Emperor 400 Filter intake sucking up fish.... :(

MemnochsKat

MemnochsKat

Large Fish
#1
Apr 3, 2007
323
0
0
Knoxville Area
#1
I have a newer 30 gallon freshwater tank. It is currently the joy of my life and is populated by platys.

My problem is that the intake for my Emperor 400 is sucking up my baby fish. I don't have any fry in the tank, but several smaller fish. I have to turn the filter off to allow the poor guys to become free again. This morning I got up and found on of the larger fish stuck to it. I had to isolate him because he was to weak to swim away from the filter when I turned it back on.

The platys all came from a well established tank, which my friend owns. He uses the same filter...

Any ideas on how to prevent my precious fishies from getting stuck to the intake?

P.S. For those of you familiar with the Emperor 400. I have the mid water intake closed off as it was also sucking up my fish. *GOLDFISH*
 

f8fan

f8fan

MFT Staff
#2
Nov 19, 2004
1,765
8
38
Bangor, Maine
#2
I have the same one. I never seem to have problems with fish getting stuck to the intake, tho...it's usually just plants that get sucked onto it if I place them too close to the intake. Have you tried adjusting the flow on the top lever to lessen the power? For a 30 gallon tank, that's a mighty filter.*thumbsups
Most healthy fish are strong enough to dislodge themselves from the intake if they get attached, but fry, hmm. That's a tough one. Maybe try covering the intake with piece of cut up nylons & a rubber band? Or stuff a small piece of sponge inside the intake?
 

Balance

Balance

Large Fish
#3
Jul 16, 2003
481
0
0
49
Aurora, IL
www.myspace.com
#3
ive got a penquin 200 in a 20G tank, that houses a betta and some bamboo shrimp.

no-one was getting sucked in, but the flow was just way too much for the betta to handle.

so I shoved a piece of wite filter material into the intake, works like a charm. slowed the flow and no-one can get sucked into the intake :D

f8fan's idea of the nylons and runner band would work well also. ive done something similiar using a filter media bag instead of nylons.

I think the partially blocking the intake would help the most. since that will slow down the intake as well as block it a bit.
 

cchase85

cchase85

Large Fish
#4
Jun 6, 2006
446
0
0
38
New England
#4
The fish aren't really sick, are they? I haven't specifically observed the suction of an Emperor 400, but IME fish don't have much of an issue with even very powerful suction as the draw just isn't that much on a healthy fish... it's hard to get much of a vaccuum on anything unless you are covering it's entire intake.
 

FroggyFox

FroggyFox

Forum Manager
Moderator
#5
May 16, 2003
8,589
10
38
42
Colorado
#5
I agree...most healthy fish do not have issues getting stuck to any filter intakes. If your filter does have a flow adjustment I'd adjust it. Otherwise maybe you need to have a more appropriate filter for the tank. Putting something to block the flow of your filter can burn it out because of the added resistance. If you put a sponge over the intake it might help...but again, I don't really think it should be a problem in the first place.
 

s_anthony

s_anthony

Large Fish
#8
Aug 13, 2006
264
0
0
Pittsburgh, PA
#8
Does adding a sponge to the intake make the motor work harder to get the same amount of water - is there a chance of causing it to kill it because of that ? - just curious.... or is it just going to keep sucking as usual no matter what water it takes up...
 

T

tropicalfish

Large Fish
#9
Oct 15, 2006
525
2
0
#9
Add something to the intake... or start low flow on one day, wait a few days, increase the flow slightly... repeat every few days by increasing flow slightly... the fish probably never were used to the strong flow...
 

Dadstank

Dadstank

Large Fish
#12
Nov 4, 2006
162
2
0
Minnesota
#12
I would use some plastic screen kinda balled around the intake. It will add more area to the inward draw lowering the "suction" strength per square inch.

Makes me think of a K&N air intake on my old eclipse :)
 

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