Yeah I'm bout ready to quit... another fiasco

[juliethegr8t]

I'm so sick of my bad luck when having to do with fish. I really am. Tonight just topped it all off. I thought the leaky tank was the final straw but noooo tonight's events were. The filter on my main largest tank just decided it would up and stop working. Isn't that nice of it? It's a Pengiun Mini and all was good, till I come in and realize it's sittin there makin engine noise and that's about it. I tried EVERYTHING, and I mean everything, to get it back to work. I was practically panicking. The motor makes noise, the impeller spins, but there's not any suction, and no water is being moved up the intake tube. I have no clue why, searched my owner's manual, cleaned it, moved everything around, tried it over and over. I am SOOOOOOOO freaking frustrated. Why does all this happen to me?! grrr.

Anyways, for tonight, I made due with what I have. Put the filter (installed in the hood so that was an interesting set up fittin it on a different tank) from my 6 gallon in the 10, and stuck the Whisper filter from my 2.5 betta tank in the 6. I figure the betta needs a filter the least, so that's what I did. I'm so scared of losing all my beneficial bacteria from the Mini Filter, so I put some filter media in the tank to start "collecting". BAH! Sorry this is a terrible vent, I just feel like screaming. I'm so frustrated. I guess I get to go drive 45 min tomorrow to pick up another filter, and of course I don't have the receipt for the other one, so whoopee that's me out another.... oh I don't know how much money, but too much moolah for my college budget. Neways, I'll let you all know how things work out.

 

[AllusiveLife]

Oh no, wow. How long did you have it for...? Gosh, wow bad luck. Well I wish you the best blessings...

 

[Moe]

Hi - I'm so sorry!!! Don't quit!!! OK here is a piece of shady advice you can take if for what it is worth. After you buy the new filter bring the old one back with the new one's receipt.
(OK stop looking at me like that I said it was shady advice).
Good luck with your fish.

 

[tribalsilver_shark]

are you sure its broken for 3 days mine wouldnt work exact same prob span made noise nothing

its external mine and i have in and out i had to SUCK hard thru the OUT
to suck water into the filter to start it pumping im sure this may be whats wrong
it may have trapped air or just not sucking as there no water inside


if its external our yuo can suck thru the pipe pls try that

 

[Inchworm]

So sorry to learn of your filter problem, juliethegr8t.

But you thought fast and the important thing is that your fish (and probably your bacteria, too) will be ok.

I don't have much good to say about filters these days. I have external power filters on all my tanks and it seems like one or the other is always acting up. Regular cleaning is the best thing to keep them running, but since you want to keep the bacteria going, you can't do that too often, either.

On a more positive note, perhaps when you get to the lfs (not so local in your case) you will see a fantastic fish that you just can't do without. That might make it all worthwhile.

 

[guppymonkey]

On a more positive note, perhaps when you get to the lfs (not so local in your case) you will see a fantastic fish that you just can't do without. That might make it all worthwhile.

Impulse buying is a terrible idea! Especially since her filter isn't working. After getting a new filter a new biofilter must be established. This will take time and the fish will be stressed. Wait to get new fish.

 

[Rose]

I had a Marineland canister filter on my 55 when I first got the tank. Worked great for the first month after that it was nothing but problems. Tank was always sick and filter never worked the way it should have. I eventually figured out that the reason why my tank was always sick was the filter. Bought a new one and my tank hasn't been sick since. I learned a lesson with that tank. The lesson is this...always, and I mean always have a second filter up and running on any tank. This way if you need to QT a fish or a filter breaks you have a back up already cycled with good bacteria since its been in a tank already. If you look in any of my tanks you will notice I have 2 filters in ALL of them. I have the main filter and then I have a powerhead with a sponge attachment on it. When I need another filter I just take the powerhead and sponge attachment out of the tank and put it in the tank that needs it. If it's a QT tank after I medicate or what ever I nuke the powerhead and sponge and set it up in the tank that it came out of originally and by the time I need it again it's all bio-buged up and ready to go. If I need one before the one I just used is ready I'll take it out of one of the other tanks. It will save you a lot of headaches and stress in the future if you do this. You don't need to spend a whole lot on the extra filter.

Rose

 

[teknikz]

surely she can get another fish......and i wouldnt say it was impulsive buying......i quite often go out to buy stuff from a lfs and come back with at least 1 fish....coz i know that ive got room for it in my tank

as for the filter.......she can put the filter media from her old filter inside the new 1.....so the filter will infact be established and there shouldnt be a problem with addin more fish

sorry to hear of all ur problems julie.....im sure it'll get easier and cheaper soon

Tek

 

[reg2k2]

When my filter runs dry, it does as u describe. I put a bit of water in the propeller well (?), and it starts to prime. At least, it sounds like what mine does...

 

[Cstratton7]

On my penguin 125 i have to feed it water until it completely primes. I didn't know the first time i used mine that i needed to feed it water because my old one had self priming.

 

[juliethegr8t]

Thank the Lordy I actually have good news. My mom called Marineland today and they gave her a bit of advice that we tried, and it sort of worked. We cleaned out all the places the impeller spins on, and soaked the impeller in a limeaway type cleaner. Now it works - beats me which it was that made it work, or maybe it just liked having the night to rest, haha, but I'm psyched either way. Don't gotta go buy a new one, yippee! But I did decide that I'm gonna go take a trip to the fish store sometime this week to buy something to cheer myself up. I still haven't stocked my 6 gallon tank, so I'm gonna go check things out and hopefully bring some new friends home. I love the looks of sunset platies, so maybe I'll get a few of those, or who knows, maybe some corys, or a dwarf gourami. Obviously I haven't decided yet! Anyways, thank you so much guys for all the support, it was just what I needed. *hugs*

 

[Liz05]

Filters can be VERY stubborn things. I have a simple whisper 20-30, and I love it. Keep messing with it, it can make you want to scream but it doesn't always work like its supposed to.

 

[Mollymomma]

@ Moe.... hey been there done that.. I figured the store sold me the crappy filter to begin with and too many sick fish... justice I'd say.


Julie ,

I'm glad to hear everything worked out well for you. I am thinking about Rose's suggestion on the duel filters...I may add extras when I have spare cash.


Rhonda