I don't use that type of drain, BeanAnimal all the way. I'll never go back to anything else.
The only ones that I have seen that are quiet run at really slow rates, and the U over the top has holes in the side of it and there is a breather hole at the top of the pipe to let air in and keep it from flushing, never seen someone run it with a valve. Dunno. Off topic for this thread, might try starting one specifically for your tank (consolidate your threads into one covering all issues)
Green you need to clean the screen completely, and more often. It's dying and falling off.
ok santa when you say clean "completely" do you mean one side down to the canvas or both? should I even see the white mesh when done?
I always clean at least 50% of each side down to the canvas and usually only leave a little bit of growth on the screen, over the canvas. Leave the growth that is in the holes in place. If that growth is coming off easily (i.e. less than 25% of the holes are filled after cleaning) then you are waiting too long between cleanings.
If you clean only one side at a time, then I would not go longer than 7 days between alternate cleanings (14 days growth per side) and then clean all the way down to the mat. Then you will likely have to do at least a "squeegee" cleaning of the other side at the same time.
ok thanks floyd! I dont know if I will be able to go a full 7 days with how fast this thing has been growing lately! I will post pics tonight of my clean screen so stay tuned!
ok ran down and cleaned . look good? looks like a lot of empty holes to me....
My screen looks a lot like yours before I clean. Maybe not as much yellow. But I have some. I'd clean that screen better. Add something to prevent growth at slot. I use a couple of black plastic pieces to shield the slot from light. And that screen looks like it needs to be roughed up a ton more than it is. I sometimes clean mine with the saw blade or hole saw bit to keep good roughness going.
As for overflow I use Herbie style.
All that stuff at the top has to come off too. Light needs to hit the screen.
1) that is about what I thought, the algae isn't staying in the hole for about 50% of the screen, but in the areas that are filled in, it looks very good. So you're OK still, it'll bounce back quickly (it will continue to grow so you won't have a drop in filtration effectiveness)
2) your screen is plenty rough IMO. Roughness only matters until the holes fill in, once the holes are filled in, then algae grows from the stuff between the holes, and since it grows on both sides, it is sort of self-anchoring to a point on a mature screen.
3) I would also clean the screen 100% at the slot pipe and 2 rows down from it, scrub it out with a stiff brush. You may have a flow restriction going on here as well, that can result in dead spots from channeling due to reduced overall flow
4) the areas where you still have a bit of growth (the blobs of green) are fine this time IMO, because your screen needs to recover a bit. But don't let it go too long between cleanings, and next time, clean that area fully.
we are way off topic on this thread, ugh!
ok sorry for the de-rail! lol but thanks for all the help guys!
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