I find it ironic that I had a FOWLR marine tank that maintained for 5yrs without crashing and with minimal maintenance, yet my other tanks that I maintain frequently and monitor daily have had issues.
My first lesson this summer was that if it seems like I am topping off excessively, that I probably have a leak. I couldn't find a leak anywhere in the system, yet when I disconnected the water into my display tank, the water level would start to dip well below the spillway for the overflow. It finally dawned on me that my display tank was the source of the leak. As it turns out, the silicon bead sealing the bottom edge was failing, and I had a slow leak that was hidden.
My second lesson was with my filtration. I have an Fluval 406 that I got 2nd hand 8yrs ago. Slowly but surely, it started losing its water flow. Somewhat of a problem, because it was also the water delivery for my display tank on my indoor AP system. I thought it was just old and starting to crap out. I maintain it weekly, so I knew the filter pads weren't clogged. Turns out, I was gaining more debris than the filter system could handle, and it was building up in the sump, and clogging the Fluval's intake line (before the filter). My super-easy fix was putting a couple small plecos in the sump, and cleaning the intake line into the Fluval. About 95% of my debris is now gone, and my water quality is great.
(As the plecos outgrow the sump, I plan to move them to the pond.)
Please no lesson 3 this summer...
AZR
My first lesson this summer was that if it seems like I am topping off excessively, that I probably have a leak. I couldn't find a leak anywhere in the system, yet when I disconnected the water into my display tank, the water level would start to dip well below the spillway for the overflow. It finally dawned on me that my display tank was the source of the leak. As it turns out, the silicon bead sealing the bottom edge was failing, and I had a slow leak that was hidden.
My second lesson was with my filtration. I have an Fluval 406 that I got 2nd hand 8yrs ago. Slowly but surely, it started losing its water flow. Somewhat of a problem, because it was also the water delivery for my display tank on my indoor AP system. I thought it was just old and starting to crap out. I maintain it weekly, so I knew the filter pads weren't clogged. Turns out, I was gaining more debris than the filter system could handle, and it was building up in the sump, and clogging the Fluval's intake line (before the filter). My super-easy fix was putting a couple small plecos in the sump, and cleaning the intake line into the Fluval. About 95% of my debris is now gone, and my water quality is great.
(As the plecos outgrow the sump, I plan to move them to the pond.)
Please no lesson 3 this summer...
AZR
