Tetra easy crystal 300 Filter overflowing

[Dasmms45]

Hi my filter has been bubbling up and over the cartridge recently and overflowing down the back of the tank.
I did some googling and it said to take out innards of filter, cartridge, etc and check/rinse etc.
So I did this earlier today and found the carbon inside was totally obliterated and all clumped at the bottom of the cartridge. I carefully rinsed the innards in old tank water I'd drained and emptied half the broken up carbon out and refitted, it's still overflowing, do i replace the cartidge or no?
Current filter has been running for 6 weeks in total, 3 without fish and 3 with fish. Any advice would be great!

 

[Slaphppy7]

Carbon is not needed in filters, except in the rare instance where you want to remove medications from the water column

 

[Dasmms45]

Ok thanks, so is it time to replace the cartridge now or should I rinse the bio ball things and check motor/impeller operation, not sure which way to go

 

[Essjay]

No don't replace the cartridge, throw it away. As SlapHppy said, you don't need carbon. You could empty the carbon out and put the rest of the cartridge back in, but no carbon.

Yes, gently rinse the bioballs and the sponge in old tank water.

 

[Slaphppy7]

No don't replace the cartridge, throw it away. As SlapHppy said, you don't need carbon. You could empty the carbon out and put the rest of the cartridge back in, but no carbon.

Yes, gently rinse the bioballs and the sponge in old tank water.

^^ This ^^

You can fill the space the carbon occupied with more bioballs or ceramic media, I'm not familiar with this filter, or what the actual media consists of...

 

[Essjay]

Here's the manual, it says a cartridge, a thin layer of sponge on a frame and a few black plastic bioballs right at the bottom.

TETRA EASYCRYSTAL FILTERBOX 300 MANUAL Pdf Download

View and Download Tetra EasyCrystal FilterBox 300 manual online. EasyCrystal FilterBox 300 water filtration systems pdf manual download.

www.manualslib.com

Since that layer of sponge is so thin, I'd be inclined to replace the cartridge with a thicker piece of sponge cut to the same size and shape.

 

[Dasmms45]

Interesting, thanks for the advice all. Rinsed out bio balls and refitted all and it's pretty much the same.
@Essjay when you say a few balls at the bottom, this has a bag of about 8 I believe, is that too many ?
This is how it came in the box

 

[Essjay]

No that's fine. They're what came with the filter. SapHppy didn't know this filter so I was trying to explain what the bioballs were

 

[Dasmms45]

Ahh sorry, I'm such a noob
Thanks for the replies, you guys are awesome

 

[Slaphppy7]

Yes, that filter looks a "bit" complicated, from what I've seen in the link provided by @Essjay above, so not quite sure what is causing the overflow issue

For HOB (hang on back) filters, I favor the AquaClears...simple design, easy to maintain, adjustable flow, and highly customizable

 

[Dasmms45]

I wouldnt have chosen this one if buying a new filter by itself , it's very bulky and takes up quite a lot of space I think

 

[Dasmms45]

May take it apart and check the workings next

 

[Slaphppy7]

I wouldnt have chosen this one if buying a new filter by itself , it's very bulky and takes up quite a lot of space I think

So, the filter was part of an aquarium "kit"?

 

[Dasmms45]

Yes tetra line starter kit, really didnt research it enough or shop around, was kind of an impulse buy with my kids

 

[Essjay]

Which size tank do you have? The lids in those tanks would need serious carving up to fit a HOB filter on there but you could always get a different internal filter.
If you do want to change the filter, Eheim Aquaball or one of the Fluval U range are good filters.