Is It Okay To Start The Canister When It Is The Same Level As The Tank

[jarthel]

So I cleaned the tank today. not perfect clean! So I decided to test for leaks and I filled the tank. The tank is on the floor right now.

I then decided to see how should I place the spray bar. And now I want to test the filter because I just got a brand new one and I cleaned the old one the tank came with. Both filters are canister and I intend to have them lay on the floor.

Stupid question: Is okay to start the filter this way (i.e. canisters and tank both on the floor)? It's my first time starting one so I'm not really sure what to do. I know the filter works fine if it's underneath the tank.

thanks for the help

 

[Josh16v]

It should work fine.
I had my old tank on the floor with the canister for about a week whilst I was setting up the new one.
No problems with water flow at all.

 

[AdAndrews]

Actually, if the filter is at the same level of the tank, thats when its most likely to be at its most efficiant, filters can only pump to a certain height, so there is absolutely no problems with having it at the same level.

 

[jarthel]

so I first tried the "self-priming" (using a built-in pump) canister. But because the water has to go up again, I cannot fill the canister. Can I just manually fill it with water?

2nd is manual prime canister. The instruction says I can manual remove the primer cap and fill it with water.

Can I just fill the canisters manually and it would work fine? I am unsure if the water can go up the tube. There is a bend in the pipe between the tank and canister (think of drip loop).

thanks again

 

[OldMan47]

It is not a good idea to run a filter with less suction head than the manufacturer recommends. The problem is that the impeller is designed for a particular minimum height of water for it to function properly. Less than this amount can cause pump cavitation, which sounds like the impeller is pumping marbles. Pump cavitation can destroy your impeller in a fairly short time. As far as the discharge head, the subject of Josh16v's post, the impeller in a canister filter only needs to overcome the pressure losses in the piping and filter media, it does not need to overcome the vertical head because the inlet and outlet sides are at the same height. The biggest difference you will see by moving the filter higher and lower compared to the tank level is that when lower, the impeller gets a better suction and pumps slightly better. When first setting up a filter you can indeed impact the flow by making the hoses longer than they need to be. The losses due to flow restrictions going through a hose are quite real.

 

[Josh16v]

so I first tried the "self-priming" (using a built-in pump) canister. But because the water has to go up again, I cannot fill the canister. Can I just manually fill it with water?

2nd is manual prime canister. The instruction says I can manual remove the primer cap and fill it with water.

Can I just fill the canisters manually and it would work fine? I am unsure if the water can go up the tube. There is a bend in the pipe between the tank and canister (think of drip loop).

thanks again

My fluval 304 has one of these pumps, and I've never got the #41#### thing to work.
I just fill the canister up with tank water and switch it on. If the filters mature it might chuck out loads of waste into the aquarium, so stick a sock or something over sprayhead.