Amiracle wet/dry questions

[rdracer66]

Hi all just got a 55 gallon tank with a amiricle wet/dry and i know i have it setup right and I k now once everything is setup u dont really want to mess with it but........ i wanted to just up the temp on the heater and stuck my hand/arm in there and next thing i know i lost the suction this is the system that has the overflow hanging on the back that goes under inside the stand with the bio balls and then gets sucked out the other side up a tube that returns the water
now i know he said he tweaked it a little ?
not sure what he tweaked but he said it was for that incase u lose power that it wont over flow, my problem is this thing is so sensitive is th ere a way i can make it work better?
i mean i barely put my arm in and it lost suction, i am getting to be a pro at putting that J tube back in thats for sure
also a problem is that when i feed the fish a lot of it ends up getting sucked up by the filter, i have figured out something that helps a lot which is that i have some wet stones ? those things that bubbles come out of and i have 2 12in along the back wall with a carb on it so when i feed them now i shutdown the left side and crank up the right side and that seems to help a lot keeping the food out of the filter but not completely
any help would be appreciated

Rd

 

[dattack]

Are you talking about the overflow box?  It should not  lose siphon if it's a good overflow box.  I have an amiracle and it usually doesn't fail me.
That's scary to think that it has lost ?suction/siphon.  Even if the pump goes dead, the suction or siphon from the U tube shouldn't be loss.

Are you sure you are setting this up correctly? ???

 

[rdracer66]

To the best of my knowledge im setting it up right
and yes it is the overflow im talking about with the J tube
I mean how hard cannot it be to set it up right ?
u have the box down below with the bio balls
and the return pump, which goes to a hose that goes up to a pvc type of a T junction that goes in the tank then from the bio balls up to the over flow, i did hear those J tube's that i have suck ! and to get something else like a cps or something?
i also seen it on thatfishplace.com but its like 90$ i just spent way more than i planned getting this up and running, I wish i did set it up in correctly but i dont see where i could have not set it up prorperly  i'll see if i can get some pictures posted of the over flow setup

Rd

 

[dattack]

The cheap amiracle overflow is much better than the CPR!

The best overflow is www.lifereef.com

There must be something wrong in you setup because I have had the amiracle overflow for a year and it hasn't lost siphon.

 

[rdracer66]

Can you tell me then Dataak what am i doing wrong ?
what are the steps u have taken ?
maybe i'm missing a part or something ?
also how do u feed your fish ? i can't turn the power off or i lose the suction so what i've been doing this week since this is the first week for the fish, i have 2 dry stones ?
the thigns that bubbles come out of well i have 2 12in sticks
on the back glass one on each side and I turn the one on the R side where the overflow is alll the way up !!!
then on the left side i turn it off and put the food in there and they seem to get most of it before it starts to wind up toward the overflow !
any ideas are always appreciated, It doesnt look like its that hard im not sure what i could possibly be doing wrong ?
only thing i can think of is that im missing a part or a part isnt strong enough ?

Rd

 

[dattack]

I believe you place the U tube in the wrong compartment.  When I turn off the pump, the suction holds.  That's the purpose of a good overflow box.  
If you look at the back of your overflow box, there are usually two compartments.  One is for the water to drain to the sump and the other one is for the U tube compartment.  It is divided by an acrylic piece.  If you put the U tube in the compartment that is not draining and when you turn off the pump, the siphon is maintained.  When you turn on the pump, the it starts up again.

I think this is your problem.
Check to make sure the U tube is in the compartment that doesn't have a bulkhead in the bottom.

 

[rdracer66]

I think maybe that is the problem
because i have the sponge and the u tube on the left side where it drains, I have become a pro at getting that tube in there, but i just tried a few min ago to get it on the Rside
and i simply cannot get it in there !!!
u s ure it goes on that side ?
the side that is fulll with water ?

Rd

 

[dattack]

Yep.  I have an amiracle.

Make sure you fill the right side with water first to fill it up.  Place U tube on the right side.  It should fit perfectly and you need a air tube to place inside the U tube to start sucking up water to start a siphon.  
You see when the power goes out, the water in the right side is still there and both ends of the U tube is still underwater meaning it doesn't lose siphon.

Go for it.  That's how it's supposed to be setup not having the U tube in the area of the sponge.  Trust me, I have the same setup as you.

 

[dattack]

LOL.  Why would they make a right sided compartment if it doesn't do anything other than hold a little water.  Trust me, it fits.  I have a inch U tube on the amiracle overflow.  I had the instructions for it and it says on the right side.

 

[rdracer66]

I totall y belive u, once i started thinking about it
it completly made sense but do u put the sponge on the left or on the right and then the tube inside the sponge
and wahts this air thing u are talking about ?
i dont think i have that part?

Rd

 

[rdracer66]

Ok i think i got it
got lucky i think !
hopefully the sponge is suppose to be on the left side
and just the tube on the R side, not sure of the hose t hing u talk about but i was able to get the tube over quick enough
and it appears to be flowing smoother, however the return tube for some reason is blowing bubbles now ?
not enough water maybe ?

Rd

 

[dattack]

Hmm.  THe sponge should cover the hole or bulkhead which drains to the sump.  It is there so food and debris gets trapped.  It's called a prefilter.

There is no need to quickly move the U tube from left to right.   ;D

I think your technique is wrong for some reason.  It appears you are spending a lot of time starting up this puppy.  

How do you start your siphon BTW?  
This is the instructions for the Amiracle.  Does it look like the picture in this link?

http://www.galaxymall.com/animals/aquariumcrazyfish/filtwetdry.html

First place the U tube into the right chamber of the overflow box.  Fill the right chamber fully with water.  Try to place a small airline tubing in the U tube starting with placement on the airline on  the outer overflow box of the right chamber.  Put the airline directly at the top curve of the U tube.  Suck all the air out and your siphon should start.

 

[rdracer66]

Yes the 2nd pic down from the top on that link looks just what i have, i checked the u tube again and it is flowing well
from that luckky stab at putting it in there, but i can see towards the bottom after the curve a air bubble and i dotn feel like shutting her down to find out if it worked
so im going to risk it and go to bed hopefully all will still be well in the morning i tried that suction thing before your last reply thinking thats what u meant but i couldnt get the flow to start just sucked water is what i ddid lol
thanks for the help if u can find the link to the actual instructins i'd appreciate it

Rd

 

[dattack]

Hmm, I can't sleep with a nasty overflow problem.  Just afraid of floods!

Here is an image with a dual overflow.  

As you can see the U tube goes into that small compartment.  Hang the overflow onto your aquarium.  Make sure that small compartment on the right of your overflow is filled with water.  Make sure the black inner overflow is filled will water.  Suck the air like you did before to get all the air out.  Start up the pump.  The pump will fill the tank where in the inner overflow will fill up. This fills up the U tube.  The U tube then sends water to the left side of your overflow.  You are doing it right but you must turn on the pump at around the same time you suck out of the air.

 

[rdracer66]

It's in the basement so not reallllllllly a huge problem
but i'm safe from floods the guy i got it from altered the return tube so that if i lose power or anything like that
only enough water will go back in to fill the botoom part
not enough to over flow unless i put too much water in the tank
thanks for all the help, i'll try it again tomorrow
and see what happens when i shut it down if i lose the flow or not, that way i can turn it off when it's feeding time !

Rd