Vallisneria Posted June 1, 2005 Report Share Posted June 1, 2005 I seem to be having a slight problem. Sand keeps getting into my AC filters. Its a 15g tank with playsand in it. I have a AC 200 on the back and sand is getting into the impeller. Yes i do have the intake covered by a AC sponge but it still is getting in and wrecking the impellers. Last week we blew a fuse and i had to restart my filters. When i started this filter up again it started making grinding noises. So i cleaned out the motor and started it up. Again it made the grinding noises so i took it apart again. I cleaned the motor with a Q tip and noticed that inside the shaft it felt a bit rough in certain places. I started it up again and it still made noise. So i decided to put a new filter on the tank. Well tonight i was cleaning and when i started up the new filter it started to make the same noises and after fiddling with it i fianlly got it to work but its still making a loud noise(but not grinding). Why is this happening? Why is sand still getting into the impeller even though the intake is covered? ITs not like the sand it being stirred up and the intake is only halfway down the tank. I dont' want it to keep breaking my filters :grr: - sorry for the long post Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
African_Fever Posted June 1, 2005 Report Share Posted June 1, 2005 I've actually heard of people placing pantyhose over the intake of the AC's when this happens. I'm not too sure what kind of fish you have in the tank, but I know it seems like my cichlids like to drop sand on top of the sponge when doing their digging, and the sand ends up getting in anyways. I'm not too sure how you would fasten the pantyhose though....you'll have to let me know if you do try, b/c I have the same issues in some of my tanks (but nothings broken yet, touch wood). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dunl Posted June 1, 2005 Report Share Posted June 1, 2005 Just fasten with an elastic band... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vallisneria Posted June 1, 2005 Author Report Share Posted June 1, 2005 Thanks Kyle, I'll try the pantyhose. Should i just use pantyhose or pantyhose with the sponge over top? The tank has 3 N.caudopunctatus but i haven't noticed any real digging. There is a bit of sanded moved but its on the opposite side of the tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnsmith Posted June 1, 2005 Report Share Posted June 1, 2005 Unfortunately I had the same problem last night. I stopped the filter and when I started it up again it started making really loud noises and it had a lot of trouble getting all of the air out of the intake tube. Once it starts making these noises is it possible to clean it out so it stops or is it permanent? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vallisneria Posted June 1, 2005 Author Report Share Posted June 1, 2005 Once it starts making these noises is it possible to clean it out so it stops or is it permanent? Well the first filte ri can't seem to get working properly anymore. I cleaned it out a couple times and it still is making a grinding noise and not working properly. The second filter that broke last night seem to be working a bit better today. It stopped making noise and seems ot be running normal. I'ma bit scared now to stop it again Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
African_Fever Posted June 1, 2005 Report Share Posted June 1, 2005 I thought about an elastic but I know that they're usually pretty prone to breaking down over time the water. You wouldn't really need to use the sponge over the intake anymore as the pantyhose is taking it's place, but I like to think of the sponges as giving me extra biological and mechanical filtration as well (when I use them on the intakes of canisters I've gone at least a year without touching the canister and only squeezing out the sponge prefilter). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RD. Posted June 1, 2005 Report Share Posted June 1, 2005 This is one of the reasons I went with PFS, and not play sand. Play sand seems to have some very fine grains that can drift up into the filter intakes. I've yet to have any issues with sand and AC filters, but then again I don't have any serious sand spitters in my tanks, and I leave the extra intake extensions off. AC sponges are too coarse to stop fine sand particles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vallisneria Posted June 1, 2005 Author Report Share Posted June 1, 2005 AC sponges are too coarse to stop fine sand particles DO you know of any sponges with finer holes? Anything else to try besides the pantyhose? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RD. Posted June 1, 2005 Report Share Posted June 1, 2005 Yes, I used to use some sponges that were very fine, I'll see if I can find them online for you, as I forget the name. BRB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RD. Posted June 1, 2005 Report Share Posted June 1, 2005 I can't seem to find it now. I think it was the pre-filter sponges used on Hagen Surface Skimmers? They're a tight fit, but if you're careful you can get them over the intake tubes of the smaller AC filters. (up to & including an AC 200) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnsmith Posted June 2, 2005 Report Share Posted June 2, 2005 I've cleaned mine out with a q-tip but it's still very noisey and there's still an air bubble in the top-back corner of the intake tube. Can you buy new motors for ACs? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cap'n Posted June 2, 2005 Report Share Posted June 2, 2005 Yeah, motors are easy to come by, about $20 at the LFS. I'm surprised that everyone has so much trouble with sand in their filters and powerheads. I have Lowes playsand in the cichlid tank and aragonite in the reef. Intake sponges on some but not all. Have to occasionally clean them out but have had no major problems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thefishdude Posted June 2, 2005 Report Share Posted June 2, 2005 Could someone explain / provide pics of how to attach a sponge to an AC or Fluval intake? I just purchased 50 lbs of PFS for a 55 gal (never used sand before) and it sounds like this sponge idea is a good preventative measure THANKS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RD. Posted June 2, 2005 Report Share Posted June 2, 2005 Check out the pics in the following article: http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/power_failure.php I believe that Bill was using Mag Drive pre-filters over his AC intakes. They work great for AC 300 or 500 intake tubes. You just slip them on over the end of the intake tube, and you're good to go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.