filter

[helen78]

i have a fluval u2 filter i woke up this morning to find the venturi not working turns out it needed cleaning lucky it was partial water change day so had to do that a bit earlier in the day than usual to clean the filter the thing is i have only had the filter 2 weeks today surely it shouldnt of got dirty and clogged in so little time i cant keep having that happen when i bought the filter the man at lfs said its the right size for my tank which is 64 litre, i had a cold water tank years ago with a stinray filter and never had any of this trouble with clogging would it be wise to just get a new filter and if so what are the best filters

[escamosa]

Fluval filters are one of the best you can get. Did you cycle the tank and filter together? The reason I ask, is because we don't do any cleaning at all during a cycle, the filters do work pretty hard for the first few weeks, until a normal maintanance routine can be undertaken. Once that normal routine can start, then I usually pull the filter down and clean everything once a week. Actually, because I have 2 filters, I clean 1 this week, then the other the next week. You will probably find that the better the filter, the more often you will find that you will be cleaning them, simply because they work so well, and suck everything up.

[helen78]

the filter i got with the tank wasnt very good it was a interpert pf2 i decided to get the fluval after 3 weeks of getting the tank i kept the old one in for a week with the fluval to help establish the fluval

[escamosa]

Oh ok, I got ya. Honestly, I would keep the fluval. They really are great filters. It might just be a case of giving it a clean, once a week, when you do your water changes. I wish I could afford to buy fluvals! :hmm3grin2orange:

[Cermet]

A new filter takes at least a few weeks to fully cycle and keeping the old filter in for only one week is too short a time.

If your filter is collecting too much debris than consider adding a second one. One can never have too much filtering if the tank flow isn't too large for the tank/fish. Then as escamosa does, cycle between them for rinsing the bio-media.

[imma24]

+1 with cermet regarding getting another filter as well as leaving new filters in your tank for several weeks in order to cycle them - forum members generally recommend filtration for double the size of your tank. If your filter got too gunky, is it possible you are feeding too much?

[pjaldave]

i recommend adding an HOB instead of a submerged filter. An AC 50 will work on your setup better than the U2.

to add what andrea said, it might be also that you have messy fish in your tank. e.g, platies, mollies, pleco.. goldfish, which i hope not.

[scotchbonneteater]

I have a Fluval U2 in my main tank, It did get clogged up during the first 2 weeks of my cycle. Now it has been on full time for at least a month without any problems or a need to be cleaned. I keep it in there to use on my quarantine tank when needed.

2 filters are better than 1 as you can rotate your cleaning and if 1 stops you wont lose all your bio/filtering.

[mermaidwannabe]

When I first switched over from a UGF to my Aquaclear 50 hob, I discovered the sponge to be absolutely filthy (as in black) when I rinsed it out for the first time. That's how well the AC worked -- and how inadequately the UGF had been filtering all that time. Since then, the sponge in the AC hasn't gotten nearly as dirty, because I use a prefilter and because I cut way down on my feeding.

It's a good sign when your filter gets that dirty in the very beginning -- it's working overtime and working well, trapping what it needs to trap to keep your tank cleaner.

I would suggest putting a prefilter on your intake tube(s). That catches a lot of stuff before it enters the main filter. It's easy to slip on and off for rinsing.

-- mermaidwannabe

[enzof9]

How about a prefilter? A prefilter (for those of you don't know) is a sponge/foam that fits over the filter's intake, it helps to prevent any large derbis from entering the filtration system.

[helen78]

i have been looking into the ac 50 filters they do look really good and loads of good reviews but the problem is theres nowhere here that sells them i am in uk i have looked on internet and most sites i looked at do ship from america to uk but the shipping costs are alot of money some are more than the filter itself is there a alternative to the ac filter that does the same job as the ac filter that i can get from uk? if not then i will have to pay the costs of the ac 50 filter postage but it wont be until the end of next month when i know i will have that amount of money to spend on it and then its waiting a while for it to arrive there was once i had something delivered from america and it took 6 weeks altogether to arrive