For the last couple days ive noticed a little stream of air coming out of my rena with the water. I watched the tubes and its not sucking air in but its a small steady stream coming out. The canister isnt leaking and seems fine and i dont mind the extra aeration but im concerned its a symptom of something bad about to happen to my filter. any ideas? anyone have this happen before?
Air in my Rena
- Thread starter SemperFish
- Start date
Try tilting the filter back and forth and side to side to get the air out. If that doesn't work, then you might have a seal that is leaking on the filter.
I have seen this on my friends filter exit too, but from him it was somehow periodical, like every minute the filter exit injected a small stream of very tiny air bubbles, the filter still does it, and has been doing it for years now.
Free air injection?
Free air injection?
sometimes after ive serviced the filter it does that a little until it works all the air out. rocking it usually helps with that. when i do it now it spurts a little more air for a couple seconds but then the slight stream just resumes. its been about a week now. Like thomas said, its free air injection, as long as it doesnt turn into free carpet watering im good with it. must be a leak from somewhere because i cant just be making air! at least the leak is inbound not coming out.
SemperFish;3726943; said:
Thats what my friend said too, he think its a joint where there is a little bit of air that can make it in, it won't flow out, because the speed of the water in the tube, will cause the pressure to be lower then the surrounding air pressure, sucking air in.
Might be interesting to turn your filter OFF (and keep all the water in) and see if it leaks then somewhere.
Well I shut it of for a few minutes. No leakage. turned it back on, bubbles are back. Im just going to start telling people that Rena filters automatically upgrade like my anti-virus software. The air inside wont affect my benneficial bacteria will it?
I was having the same issue with my XP3. I emailed Rena and here's their response...
<<Todd, there can be several reasons for air surging. Below are possible cause for this problem.
You will always have at least a half inch of air trapped in the top of the canister, but air surges can happen when the water level in the base drops below the bottom of the filter motor. This can be due to a bad seal or clogged filter media(pads). Your black filter pads can be rinsed and reused monthly. Replace them as needed, but they should last more than six months. The white pad is for water polishing and should be replaced monthly. It cannot be rinsed and reused or it will cause low water flow.
If your filter motor is not at least 24 inches below the top water level of your aquarium, you will have problems with air and poor water flow.
Another problem we have found is that people are filling their canister base with water and then clamping the motor on. This will cause flow problems and leaks, as you may not get a good seal between the motor and canister base, due to the media baskets moving around and not staying in place. Over filling a media basket will cause this same problem. Always fill your canister with water through gravitational siphon, as the directions show.
Any air devices run near the filter strainer or an oversized air pump used on an aquarium may cause the build up of air in the canister and cause air surges as well.
Also check the Quick Disconnect mechanism to make sure that it is seated correctly in the motor housing. An improper connection with the motor can cause air to seep in and cause air surging.
Check the small black plug on the outside of the filter motor, it is located near the power cord. If it has been pushed in too far against the motor housing, it can cause air surges. It is designed to let trapped air vent from the rotor(impeller) area. If the plug is flush with the motor, use a flat screwdriver to back the plug off just 1/32 of an inch. This will allow air to vent from the rotor chamber and may fix the problem.
If you have any other questions or wish to discuss this further, please email back or give us a call at 1-800-847-0659.
Best Regards,
Nathan Fekula
Technical Service and Research
Mars Fishcare >>
I did back out that black plug that they referenced and it did get rid of the bubbles. However, I did back it out more than 1/32 of an inch. More like 1/16.
I knew my filter probably did not have bad seals as its only 1 year old.
Hope this helps.
<<Todd, there can be several reasons for air surging. Below are possible cause for this problem.
You will always have at least a half inch of air trapped in the top of the canister, but air surges can happen when the water level in the base drops below the bottom of the filter motor. This can be due to a bad seal or clogged filter media(pads). Your black filter pads can be rinsed and reused monthly. Replace them as needed, but they should last more than six months. The white pad is for water polishing and should be replaced monthly. It cannot be rinsed and reused or it will cause low water flow.
If your filter motor is not at least 24 inches below the top water level of your aquarium, you will have problems with air and poor water flow.
Another problem we have found is that people are filling their canister base with water and then clamping the motor on. This will cause flow problems and leaks, as you may not get a good seal between the motor and canister base, due to the media baskets moving around and not staying in place. Over filling a media basket will cause this same problem. Always fill your canister with water through gravitational siphon, as the directions show.
Any air devices run near the filter strainer or an oversized air pump used on an aquarium may cause the build up of air in the canister and cause air surges as well.
Also check the Quick Disconnect mechanism to make sure that it is seated correctly in the motor housing. An improper connection with the motor can cause air to seep in and cause air surging.
Check the small black plug on the outside of the filter motor, it is located near the power cord. If it has been pushed in too far against the motor housing, it can cause air surges. It is designed to let trapped air vent from the rotor(impeller) area. If the plug is flush with the motor, use a flat screwdriver to back the plug off just 1/32 of an inch. This will allow air to vent from the rotor chamber and may fix the problem.
If you have any other questions or wish to discuss this further, please email back or give us a call at 1-800-847-0659.
Best Regards,
Nathan Fekula
Technical Service and Research
Mars Fishcare >>
I did back out that black plug that they referenced and it did get rid of the bubbles. However, I did back it out more than 1/32 of an inch. More like 1/16.
I knew my filter probably did not have bad seals as its only 1 year old.
Hope this helps.