Seaclear II 46 gal bow, question

DatDamWuf · Post by **DatDamWuf** » Fri Jan 06, 2006 9:41 am

Does anyone else have one of these tanks with shrimps? In addition to the main filter out take, it has small holes about an inch from the bottom of tank running about halfway across the back. Very strong out take from these, they churn the sand/gravel mix. I thought I had slowed them down by putting some river rock in front and I have bogwood in front of that to keep it from moving the substrate other than close to them.

in trying to spot more of my new shrimp I found a place where I can see a little bit behind the bogwood and it appears over time the vents have created a mixing bowl back there. I fear the shrimps that venture to close are being sucked in. I saw a shrimp that was in distress this morning, swimming upside down and when it got close to this area it was sucked down out of sight.

If you have one of these tanks or any ideas on slowing down these vents I would like to hear from you. I didn't realize they were there until after placing substrate and filling the tank, and then I thought I could mitigate it. This sucks.

prawnman88 · Post by **prawnman88** » Fri Jan 06, 2006 11:57 am

perhaps put sopme sponge over the intake i have 2 wisper 30 60 running on my prawn tank i put some foam over the intake just in case its liek jet engine to them . hope that helps

DatDamWuf · Post by **DatDamWuf** » Fri Jan 06, 2006 12:58 pm

thanks for trying but the filter is a wet/dry. The intake is on the far left upper corner of the tank, it has a small grate that is about a 1/4 inch higher than the water, I am looking for some way to put netting across this due to the kuhli loaches. the main out take is at the far right hand side with the small outtake holes running to the left about 7 inches along the bottom

prawnman88 · Post by **prawnman88** » Fri Jan 06, 2006 2:14 pm

ahhh well maybe badflash or mustafa can help badflash is a bud of mine

DatDamWuf · Post by **DatDamWuf** » Fri Jan 06, 2006 3:20 pm

I hope so, I'm thinking of using plexiglass to stop the water flow but this will mean shutting down the tank and removing all of the bioballs to put it in place and I need figure out how to make sure it stays in place after I do that. I think if I put the plexi in the tank the pressure will just push it out and create a stronger current in an even smaller space. damn I wish I had returned this tank when I discovered the problem but oh no, I was sure I could solve it!

badflash · Post by **badflash** » Fri Jan 06, 2006 7:32 pm

I am not familiar with this tank or filter system, but you might wrap the intake pipe with some bio foam that you can buy in sheets from most pond supply stores. You can get it in several pore sizes and thicknesses. I put this on the intakes of my in-tank pumps and it diffuses the flow so well the shrimp can graze safely on the filter.

You can get glue that will allow you to roll a tube that will fit tightly over the intake, you just use stainless wire to secure it.

DatDamWuf · Post by **DatDamWuf** » Sat Jan 07, 2006 9:37 am

The system has a built in filter/pump - this is how it looks from the back:

http://casco-group.com/system2-water-levels.pdf

here is another pic:

http://casco-group.com/USFS-seaclear.html

in this pic what looks like an opening into the aquarium at top left is not. You can't see in any of the pictures the row of small filter vents along the bottom of the tank, you can only see the main oval outtake on the bottom left and the intake, top right.

Lotus · Post by **Lotus** » Sat Jan 07, 2006 10:27 am

You could try putting some of those plastic canvas squares over the vents. They're available at craft stores or WalMart. They're basically a PVC mesh (fish safe). There's a pic here: http://www.craftdirect.co.nz/product_in ... f801bf9fc8

DatDamWuf · Post by **DatDamWuf** » Sun Jan 08, 2006 7:15 pm

thanks for all the tips, I topped up the water in the tank to the highest level possible and this reduced the turbulance drastically. I think this will solve the issue so long as I am careful to keep the water level high - difficult in winter when I loose as much as a half gallon every 2 days cos the house is so dry! I have electric baseboard heat so the humidity in winter is awful for me and my fish!