need help with landscaping!!!

gcollin · Jul 9, 2009

I remodeled my tiger salamanders tank last night, with more live plants, a bigger water bowl, and a water fall! The waterfall was working today but just now stopped. I can hear it trying to push water, but it won't. I think my salamander pooped next to it, and then it sucked up the poop and clogged. So, how do I get the poop out? It has no screws or any way to open it (that I can see).

jclee · Jul 9, 2009

Make sure you turn it off ASAP. If it keeps struggling to run without water pumping through it, there's a good chance you'll burn out the motor. If there's really no way to dismantle it, you might try scraping the water intake tubes/parts out with a pipecleaner, which will remove any "muck" that's in there. (Stores with decent aquarium supplies sell brushes for this purpose that you can use if you've got one handy, but a pipecleaner works in a pinch.)

Beyond that, I might need to know more about the filter. Unfortunately, many of them are made to be replaced, rather than fixed, when problems arise. Good luck.

Kaysie · Jul 10, 2009

I'm confused as to why you have a water feature in your tiger salamander tank. Adult tiger salamanders are fully terrestrial, and need nothing more than a basic water dish.

Jennewt · Jul 10, 2009

Salamander poop isn't tough enough to clog a pump. But stray pieces of substrate might do it. You might also try spraying the pump with a strong spray of water (while unplugged, of course).

gcollin · Jul 10, 2009

Kaysie it is a show tank.

Jennewt it was making a funny noise (like it was really trying to start) but it stopped now.
Would a spray bottle be enough to unclog it or not?.

:kill:

Jennewt · Jul 10, 2009

I wasn't thinking of a spray bottle. I was thinking of a faucet running full tilt. Perhaps with a finger used to restrict the faucet flow into a small, powerful stream.

gcollin · Jul 11, 2009

Ok thanks, I will try this tonight when i feed my pets.

Kaysie · Jul 11, 2009

If you didn't unplug it, and it has 'stopped making noise', sounds like the motor's burnt out. Most (all?) aquarium pumps and filters are water-cooled, and without water running through them, they easily overheat and burn out.

And it still concerns me about having a waterfall in a tank. Tiger salamanders have been known to drown in even shallow water features. If you have a water feature big enough to have a waterfall, it sounds dangerous.

gcollin · Jul 27, 2009

I finally fixed the dang thing but now have no use for it,

but thats life.

-Collin

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