rojees Posted July 16, 2021 Share Posted July 16, 2021 This might be a silly question for a lot of you but pls bear with me, newbie here and it’s something I gotta ask. I own a waterbox peninsula 15 gallon AIO, it’s my first ever tank and I’m at the beginning of the fish cycle. I’m not sure if other AIOs are similar in setup or not (I would assume they are) but for my tank, there’s 3 fairly smallish chambers at the back. Chamber 1 is obviously is where the water flows from the main tank through and into the filter sock. I have removed the filter sock because it kept clogging up, due to its shape and it affected the water flow into chamber 2, I have since removed the filter sock and will get a floss cup. Chamber 2 is the issue. Now I don’t have rock in my tank, just I didn’t want to use it. Instead I got 2 bio blocks which fits nicely into the bottom of chamber 2. No problem. On top of the bio blocks, I’m using the provided bio pellets and 2 filter rectangular sponges on top of that. The issue is I noticed the water level in chamber 2 is very inconsistent. Sometimes it’s covering the filter sponges by about an inch. Other times, the water level is slightly under the surface of the top sponge I.e the top sponge is not fully submerged. My question is what is the correct level of water needed? I would assume both sponges need to be fully submerged in water. Is it a case of evaporation? Or the sponges are too tight? It’s better with no filter sock but I don’t know what the root of the problem is. I notice some bacteria growing on the sponges now, white-ish in colour - I guess this needs to be fully submerged 24-7? Chamber 3 is for the return pump, that’s fine. I don’t let the water level in chamber 3 drop below the marker. Apologies if this is a ridiculous question for you. Quote Link to comment
M. Tournesol Posted July 16, 2021 Share Posted July 16, 2021 Looking at the waterbox picture AIO, the minimal water level of the chamber 2 is the red square. If your sponge is above, then when water evaporate your sponge may not be fully submerged. Quote Link to comment
M. Tournesol Posted July 16, 2021 Share Posted July 16, 2021 1 hour ago, rojees said: My question is what is the correct level of water needed? I would assume both sponges need to be fully submerged in water. Is it a case of evaporation? Or the sponges are too tight? It’s better with no filter sock but I don’t know what the root of the problem is. I notice some bacteria growing on the sponges now, white-ish in colour - I guess this needs to be fully submerged 24-7? 🤷♂️, never had an AIO. Quote Link to comment
Clown79 Posted July 16, 2021 Share Posted July 16, 2021 The water level in chamber 1 and 2 should not change, the only chamber that changes due to evaporation is the 3rd chamber. The water level in chamber 2 is usually up to the baffle wall or just below it. Your water level may not be correct if the chamber is over filled with media. Also as the media gets full with detritus, this can also create issues with chamber water flow. As you are using media for biological filter, you will need to be careful how you take care of your sponges as thats your biological filter(most use liverock as thats the most natural method) Is this going to be a fish only tank? 2 Quote Link to comment
rojees Posted July 20, 2021 Author Share Posted July 20, 2021 On 7/16/2021 at 10:05 PM, Clown79 said: The water level in chamber 1 and 2 should not change, the only chamber that changes due to evaporation is the 3rd chamber. The water level in chamber 2 is usually up to the baffle wall or just below it. Your water level may not be correct if the chamber is over filled with media. Also as the media gets full with detritus, this can also create issues with chamber water flow. As you are using media for biological filter, you will need to be careful how you take care of your sponges as thats your biological filter(most use liverock as thats the most natural method) Is this going to be a fish only tank? Yes, this will be fish only tank. Thanks for the picture! I honestly cannot find anything on this. Should i just move the bio blocks to another chamber? or even just into the display? so I can free up chamber 2 and allow the sponges to go down a few inches sorry what is baffle wall? Quote Link to comment
M. Tournesol Posted July 20, 2021 Share Posted July 20, 2021 Quote Think of baffles as walls or dividers in your sump that will both separate your compartments, and be used to set the water levels in each compartment. Image and text from https://www.reefaquarium.com/2012/some-sump-basics/ Quote Link to comment
M. Tournesol Posted July 20, 2021 Share Posted July 20, 2021 In the picture, I put your baffles walls in yellow. Quote Link to comment
M. Tournesol Posted July 20, 2021 Share Posted July 20, 2021 1 hour ago, rojees said: Should i just move the bio blocks to another chamber? or even just into the display? so I can free up chamber 2 and allow the sponges to go down a few inches It could be a good idea. You could also cut the sponge . 1 Quote Link to comment
rojees Posted July 20, 2021 Author Share Posted July 20, 2021 3 hours ago, M. Tournesol said: Image and text from https://www.reefaquarium.com/2012/some-sump-basics/ THanks for this!! love it 1 Quote Link to comment
rojees Posted July 20, 2021 Author Share Posted July 20, 2021 2 hours ago, M. Tournesol said: It could be a good idea. You could also cut the sponge . Great stuff, I might trim the sponges every so slightly, and try moving the bio blocks around a bit. Thanks for your help! Very much appreciated, this has been playing on my mind a for while 1 Quote Link to comment
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