HagenKB

BioLife Surge

Why Does my BioLife Surge

Why Does my BioLife Surge
The common problem for this is that the inserts have become dirty and the filter simply cannot supply enough water to the pump to allow it to run constantly full of water.

There are few other explanations that can be used, the water path is rather restricted in the BioLife to ensure that thorough cleaning is done before the water is dripped though the drip tray screen at the top of the "dry" chamber. In many cases where the surging occurs, the media is re-used more than once. Although this is fine for the foam, and I personally encourage this, with the rider that the foam be rinsed well every time and if any deterioration is found, the foam be replaced as well. The carbon cartridge is not in the same category, it must be replaced regularly. Even when it appears clean, there is a lot of debris permanently caught in the duo-density polyester screen, and the carbon is usually fully deactivated after a couple of weeks anyway. The combination of the foam and cartridge strains the water to a much greater degree than most other filters, this is to ensure that water delivered to the ceramic core and hex-nodes or Bio-Max is as pure as possible. Unlike most other trickle style filters that rely on a vast volume and very loosely packed material, the ceramic core offers an enormous surface area in an extremely compact volume. Dirt and debris trapped in the core will tend to decay rapidly and can cause a reduction in efficiency of the nitrification.

You mention that the unit does run fine for a few days then starts to surge. I have found this to be common in newer reefs and other tanks that have not had a chance to remove the really fine debris at the beginning. In some cases, the BioLife takes out so much more that it does take a few weeks of rapid media cleanings to get the tiny clogging stuff out before the unit will run for a more appropriate time frame without needing filtration media maintenance.

I know you are probably quite anxious to have the filter run the way it should, so I suggest removing the cartridge for a little while. Allow the foam to become clogged on the rapid rotation and clean it thoroughly every time it starts to surge. The duration between surging should become longer, and then the second cartridge, the Duo-Density carbon should be placed in the filter and changed as it once again begins to surge. Over time the duration will once again become longer as the filter "super cleans" the smaller particles that normally are not removed by other filters. As the water becomes purer, the life of the media extends and the surging, which really is an indicator the filter has removed its full capacity of dirt from the system, will come at much greater intervals. Once the water is clean and pure for the filter, you should go back to changing the media as directed, remember, the carbon's life is not very long, so even if the system does not surge, the media will probably need replacement at the standard intervals we recommend in the packaging.

Another way to reduce the problem is really a matter of what the tank is like and how much flow is needed. I rarely recommend a person use two BioLife filters on an aquarium, preferring to suggest a complementary filtration such as Fluval or AquaClear to do some of the waste removal job before the dirt can get in to the BioLife to cause problems. Over time the BioLife catches up with dirt production in the aquarium and does a good job of removing the wastes created in the tank, however, additional filtration to mechanically remove the wastes before they get into the BioLife does tend to lengthen the period between surging.

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