Emporer 280 problem

[h8z2luze]

Well it pumps good and flows nice but the actual filter cartridge is acting like its plugged. The water just runs over it. Maybe cause the water is flowing to fast? But it flowed through the cartridge ok when it was new. The tank has been setup about 2 months. I took the filter out and swished it around in tank water and poured tank water through is from both sides. I am out of ideas..

 

[mfdrookie516]

thats the thing i really dont like about using the cartridges they make for hob filters... and the thing i love about canisters. Once you rinse them a few times, im assuming its the carbon inside, get so plugged up, they have to be replaced... using some filter floss will help, since there is nothing in the middle of it, and you can just squeeze it out real good in a bucket of water... other than replacing the cartridge with that, imo, there is nothing else that can be done

 

[h8z2luze]

What is filter floss? Would it be ok to replace it? It has the Biowheel I just dont want to have it cycle...

 

[mfdrookie516]

well you can buy it at the fish store, or you can buy it at fabric stores... i cant remember the name of it (sorry, i dont sew), but im sure somebody'll tell you the name of it. Im thinking its the same stuff they put in quilts. anyways, if you replace the cartridge, you just wanna watch your parameters. you gotta replace it at some point anyways, might as well replace it with something you can rinse... thats the ONLY thing i like about the whisper filters... the bags are easily rinsed... everybody else should have followed their lead

 

[cabezon]

I put stuff into my media baskets. i believe the 280 has one. an empth pbasket that slides into the area in front of the filter. Gravel, rings, something. That way can rinse the filters in the old tank water. the blue fuzz on the filter pad will clog quickly with algae for me. The filter floss MFD was talking about is polyester fiber fill. the stuff that they stuff pillows with. Walmart has it in the cloth section in the back for $2 a bag. I stuff some in front of the filter once in a while to help get the water clear and save on replacing the cartridge.

IMHO the cartridge is BS. You dont need to run carbon in a tank, and the biologicals are supposed to be on the biowheel. so the cartridge is just for particle filtration.

 

[h8z2luze]

Ok cool so just replacing it wont hurt as long as there is the biowheel right?

 

[BigJim]

You might see a small cycle happen. I found that Marineland cartridges clog up ridiculously fast. Fill the media basket with either filter floss or filter sponge. It's cheaper and requires less work than cartridges. You can probably get a second media basket for extra filtration.