After installing the AQUANEAT Aquarium Bio Sponge Filter in your fish tank, you may find that the current it creates may be too strong for your fish and other aquatic pets. To see how you can reduce its flow rate, you can take a look at this troubleshooting article from Aquarium Blueprints.
1. For the first potential solution, you can try using an air flow rate down on your air pump device if it offers this customization option.
2. If your air pump does not let you change its air flow intensity, then you can try installing an air check valve on the airline tubing that connects the air pump to the AQUANEAT Aquarium Bio Sponge Filter.
You can then be able to tighten the check valve to limit the air flow and, therefore, reduce the current produced by the filter.
Keep in mind that the check valve should fit the airline tubing. Thus, you should look for valves that support the standard 3/16″ diameter lengths used by most airlines.
In our case, we used the check valve that came with our Tetra Whisper Easy to Use Air Pump (for up to 100 gallons).
3. If you don’t have a check valve, then you can try squeezing the airline tubing. By doing so, you should be able to limit the airflow rate. You can use something like a clothespin or try tying the airline tubing in a tight knot.
With that said, you may risk damaging the airline if you aren’t careful. Since check valves are extremely cheap, we recommend going with that method instead.
4. If you don’t clean the AQUANEAT Aquarium Bio Sponge Filter, then it may eventually get too clogged up to the point where the airflow will be restricted.
We recommend that you avoid getting your filter clogged, however, as it may end up damaging the air pump device.
Not to mention that all of the organic wastes that stay on the sponge will end up decomposing and turning into ammonia, nitrites and nitrates. Ammonia and nitrites are very harmful to the inhabitant of your fish tank while nitrates may also cause issues at a high concentration. Therefore, you need to occasional clean the AQUANEAT Aquarium Bio Sponge Filter in order to prevent buildup of these toxins.
