AIO Media Basket Issues

[Schulks]

Hello all! I have been struggling to keep my water level constant because of resistance building up in my media chambers and my ATO triggering too much.

It is a fluval 13.5 and I am pretty sure it is the 3d printed media basket. It is made by 3dOcean on Etsy. It works ok so long as I change the floss every other day and keep a bare minimum of filtration in it.

I added Poly-fil to my chamber 2 the other day because my water really needed polishing (probably the baskets fault too). I am trying to keep a nice cascade going into the basket but the poly-fil made the water buildup ahead of my media basket overnight but I did add a lot of the poly-fil. Would an Intank basket likely do the same thing setup like this?

This could be some simple mistake as I am a complete beginner in the hobby and haven't really had anyone to show me the ropes.
Thanks for your help!

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[T-J]

First chamber should be empty and that's where you put your ATO sensor. Second chamber for filtration. At least that's how I've done it with AIO's in the past.
And yes, anything used for "polishing" (small micron filtration) will clog up pretty fast.

 

[SchrutesReefs]

I always used my first chamber for filtration and my return chamber for my ato. But in either case it should help your issue. But I also used a different AIO

 

[Schulks]

First chamber should be empty and that's where you put your ATO sensor. Second chamber for filtration. At least that's how I've done it with AIO's in the past.
And yes, anything used for "polishing" (small micron filtration) will clog up pretty fast.

It is just poly-fil and i just used the term to mean cleaning the small bits in the water.
My media basket is designed for the first chamber and the fluval's design isn't good for chamber 2 baskets sadly.

I think my media basket just has too narrow water flow so the filter pad can clog in 8 hours sometimes and with the design the water flows around the outside of it once it is clogged at all so the smallest specs of detritus go over the pad into the next chamber and back around.

 

[Schulks]

I always used my first chamber for filtration and my return chamber for my ato. But in either case it should help your issue. But I also used a different AIO

It is my water level changing triggering my ato. The water builds up in the Display and the water level stays constant in the back. The ATO works but the filter setup needs maintained more than once a day sometimes.

I am pretty sure it is just the media baskets design. I'm probably gonna order a different one soon.

 

[dannyd_]

I made an AIO tank myself and I have this exact same issue. I was never able to dial in an auto top off system because the water line in the last chamber is constantly fluctuating. I ended up just giving up on it and adding my water manually, and just testing the salinity whenever I feed the fish. I am not sure what the fix is for something like this.