View Single Post
  #5   Report Post  
Old 14-09-2004, 04:49 PM
Tom
 
Posts: n/a
Default


"P&L" wrote in message
.. .
Thanks for your informative post, Tom. I definitely have the older sealed
unit. I will try the following: Outside with the hose I will blast out the
current contents. If successful, I will try to sterilize the interior to
kill the nasty bacteria that are in there currently. I have new sand on
order. I am not at all sure how I will get it into the unit but that will

be
the last step. Worth a try. All this make sense to you?

Cheers, Phil



Phil,

Is the sand that is in the filter loose at all or is it pretty much a solid
chunk? If the latter, then you are out of luck trying to loosen it by
running water through it, beating on it, or swearing at it. I tried all
three. I had one running constantly for two weeks and the sand remained as
solid as ever, even though water would run through the filter in small
amounts.

About the only thing you can do to save the filter is cut the acrylic tube
in two, remove the solidified sand and acrylic weld it back together. This
is not difficult to do if you have the means to cut the acrylic body tube
accurately. Weldon #4 acrylic cement will 'glue' the two halves back
together perfectly if the joint is cut smoothly.

When you cut the thing apart, you will see what I mean about the sand
becoming hard as a rock. You can refill the unit, or any FB filter unit,
very easily by merely pouring sand down the 'output' side of the plumbing.
The easiest way, of course, is to just put the sand in when the two halves
are cut apart. This will also allow you to put a couple of handfuls of
coarse aquarium gravel in the filter. It has been found that FB filters
will start up easier after a temporary shutdown (power failure for example)
with this gravel base in the unit. The heavier gravel stays at the bottom
of the unit and is first to settle when the filter is shut down, keeping the
finer sand from compacting itself around the water outlet in the bottom of
the filter.

I have 4 or 5 of the newer model Sea Storm filters with the removable top
that I refurbished with new o-rings and media. These are the ones that take
one pound of media and will filter a 125 very nicely. If all else fails
trying to fix your existing unit, drop me a note and I'll sell you one of
these if you just gotta have a working Sea Storm FB filter. You can
contact me at seaskate32043 at yahoo dot you-know-what.

Tom