fluval 403 problem

[gc9n]

i am owner of 2 fluval 403 the setup is 2 in a row.. wich means.. the OUT of the no1 fluval is the IN of the No2 Fluval.. Before 3 months.. i disconected the one of the 2 fluvals beacause i had some leaks ! and the aquarium run with only one, one week ago i bought 2 New o-rings.. i connected the fluvals again... but 1 of them had a specific problem.. collects air somehow inside and the relased inside the tank like tiny bubles.. This is a problem for the live stock . I dont know where the air comes in.. and how...All the valves are replaced and the o-rings too..

 

[reefman]

not many people uses a canister filter on a reef or even a fish only tank for these reasons among many others.
i have no idea what type of system u have so i can't really recomm anything, but good luck dude.

 

[scarf_ace1981]

canister filters are a no no for many reefers. if you have space under your tank you should try a sump.

a sump is usually a smaller tank under your display. in the bottom tank you have your drain pipes(from the display),skimmer(nutrient export), return pump(to the display)

you can also have a fuge(haven for pods-food source) in the sump.

 

[gc9n]

Yes i know everything about sumps but the problem is that 1st i dont have to much space underneath the main tank.. and second theres no holes for drain

 

[scarf_ace1981]

you don't need any holes. you can use u tube overflows. i've had one on my 40br for 1+yrs and never had a problem. if your sump doesn't fit under the stand you can place it next to the tank.

 

[gc9n]

tube overflow?? you mean overflow box? any picture to see?

something like that?? http://cgi.ebay.com/Aquarium-Overfl...emZ300089260994QQcategoryZ20758QQcmdZViewItem

 

[scarf_ace1981]

that's just the pic of the u-tube. here's a pic of the one i have.

this member has one for sale:
http://www.manhattanreefs.com/forum/sale-trade/23259-fs-overflow-boxes-15-each.html

 

[marki24]

I have those filters with my aFricans i can help you out. Just let me ask you some questions before.

Are you filling in the filters with water before you actually plug them in to the outlet or are they empty?

 

[marki24]

I dont have a sump and i do have filters and i dont have problems. My tank is a reef and no problems with canister filters.

 

[fritz]

I think that your first problem is that you are daisy chaining canister filters.
You see no two pumps have the same output, it just doesn't happen. So canister # 1 may output at X GPH but canister 2 sucks at X+7 GPH (or the other way around) which can be bad for your motors and cause them to suck in air! I would SERIOUSLY consider running them separately. If having all that equipment in your tank isn't pleasing, then I would consider a sump as was suggested.

I too ran a reef without a sump (they used to only be for wet/dry applications) and it was fine, never great. I hated the look of having all that equipment in the tank so when I came back to the hobby after a short stint of no sump again I got a reef ready tank. Having done both I LOVE having a sump! It's fantastic to be able to hide all of my equipment in there.

Also make sure you are Spot on with the maintenance. When using canister filters they can become nitrate factories very quickly. Make sure you clean them weekly or so.

Bigup!

 

[marki24]

Well definetly not weekly when you using a Fluval 403. Maybe when you using somehting smaller then you can look to change it bi monthly but i def wouldn't change my fluval 403 weekly. I mean i have it with my africans and i only change it 2x a year or 3x a year but its different for salt but I dont think you would have to change it weekly, thats just too much and not necessary

 

[capted]

I have used cans for many years for reef and fish only tanks. I use them for media reactors. They work great for carbon and phosphate removal!!! You could lower the gph output according to what media you are using. You must be careful not to use alot of filter pads. That's when you create nitrate factories if you don't clean them WEEKLY!!! You do need a coarse one on the top layer so the media does not get to the pump guts. I will say that I also use sumps for primary filtration and use the cans for media add-ons. They also use little power (22w for the 403) and you could use the output for more water circulation around your rocks and dead spots.
As far as the bubbles I have had that problem before and I changed the valves on the hoses to make it better. I have a 403 right now doing the same thing as I write this!! I will post if I find the problem. Anybody find a solution yet?

 

[gc9n]

I Found Something very interesting....... from the official site of hagen-fluval

http://hagen-us.custhelp.com/cgi-bi...nNlYXJjaF9ubCZwX3BhZ2U9MQ**&p_li=&p_topview=1

 

[KathyC]

While that is an interesting bit of info, I'd be concerned about shaking a canister that contains carbon. The shaking will break up some of the carbon into smaller pieces and carbon 'dust' is no good for any tank.

My biggest concern with canister filters is the low amount of oxygen that goes into them in the first place. I've seen too many times where people left them off line for a couple of hours to clean them (or had a power outage) and then turned them back on without TOTALLY cleaning them out and released a whole lot of dead bacteria into their tanks. That's a no-no.
Point being... the bacteria in them dies very quickly. I'd never put one on any of my FW or SW tanks to be used as a method of filtration.

Got a pic of the space under your tank? Your reef would be better served by a sump & overflow box even if it's small..

 

[gc9n]

i agree .. .that's why i have two fluval .. one it's chemical .. and the other biological..

 

[capted]

Thats some good info from hagen. Shaking the unit is really just a little movement or tilting from side to side, not shaking like a milk shake!!! It works for me after renewing the carbon.. Neve had a problem with dead bact. but I do wash out the entire unit.. But I also agree that a sump is the best way to go.. (for those who can use them)
I have a single 403 running on my 100 gal tank for carbon right now. Keep in mind though that this tank is the simplicity style with a built in filter system which I hate!!! Tank was given to me so I used it...can't refuse the addiction!! The design was for bio-balls but I don't use them. That is the sump I converted to use only live rock and some coarse filter pads which I clean once a week..(It also holds the heaters,probes, ect..) My nitrates and phosphates are both zero with the fluval running for a month without cleaning.. Only one coarse filter pad on top chamber to keep any loose carbon out of the pump guts..

 

[capted]

gc9n, I will update you with what I found tonight. The intake for the fluval was getting a very small amount of micro bubbles from my skimmer. This was causing a burst of air bubbles once and awhile(every 5 mins.) from the fluval. Moved the intake and problem fixed.... Hope this helps a bit..

 

[capted]

One more note, If you use live rock no bio filter is needed at all.. That will be your nitrate factory(the canister with the bio balls or whatever you use) Forget the sump if you can't fit it, but get the rocks. I ran a 55 gal with only live rocks, some powerheads for water flow and a small hang-on filter for mechanical filtration. That was one of the best tanks I had. I also had a naso tang, yellow tang, 3 clown fish, and a bunch of corals in the tank that strived!!!! If I find some pictures I will post them..