protecting hardwood floors

[RD.]

tiger, you and I have had this conversation. lol

My impellers don't get gunked up, I use probiotics to keep the solid build up of gunk to a minimum, I also over-filter & under stock (compared to most) hence no reason to mess with O-rings, impellers, or anything else internally. Last year we had more/longer power outages than the previous 30+ years combined on the same street, and all 8 of my AC 500's started back up after an extended period of being off due to power loss. (several hours)

BTW - none of my tanks are level, they all lean to one side, or the other. (left to right or right to left)

What happens to some folks, is they don't level the AC filter properly using the leveling tab, which if leaning backwards, away from the tank, can cause water overflow to the floor - but again this generally happens when the media has gotten too dirty. This is not a design flaw or weakness, it's a classic case of operator error.

I'm not saying that an o-ring can't fail, of course they can, but they shouldn't fail, if one takes certain precautions. 1 - always moisten the o-ring with water before putting the motor back on. When in doubt, replace the o-ring if it shows any wear. AC o-rings are cheap. 2. Don't use lubricants such as petroleum jelly or even silicone, unless specified by the manufacturer to do so. Some lubricants can and will damage o-rings and cause them to wear and potentially fail prematurely.

Keep in mind that some o-rings are designed to only last a few years, some are designed to last a lifetime. It all depends on the material used to make the o-ring. The o-rings in Sharkbite plumbing connectors are a prime example. They can fail too, due to operator error. (cut on pipe not straight, pipe out of round, burr on the pipe that scars the o-ring, etc) but when used properly they can last 25+ years.

I'm guessing that AC o-rings are made to last a lifetime of service, if one takes care.

https://www.oringsusa.com/html/shelf_life.html

 

[jaws7777]

I never used that little leveling peice. I always used an open book between the filter and the tank. Using enough of the book to pitch the filter forward a bit. Maybe this plus making sure ops tank is perfectly level would be the quick fix to his ac creating a future issue.

Imo a hard plumbed sump would be the safest in terms of flood prevention though

 

[RD.]

tiger, do you live on the side of a hill? lol

 

[RD.]

I just took the following photos, this is from a 90 gallon (leans slightly to one side) that has 2 AC 500's, and holds a 12" midas. As pic one shows the filter media is dirty, the flow is now being slightly impeded.

 

[RD.]

As pic two shows, there is still a full inch (I measured) at the top of the filter.

 

[squint]

The safest is an acrylic aquarium with an integrated wet/dry in the back of the tank. Water never leaves the tank. There are many drawbacks though but if you want safe, that's the safest I know of.

 

[RD.]

And as Frank mentioned, if you level the filter slightly inward on your tank, overflow should take the path of least resistance, which is directly back in the tank. The overflowing out the top end of AC filters is 100% operator error.

 

[tiger15]

It’s not an operation issue, but a design issue for A.C.. A good design will not require operational precautions to avoid leak. None other than AC HOBs have parts to leak.

An internal filter is 100% leak proof because by design there are no parts outside the tank. Even an air driven sponge filter can leak from a tiny air hose fallen off. Someone reported losing half a tank of water to the floor from a loosen air hose over the weekend.

I agree that a hard plumbed sump system is very safe for a big tank, probably outlast the seal from the tank. An over flow box sump system or canisters of any kind are unsafe due to external hoses and plumbing.

 

[RD.]

acrylic seems can let loose too, don't kid yourself. I have seen plenty of failures on acrylic tanks. Anyone recall the Tenecor fiascos from several years ago?

 

[RD.]

What some refer to operational precautions, I refer to common sense - and I live in a world where I clean up behind engineers on a regular basis, so I am usually pretty quick at pointing out design flaws. Sorry, I don't see the AC design as a flaw, and I don't see a lot of people complaining about the design over the past 25 yrs, especially not having a side leveling tool included. lol

My point of posting here was to help the OP understand why his filter overflowed, even when cleaned weekly. I clean mine every 3-4 months without issue, but as previously discussed a run a light load compared to most, I use sludge cleaning bacteria, and I understand the dynamics of the tools that I use.