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I'm gonna start by saying that this isn't one of my tanks, it's the tank at my local library. They have a Guppy tank that is way overstocked. I always make a point of checking out the tank when I'm there though. Two weeks ago I noticed that the HOB they have as the only filtration system on the tank wasn't even running. They have one micro bubbler for surface agitation, and I don't even know if the heater is working, but all I remembered to check was the filter. I brought it up to one of the librarians who told me that they don't really know much about aquariums, apparently the person who set up the tank no longer works there. She said she'd look into it. I went back there last night and the filter still wasn't running. It would put out one drip about every second or two, but that's it. I went up to the main desk and after talking with the lady there I'm pretty sure that they don't do water changes, only top offs, and feed them. So I offered to come by and do weekly WC and make sure everything is working properly. She hasn't gotten back to me yet, but assuming they want me to help out, I was wondering what could be the cause of the filter not running? Sorry I forgot to get the model, but I was thinking it could be the impeller. If it turns out that it's just not fixable I'll probably upgrade the filtration on my 20 gallon and give them the filter I'm using now, but I'd like to see if I could fix it. Sorry for the long post, but this is the first time I've had to deal with any filtration problem and I want to do it right. Thanks for reading.

Those librarians! They are in a library. Shouldnt they be smart enuoph to go to the pets section and pick out a book on aquarium keeping? Good for you truestar, someone needs to take care of the tank.
If they have not been performing water changes that probably means that they have not been cleaning the filter too. The impellor and all of the insides are probably all clogged up that they just stopped working. A filter cleaning might clear the problem up.

I'll try cleaning it and if that doesn't work maybe a new impeller. They are supposed to get back to me soon and let me know if it's okay, they sounded like they wanted me to help out. I can't really blame them, there are so many guppies in the tank, they're active and don't appear to be sick, so they probably assume they are fine.

I'm assuming the tank hasn't had a water change in a while, I'll ask them how long ago, but how much water should I change? Just 20%? Or should I do a bigger water change if it's been more than a month since the last one? Thanks for the advice.

Your usually better off getting a new filter if the impeller is bad. It costs a bit to ship a new part straight from the manufacturer. It's sometimes the price as getting a new filter. You could also upgrade the filter then since I doubt it's large enough to handle the stock.

If it's only been a month since a water change 20% is probably fine but it would be a good idea to run at least a nitrate test and if possible ph and hardness to see just how different it is from the tapwater. Tanks in situations like that often go a year or more with just top offs and then your in trouble. The water will be much harder than the tank started with and have very high nitrates. If that's the case then you need to do very small changes like 10% every day or as often as possible until the nitrates are lower and the water is closer to the tap.

As your getting the water under control start netting out the female guppies and finding them a new home. Get all the female guppies and if in doubt remove it. That way eventually they will have a tank of only males that will never overpopulate like that again. Look at the anal fin to see if it's wide, fan shaped(female) or a narrow tube(male). After a little practice you can generally pick out a female from a male before the females are even old enough to get pregnant and while the males have no color.

Thanks Sham, if it needs a new impeller I'll probably give them the filter I have on my 20 and get a new one for my 20. I'd like a better filter due to the fact I have Rams and they need pretty clean water, and the BN I have in with them doesn't exactly help the situation, if you know what I mean. I'm hoping to hear from them soon so I can test the water and decide what's wrong with the filter. I'll ask them about the feeding schedule and such as soon as I can and make sure they are at least feeding them good.

Hi,
I'm not really understanding the whole new filter just
because of a bad impeller. You can walk into darned near
any LFS or even the larger warehouse type pet stores and
get the replacement part for just a couple of bucks.

Take the filter apart, clean the tubes and intake,
replace the media, and hook it back up. I'd only replace
the filter if someone has stuck too small a unit on a
much larger tank.

Frank


-->>> The Confidence of Amateurs, is the Envy of Professionals <<<--

I'm gonna try that, but I'll have to see how old the filter is. I'm pretty sure it's at least 10 or so years old, if it was set up within 2 years of the library opening. If it won't cost more than $10.00 I'll get it, anymore and I may as well give them mine and upgrade my 20 like I'm planning to anyway, it would be better than just throwing out my old one.

No lfs around me carries parts unless it's for more expensive cannisters. Even then I don't think they do. I don't know what a warehouse type petstore is. To get parts for anything I have to order it from the manufacturer. For a small-medium HOB it's not worth it because it comes out to be around $12 and I can get a new one for less than $20. For cannisters it's well worth it and some of the larger hob filters but otherwise after ordering parts a few times I found it's just cheaper to get a new filter if your using an hob on a small tank.

Just checked it. A penguin impeller from marineland is $12.30 plus $9.18 shipping to me. A new penguin filter is $16-$30 or if I was replacing one I'd actually go get an aquatech (same design minus the biowheels) for $5 cheaper and move the biowheels. In some cases with hob filters it does come out much cheaper to just buy a new filter.

hello truestar, sounds like the HOB surely needs a super good cleaning, the impeller is probably clogged with so much sludge that it just can't move the water, highly doubt that the impeller blades are worn to little nubs (unless filter pick-up is nearly burried in sand substrate). myself personally I've never had a stator burn out, but thats not to say it can't or has not ever happened, get everything cleaned out, check the magnet and the ferrels on the top and bottom of the magnet, sometimes the factory glue does not stand the test of time, if that is the case simply add a few drops of your favorite superglue to reaffix the magnet and ferrels being careful not to glue these pieces to the (usually) metal shaft as the impeller and magnet have to spin freely to react to the magnetic field generated by the stator.
a $1 tube of superglue can easily fix dozens of $15 pump impellers.
this may only work with certain pump impellers less than 10 yrs old, anything older than that.... like you mentioned, upgrade your 20 gal. HOB.
hope any of this is/was helpful.

Superglue dissolves in water after a week or 2. It bonds even underwater at first but doesn't last. It's a temporary adhesive when used in aquariums so I don't see how it's going to fix any filter problems. Great for sticking corals down until they attach but not for anything you want to stay stuck together. Found that out first hand when the background I'd glued to the inside of the tank came apart in that area. For permanent use silicone is one of the best choices but requires the objects be dry and left to cure before placing them underwater.

I just got a reply from the library today. They said that I could come down tomorrow, Monday, or Tuesday and see what supplies they have. I'll probably wait until Tuesday to do any actual work in the tank as my arms are covered in poison ivy I got from doing yardwork. Assuming they get better I'll try to do the first water change Tuesday, and see if I can get the filter to work. I'll ask about trying to remove the females, but I'm not sure what I could do with all of them. I'll take some if I can, and see if my LFS will take the rest.

I'll let you guys know if I fix the filter or not, or if replace it. The only good thing I can think of is that at least even if I do have to get another filter, it shouldn't hurt the biological bacteria in the tank because theirs isn't running now anyways. I'll seed the filter with some of my old media once I get the filter to work, or get a new one.

usually a good cleaning will take care of it. The impellor is probably gummed up and just needs cleaning. If an impellor needs to be replaced well, of all the lfs visits I've made around here I've rarely seen impellors. While its true that I have and they do carry them I really don't see them that often. Good luck and kudos to you for takng it upon yourself to help out.

oops, after a few inquires, and research, I guess I should count meself lucky on 2 ways, not having parts or pieces fail after repair with cyanoacrylate adhesives- not having ill or lethal effects on aquaria stock as aparently it can leach toxic chemicals into the water. I certainly did not mean to mislead or misinform anyone.
hope I didn't make too big a fool of myself.

I know of many people who use superglue for all sorts of things in fish tanks, attaching java ferns to driftwood among other things, and don't have any ill effects.

Well, I did my first wc on the tank today. I got the filter working, they just had the flow control knob turned the wrong way. As it turns out, the filter is about 1 year old, and is a Whisper 40. I changed the filter media, and replaced about 3.5 gallons of water. The heater was working fine and the temperature was about 76-78 degrees. I'll be doing weekly wc and filter cleanings from now on. Just thought I'd let you all know that everything went well and that the tank should be in my care from now on. If there are anymore problems I'll ask for your help.