This CAN'T Be Good...

[AJ_77]

Turned off my return pump for a few minutes last night. When it started back up, about a week's worth of tiny mysis shrimp pieces came flowing out of the returns! What a cloudy mess! It didn't look to be decomposing - yet - and the fish ate a bunch of it, but what the heck?!?

I have a 1" PVC return that splits to each side of the tank. The right side has 2 outflows, the left a single. Obviously, somewhere is a problem spot (hopefully just one), maybe just enough of a clog to catch some food. I've been feeding via the sump - dropping the food into the last chamber and letting the pump deliver it. But even if I drop the food straight into the tank over top, some will circulate through and get caught. Should I turn off the return pump while feeding until I figure this out?

Thing is, the return system is welded together, from the pump to where the edge of the tank, and it can't come out the back of the stand unless I drain the tank and move it away from the wall - woops. Maybe lacking foresight there...

My first idea was to drain the sump, get a HOT skimmer, and put a plug in the overflow and be done with it. Some more LR, maybe a canister filter...

Any advice??? A super-long pipe cleaner??

Alan :confused:

[Delphinus]

The first thing I would suggest is stop feeding via the sump and letting the return pump be the distributor of food. I feed using a mini-turkey baster and shooting the food towards the intended recipients, plus, I'll take a wad of food and bury it into the sand (for the nass and the worms and the 'pods). I don't like the food to go through any pumps, if it does, then I have to clean out my pumps more often ("more work" == "less good"). Even though some food might go over the overflow into your sump, it's not going to go back into your return pump in anywhere near the numbers high enough to cause a big problem there.

Unless you're getting an ammonia/nitrite spike from the food caught in the return piping (unlikely), I wouldn't go to heroic lengths to clean out the pipes. They get pretty gross anyways over time. So long as there's no restriction in flow, they're OK. What you could do is close off all but two of the returns so that you have the most flow through one output, blast out any lingering crud that might be there; and then repeat for the other two outputs.

Unfortunately I have to get back to work, I'm not really allowed to surf anymore during the day. :( But maybe I can think about this and be able post some more ideas when I get home.

[Canadian Man]

Alan, when i feed my tank i shut the main pump off and just use the current in the powerheads to move food around.

I wouldnt worry about your plumbing too much as long as you shut off the pump before feeding.

Is it pluged now?
If not just make it common practice to turn off the pump before feeding and turn it back on after.

[AJ_77]

Thanks for the advice, gentlemen.

I flushed as Tony said, and saw maybe a tiny bit more. I think the re-start last night was the power flush...

No noteworthy spikes - guess we'll just take care from now on. (Food through the return pump... DOH!!) :rolleyes:

Alan