Filter problems

I've had my tank since November 2007 and have now gone through 2 filters. I'm not sure why they've stopped working. I have a 29gallon. The first filter I had came with my tank set up. It was a tetra whisper filter and lasted about 1 1/2 to 2 years. The second one I owned was a marineland penguin or emperor filter(dont remember which one) which I KNOW I shouldnt have bought because it was made for aquariums up to 75gal. I don't know what I was thinking when I bought it. Anyway, that lasted about another year or so and stopped working like a week ago. I also have a skimmer which I've had since the beginning and it's still in great condition. Sad part is my damsel I've had since a couple days after buying my tank disappeared. I'm sure it's because I've been running only on skimmer for a week. My other 2 fish and corals are ok but I need something like, now. I went to my LFS today and he told me it either could have been hard water deposits or sand that has scratched up the propeller thing. So he told my to take it apart and clean it to see if that works. You cant even hear the motor when its plugged in. So I'm about to check that out, but just in case it's just completely done I need advice on a good QUIET filter that wont break. The one I had was kind of noisey. He said marineland is usually a good brand. He advised just to get a marineland penguin 200. Would you agree thats a good one? I originally wanted to start a sump, but he said they dont sell any sizes smaller than one for a 75gal. I guess I'll save that for when I can afford to buy my 75gal.

 

sounds like calcium deposits, you can soak it in some vinegar that should remove the calcium.

 

Cleaning it in vinegar wont be a problem when I put it back in the tank?

 

Is this for a SW tank?

I know this unit. If you take the tube that goes into the water and U's around into the unit and pull it up and out you'll see the impeller. Look down in that hole (flashlight) and you'll find a lot of sand or other debri.

At this point, take it down and dump it in the sink and rinse it out. Then it should start working again.

But if this is a SW tank, I wouldn't bother putting it back up. It's pretty pointless for SW. It's not doing anything for you.

 

Yes its a saltwater tank. Why do you say its pointless and not doing anything?

 

Because it is pointless and not doing anything... :-/

how about instead of you trying to get me to prove a negative, you tell me why you think it has a point and is doing something? Then maybe I can talk about something specific.

I'm not trying to be mean, just having a hard time on how to word this for some reason. Here's to hoping I'm not coming across as a jackash


I can assure you your fish do not care or even notice. Your damsel is absolutely not missing because you're not running a particular filter device...

Unless, of course, the fish is in the filter and the fish itself is doing the clogging

 

Better not be. Plenty of people mix vinegar with their kalk drip (helps to keep the pH down just a tad and you can dissolve more kalk in a given amount of water). I use it all the time when cleaning my equipment. Never had any issues at all. Obviously you need to rinse the vinegar off as much as you can before placing the item back in the tank.

 

FWIW, agreed. I clean my equipment in vinegar/water solutions all the time. Rinse well.