Can't Get Syphon Going

[MermaidMel]

on my fluval 405 been pumping for ages at it, any ideas?

 

[Neesmo]

Any possibility there is air getting in somewhere?
I dont know anything about fluval filters but do you have to fill the canister before attaching the hoses?
Sorry not very helpful lol

Kyle

 

[MermaidMel]

Any possibility there is air getting in somewhere?
I dont know anything about fluval filters but do you have to fill the canister before attaching the hoses?
Sorry not very helpful lol

Kyle

No you syphon it from dry and it's supposed to draw water in and then when it's full you plug it in, I have checked for air

 

[minxfishy]

I found with my old 305, its easier to 2/3rds fills it, before trying to syphoning and although your supposed to wait until its fully filled, turn it on, then start plunging the silly silver bit to get it fully working.

Its one of the reasons I dont use fluval externals anymore to much of a pain to get them going.

 

[MermaidMel]

I had to manually syphon it by sucking the water through the out pipe, then got it going, now the thing's leaking grrr

 

[MermaidMel]

And it's whistling too, bloody 2nd hand units, not worth the hassle is it
Anyone know why it would be whistling?

 

[Liam50]

And it's whistling too, bloody 2nd hand units, not worth the hassle is it
Anyone know why it would be whistling?

ermm sounds like possibly a air bubble trapped in the impeller? try shutting the outlet hose for around 2-3 seconds then open it up again. this is what i do on my fx5 to remove any "gushing" water noises.

 

[OldMan47]

Whistling could be the flow of air past a very small leak on the suction side of the unit. It could make the seal vibrate and whistle much like happens when you make a sound with a piece of grass held between your thumbs. It seems to me that you need to get the thing sealed properly and that would both make it easier to prime and cut off the noise. I keep reading about people using petroleum jelly to seal the seals on canisters. So far I haven't needed to try that with my Renas but the oldest one is only 7 years old.

 

[Aaron89]

check the rubber gasket is correctly fitted around the lid of the filter, it doesnt sit in the grove it sits around the edge, if need be i take a photo of the instruction manual and upload 2mo.

i had this problem, i didnt fit the gasket quite right and soaked the room. once its fitted correctly and the lid snaps on and shuts securely try pumping it again and u shud hear it fill up once it seems quiet plug it in

 

[arron]

when mine makes a niose i bash it about a bit ...... main thinkin is that it's got air init ...... maybe the impeler is on it's way out

 

[MermaidMel]

It stopped whistling but has been set up nearly a week and is still humming a bit and still chugging out air bubbles, is it the impeller that needs replacing or the whole motorhead?

 

[OldMan47]

If you are still getting bubbles after a week, you have an air leak somewhere that you still haven't found. There is only so much air that you can consider having come from the initial filling of the filter. One place to look in most arrangements is at the joints on the inlet tubing. You could try wrapping any joints with tape to seal them and see if wrapping one of the joints makes the air flow stop. That would be the joint to investigate further.

 

[raptorrex]

It stopped whistling but has been set up nearly a week and is still humming a bit and still chugging out air bubbles, is it the impeller that needs replacing or the whole motorhead?

or, possibly the filter?

 

[MermaidMel]

Funny thing was, it wasn't chucking out air bubbles for the first week after I set it up, then it started doing it yesterday, also the impeller sounds like it's running dry (only quieter) even though the canister is full of water and pumping correctly. Have checked all joins for air, it's puzzling to say the least!

 

[OldMan47]

That is indeed a puzzle Mel. Maybe there is a gasket or similar item that is causing a leak on the inlet side of you filter. Noise that indicates a suction leak means that you have yet to figure out where to look for the air leak. That is not a condemnation of your search but a hint that the source of your air must be on the inlet side of the flow path. Air will not accumulate anywhere on the discharge side of the impeller and an impeller problem will be far from silent. An inlet air leak will give occasional noisy symptoms and will give the bubbles you have been seeing. The possibilities are a filter casing leak or a inlet tubing leak. If you have eliminated the possibility of one, you need to look to the other possibility for your problem. I wish there were more I could do to really help you find your problem. Unfortunately, the best I can give you is hints of where to look.