/out pipes are clear.

 

[moeldner]

I have the aquaone AR980 with the same filter set up as you. I find the bottom level filter (the fine filter wool) clogs up pretty quickly, and needs to be rinsed regularly otherwise the flowrate drops.

Try giving the filter wool a good rinse in tank water during a wate change and see if the flow resumes. Mine needs doing at least once every couple of weeks.