AIO Media Basket Issues

[Schulks]

Hello all! I have been struggling to keep my water level constant because of resistance building up in my media chambers and my ATO triggering too much.

It is a fluval 13.5 and I am pretty sure it is the 3d printed media basket. It is made by 3dOcean on Etsy. It works ok so long as I change the floss every other day and keep a bare minimum of filtration in it.

I added Poly-fil to my chamber 2 the other day because my water really needed polishing (probably the baskets fault too). I am trying to keep a nice cascade going into the basket but the poly-fil made the water buildup ahead of my media basket overnight but I did add a lot of the poly-fil. Would an Intank basket likely do the same thing setup like this?

This could be some simple mistake as I am a complete beginner in the hobby and haven't really had anyone to show me the ropes.
Thanks for your help!

 

[davidcalgary29]

You may well experience the same isues with an inTank basket, although I note that the holes in the inTank shelves that separate each chamber are larger than the ones in your picture.

I'd personally remove some of the media in your basket, and run only the floss (as a thinner layer, and possibly in the second chamber of the basket) and some carbon or chemipure. I wouldn't put anything in Chamber Two.

You should also consider upgrading the return pump in Chamber Three -- the Sicce 1.0 is great, and will provide you with sufficient flow that may help you overcome your filtration issues by itself. And do you need an ATO? I find evaporation to be minimal in my two -- I only need to top up once a week even in my Evo where I've replaced the canopy with a mesh lid.

 

[Schulks]

You may well experience the same isues with an inTank basket, although I note that the holes in the inTank shelves that separate each chamber are larger than the ones in your picture.

I'd personally remove some of the media in your basket, and run only the floss (as a thinner layer, and possibly in the second chamber of the basket) and some carbon or chemipure. I wouldn't put anything in Chamber Two.

You should also consider upgrading the return pump in Chamber Three -- the Sicce 1.0 is great, and will provide you with sufficient flow that may help you overcome your filtration issues by itself. And do you need an ATO? I find evaporation to be minimal in my two -- I only need to top up once a week even in my Evo where I've replaced the canopy with a mesh lid.

I should probably just figure out how to make this basket work. It would be a real bummer if I bought the intank and had the same issues.

I just tossed the carbon, some chemi-pure blue, and the giant wad of poly-fil in chamber 2 because I haven't been happy with how my water looks. It is just a FOWLR tank right now and I've been learning to test things and learning why I test for them/what levels for what reasons. I won't normally run the chemi-pure and I'll probably just put in some carbon once every month or 2.
Right now I am just trying to get maximum clarity while I am doing giant water changes to reset my nitrates.

I already have a Sicce 0.5 but shoulda got the 1.0 probably :/. I really need to create a build thread!
I haven't manually topped it off in awhile. I could try it but I am waiting on a fancy acrylic/mesh lid so I won't be using the stock hood much longer. I wanted the ATO to work for super stable salinity but you might be right.

Do you use Poly-fil as floss? I was using some pretty thick pads but I thought it would help with water clarity. Maybe that was the cause even lol

Thanks for the reply btw!

 

[davidcalgary29]

I use cheap filter floss that I bought off of Amazon. It's porous and permeable, and traps detritus while permitting water flow. It worked well enough until I removed it and put an Icecap K1 skimmer into Chamber One. The Fluval PS/2 is, in a word, useless.

You can try to plug the hole in the back wall between the "display" and "sump" areas; this will force more water through Chamber One. Be very careful with this approach, though -- it interferes with the natrual water flow of the tank and can result in emptying Chamber Three if your return is too strong. I did this and blew out a power bar and wall receptacle.

I think you're fine, really; just resist the urge to do too much with the "sump". The Evo is a great little tank, but it is very small, and it's very easy to impede water flow.