URGENT- Cube filtration not working- on verge of losing livestock

[Auryn]

Ive had my 12gl nanocube up and running for 6 months now

after a few livestock mishaps everything has been cool for 4 months.

 

Up until now the water level in the 3 compartments in the back was pretty much at the same height as the level in the main viewing compartment.

I used to havea 50W heater in the third compartment where the pump is.

While I was out of town on work last week my mother called me telling me the heater had exploded in the tank. The water level in that compartment had gone down to almost less than 1". (Even though I purposelly bought one of those heaters that is supposed to shut off if its out of the water- go figure).

I havent been able to bring the water level in that compartment up but it was holding high enough (2 inches) to keep the pump running.

 

This morning I woke up at 5:0 am to a horrible noise- there was no water left in the pump compartment.

 

All this week ive been adding water to the back compartment to see if it would bring the level up- it does but only for about 20 seconds. Then all the water is pumped out and just raises the water level in the display side of the tank w/o any level changes in the back compartments.

 

The water in the middle compartment where the carbon and live rock rubbble are is a little low also but still about 2/3 of the way full.

Now I have had to shut the filtration down to prevent the pump from burning out

but I cant keep it like that forever.

 

I have tried squishing the sponge in the first compartment down- thinking that maybe it had expanded too far and was blocking the water flow- didnt work.

tried repositioning the carbon so it wouldnt block water flow- didnt work.

 

 

I had put some caleurpa in the pump's compartment about a month ago and removed it 2 days later (discovered i had been given caleurpa coverd in apistasia). I triple checked to make sure there wasnt any left overs sticking or blocking flow anywhere

 

Please help

I cant leave the filtration off for much longer

and I have to go to work in a couple of hours

 

PLEASE HELP.

my fishies and I thank you.

 

Oh so far ph is holding ( a bit high but holding)

put in a new heater in the display tank and so temp is holding also

everything else chemically is fine.

[sNEIRBO]

Did you try pulling everything out of Chamber 1 and Chamber 2 to see if you can get the flow moving back into Chamber 3?

 

It doesn't make sense that you'd have water in Chambers 1 & 2, but nothing in 3. Is there a crack in Chamber 3 that's allowing the water to drain out? Maybe something small that's trickling down the back of your stand? Maybe when the heater blew, it chipped or cracked your tank.

[Kogut]

Sounds to me like your intake is jammed. Clean out the intake area (or areas if you have that model) of any debris, algae, or coraline that may be stuck bewteen the grill slots. A zip-tie or even one of those twist-ties that you get at the supermarket will fit between the slots easily (it's what we use @ the LFS where I work). Try that out and let us know if it fixes anything! Good luck!

[Kogut]

I meant the intake from the display to the back chambers of the cube. I think it's not draining enough water (perhaps it does have some of the heater in it) from the main display and the pump is simply pulling out water too fast from chamber 3. The other 2 chambers are filling, but not all the way because the pump is sucking it all out so fast. They don't lose all the water because they have some seperation from the pump. :

[Auryn]

Sneirbo, Kogut,

 

The grill is totally clean- thought about that too and water is flowing into that completely.

 

2 days ago I removed everything from the middle compartment and it made no difference- I figured thats where there might be a clog since there was water there but not in #3- made no difference

 

the heater blew after the water went down not before it

 

after you mentioned it I looked but cant find any leakes

if there were wouldnt it also be draining the water from the first 2 compartments??

[Auryn]

im gonna go look again

brb

[Auryn]

stupid sponge

well apparently the sponges need to be rinsed out every few months

i took out the top sponge from the first compartment

rinsed it out in a tupperware with tank water

and put it back in but vertically instead of horizontally and all is well again

it sits higher than before but doesnt touch the divider wall

and the water started flowing again

go figure

if i had thought of that before i could have saved myself the $15 of a busted heater

 

figrues

 

thanks for the help and for being up so early guys

cant go back to bed now but i can at least go to work relaxed

 

my poor fishies are all bleary eyed

ive been turning their light on and off since 5:30am

 

thanks guys

[sNEIRBO]

As regular maintenance, you should pull your sponges out every week, and rinse them out. I have a spare sponge I bought, so I pull one sponge, replace it with the spare, rinse it under tapwater, then let it dry for the week before using it again. They get clogged with all kinds of garbage, and can eventually become a nitrate trap.

 

Glad it's fixed.

[Auryn]

question

wouldnt rinsing it in tap water kill any denytrifying bacteria living on the sponge?

i ask because in fw tanks u dont rinse in tap water but rather with tank water for that very reason

 

just wondering

thanks for the tip

I will be adding that to my weekly maintenance routine

[sNEIRBO]

From everything I've heard, there's enough denitrifying bacteria in the system that getting rid of what's in the sponge doesn't really matter. I can gauge when my sponge needs changing based on the small algae blooms, and my corals start looking a little limp.

[doncb]

I used to run a sponge in bay 1 but now I have LR in bay 1 and I set some filter floss on top to act as a trap for the big stuff. Every Sat. when I do a water change I throw out the old & put in new.

 

Putting in a sponge (or floss) is to act as a mechanical filter and not biological. IMO

[kewliz]

I have problems with my back compartment getting backlogged. It's from that sponge getting pushed down too far. I have my water running thru a white poly filter, so I might remove the black sponge alltogether. And yeah, rinse that sponge weekly.

[Web Guy]

WOW, Every few months...LOL

 

As stated above, you should be cleaning it every week or have a few to rotate out as you clean them and dry them.

[rickjg]

I thought it was pretty clear that that sponge should be tossed from day one,

unless you are doing a fresh water tank.

Now everyone knows why. X)

[sNEIRBO]

Hey doncb -

 

I've read before that you use "filter floss". I've looked around at LFSs and Petco and can't find "filter floss". Can you describe what you're talking about? Is there a specific product name or brand I could look for?

 

I'm close to putting my LR Rubble in Chamber 1, with a Protein Skimmer I'm making in Chamber 2. I want something to put on top of the LR Rubble to "catch the big stuff". If I can't find some kind of media to put on top, I might just cut my sponges in half to lay on top, then swap them out every couple of days.

[Auryn]

sorry I havent been back earlier

I repositioned the top sponge

and now rinse them out once a week during water changes and all is good

and actually my ph is a lot more stable now

 

dont know if the 2 are related though - just an observation

 

thanks for all the help

[doncb]

Originally posted by sNEIRBO

Hey doncb -

 

I've read before that you use "filter floss".  I've looked around at LFSs and Petco and can't find "filter floss".  Can you describe what you're talking about?  Is there a specific product name or brand I could look for?

 

I'm close to putting my LR Rubble in Chamber 1, with a Protein Skimmer I'm making in Chamber 2.  I want something to put on top of the LR Rubble to "catch the big stuff".  If I can't find some kind of media to put on top, I might just cut my sponges in half to lay on top, then swap them out every couple of days.

 

The stuff I am using right now is Petcetera brand "filter fiber". Got it at a PetCo. SKU # 4004821040. Their cat.# 2104. It's a bag of white cotton looking stuff.

 

PetCo Link

[kewliz]

I use this pad from MarineDepot.

I cut it to the size of compartment 1, and change it about twice a week. This size pad will last quite a while.

 

http://www.marinedepot.com/md_viewItem.asp...dproduct=ES1155

[doncb]

Originally posted by kewliz

I use this pad from MarineDepot.

I cut it to the size of compartment 1, and change it about twice a week.  This size pad will last quite a while.

 

http://www.marinedepot.com/md_viewItem.asp...dproduct=ES1155

 

Yep, another good option. I'm just too lazy. Grab a wad of floss & stuff it in the tank.

[emoutz]

Just take the sponge out. The only things I have in the back are pumps, a heater, some LR, and some cheato. The carbon and sponges are unnecessary, IMHO.

[Nickeleye]

Originally posted by emoutz

Just take the sponge out. The only things I have in the back are pumps, a heater, some LR, and some cheato. The carbon and sponges are unnecessary, IMHO.

 

I highly recommend this. Take all the crap out of the back and just put in pieces of LR instead. Cheato is also good if you have a fuge light over the back. This should allow for flow to easily make it into all three chambers ALL the time. If you've got enough LR in the tank and some in the back as well as some macro algae in the tank along with a weekly water change, you should be good to go. Sponges + no cleaning = big mess, high nitrates and lower health of the tank.