AquaClear filter barely trickling

[CarpCharacin]

I got a new AquaClear 110 today because sand destroyed my other one, so I put a nylon stocking over the intake as a prefilter, and now it's barley trickling. If I unplug it and plug it back in, it runs fine for a while, but then after a few minutes, the water slows to a trickle. Any idea what the problem could be, and how I could fix it?

 

[duanes]

Nylon and even some sponges are easy to plug, and restrict flow as they gathered and concentrate detritus in one small area , so you may need to rinse it daily or even twice daily to allow proper flow.
I've always had to rinse pre-filter sponges daily my tanks.
and use as large a sponge, and as stiff type as I can find to prevent a tiny area from clogging.
The one below is 3" thick, and 10" square.

If the intake tube is thick enough, you could use an old bio wheel which would have more surface are and not plug up as quickly.

Although my favorite is a surface skimmer attachment, with unrestricted flow.
Amazon.com : Fluval Surface Skimmer : Aquarium Surface Skimmer ...https://www.amazon.com/Fluval-A240-Surface-Skimmer/dp/B000256CGY

 

[spotfin]

Sounds like the sock is impeding the flow. Although the 110 model is powerful. As suggested, try a different prefilter. I use the fluval surface skimmer on a canister but still get some sand in it via the intake at the bottom of the intake tube.

 

[RD.]

I warned you about this in your previous thread.

 

[CarpCharacin]

I warned you about this in your previous thread.

I'm going to put some finer foam on it.

 

[RD.]

Same result, unless as Duane stated you constantly clean the pre-filter material. Everything plugs up eventually.

This is exactly why I stopped using sand in tanks with AC filters. It only takes a single grain of sand to stop an AC impeller dead in its tracks.

 

[CarpCharacin]

Yeah, but it takes longer for the foam to plug than the nylon.

 

[CarpCharacin]

I got some mesh filter media bags at Petsmart, I'm going to try putting those over the intakes.

 

[benzjamin13]

Do you use the extended intake tube? How high is your intake from the substrate? I have a sand substrate with an AC110 as well and I just don't use the extension tube and there's no problem.

 

[Chicxulub]

I like to use the intake hardware off of an FX5/6 on my AC110's. They attach like they're designed to, and would give you a much larger overall area for your prefilter media of choice.