Lets not forget guys its all on what works for you. What works for one may or may not work for another, just trial and error. Just gather as much info as u can and then make ur decision if it doesnt work well then u know u have to go another route
AC50 media challenge
- Thread starter RAWfish
- Start date
bitteraspects;3893252; said:
Lets not forget that a clogged sponge will cause the media tray to float as well as the water bypass I already stated, not just in the pick up hut in the grating at the top of the media tray on both sides. Maybe read my previous post again? The water does not flow as designed w/ either poly fill of sponge clogged.
Can you explain how detritus is beneficial at all to me?
the unless you go for months on end between cleaning, your sponge will not get clogged enough to lift your tray. not to mention, youd have to be running your filter without the lid for it to lift (not a smart idea. and pretty much explains all your problems), but you will start getting smaller particles pushed through the sponge. there is almost no bypass with these filters (beyond the space around the intake tube. but again, unless you are not properly and regularly cleaning your filter, you will not get any bypass here either.)
i read your post. and all it really says is that you need to clean your filter better. if your filter floss is getting clogged enough for it to allow any kind of bypass, you are not changing it enough. either that or youre overfeeding.... which means youre not changing it enough.
common sense should dictate that finer media gets clogged faster (due to the amount of waster removal), and thus needs to be changed out more often. if youre doing it 2x a week, and thats not enough... change it more often.
people are quick to blame their filters for their own mishandling and poor maintenance.
i read your post. and all it really says is that you need to clean your filter better. if your filter floss is getting clogged enough for it to allow any kind of bypass, you are not changing it enough. either that or youre overfeeding.... which means youre not changing it enough.
common sense should dictate that finer media gets clogged faster (due to the amount of waster removal), and thus needs to be changed out more often. if youre doing it 2x a week, and thats not enough... change it more often.
people are quick to blame their filters for their own mishandling and poor maintenance.
JL;3893102; said:LOLz to you bro.
When the fine filter gets clogged the water does not flow through the fine floss but through the holes on the side of the media tray bypassing the floss or back into the tank where the pick up is located.
Thanks. This is why I place my second sponge on the top, so any water that starts to flow through the side of the basket or through the little notch on top must flow through some sponge before flowing back into the tank. So far it has been working great.
Hello again... this is my first time back on the site in longer than I can remember. I've been running the following set up for about a year with great success...
layer 4 (top): single thin layer of poly fill type material
layer 3: Bio-max bag
layer 2: Bio-max bag
layer 1 (bottom): AC sponge
...and this has been key ---> half of an AC sponge over the end of the intake tube to catch large particles etc. This prevents the bottom sponge in the filter from getting clogged constantly. Once or twice a week I remove only the poly fill and/or intake tube sponge to clean them out and keep the flow rate going. The sponge inside the filter only needs wringing out every 3-4 weeks.
This has been a great set up. I'm thinking of upsizing to a 55g and would likely just add another one of these same filters with the same media.
BTW... and this is sort of OT... I have the same stock minus a tetra or two, but the Bala sharks are urgently in need of separation or more space. The small one is starting to harass the bigger one and I'm concerned about it.
layer 4 (top): single thin layer of poly fill type material
layer 3: Bio-max bag
layer 2: Bio-max bag
layer 1 (bottom): AC sponge
...and this has been key ---> half of an AC sponge over the end of the intake tube to catch large particles etc. This prevents the bottom sponge in the filter from getting clogged constantly. Once or twice a week I remove only the poly fill and/or intake tube sponge to clean them out and keep the flow rate going. The sponge inside the filter only needs wringing out every 3-4 weeks.
This has been a great set up. I'm thinking of upsizing to a 55g and would likely just add another one of these same filters with the same media.
BTW... and this is sort of OT... I have the same stock minus a tetra or two, but the Bala sharks are urgently in need of separation or more space. The small one is starting to harass the bigger one and I'm concerned about it.
