To filter or not to filter?

[Sam_Ashton]

Hi guys!

I have a problem with my filter in that every 10 seconds or so so air is sucked in from the top of the outlet, this air is then sucked through the filter and blown out the other-side.

The problem lies in that somewhere along the line (from the piping or inside the filter itself) what seems to be algae growth or dead organic matter is dislodged and blown back into the tank making it murkey.

I need to wait three/four days for the new part to come. In the mean time should I filter or not?

Surely the water needs to be exposed to the bacteria within the filter in order for the various nutrient cycles to function correctly? And I also think that after a period of time all this loose algae/matter will be dislodged and will stop being spewn out into the tank.... But who knows how long that will take?

Should I take the risk?

Sam

[Cichlid-Man]

I'd keep filtering but i'm not sure i fully understand.

What kind of filter is it? Does it stop all together then go then stop then go? Or it sucks air while still sucking water?

[Sam_Ashton]

Its a Hydror Prime 20 external filter.

And it doesn't stop sucking, continues to pump water/air through.

[Lotus]

Yes, keep it running. The filter media with its bacteria will need to have water pumped through it to keep the bacteria alive.

Once you get the part, it will get back to filtering and clean the tank up, I'm sure.

[nrstype]

Yes.. keep filtering (that is 3 votes FOR filtering so far) You'll upset the balance of the tank if you don't, and things will start dying off, reboot the cycling process and all that.

You've stated you identified the piece, or where the air is coming in from. So, if air is being introduced somewhere in the tubing of the outlet, if you know the source of the leak where the air is being let in, you can seal it with something (aquarium sealant, duct tape, something), anything to occlude the air from getting in.

I also wonder if you have anything that produces air bubbles next to the intake of the filter. Like if you have a water decoration with air, air wand, air stone, or something near the intake of the canister, those air bubbles also can be sucked into the system and expelled out. (I've had this happen before and had to move my air wand that was underneath my substrate.)

However, the brown murky stuff being spewed out in the tank is probably buildup of bacteria/debris inside of the inlet/outlet tubings. Algae usually needs a light source, so I do not believe it is algae. Every once in a while these canister tubings may need to be "snaked" with a special flexible brush to keep them clean (i'm talking every few months or so. I do mine 1 - 2 times per year on my canister).

The air bubble is acting like a scrubber as it passes through the tubing, dislodging the buildup and casting it out. So sounds like a tube cleaning may be in order at some point. Only clean one tube at a time, because you don't want to kill a lot of your bacteria all at once that is growing on those surfaces, or your system could see an ammonia elevation. I clean my intake tubing out one day, then a couple weeks later, clean the return outlet tubing. Then I'm done for about 6 - 8 months or until I see another buildup happening. This doesn't shock the system.

Good luck~