Canister filter issue

[Joshtaylor7700]

Hello,
I recently bought a used odyssea cfs 500 canister filter and it is not working properly. I filled the canister itself with water before turning it on and it worked initially, but after a few seconds, water stopped coming out. I think something is wrong with the water intake, but I'm not sure. Has anyone had similar issues or have any insight into this?

 

[Oughtsix]

When I have simular problems with a canister filter it is almost always air trapped around the impeller. What I usually do is put the output of the canister to a bucket on the same level as the filter or even lower to establish the flow and purge the filter (mainly the impeller chamber) of air and establish the flow of water.

Literally this is "priming the pump"!

 

[Joshtaylor7700]

When I have simular problems with a canister filter it is almost always air trapped around the impeller. What I usually do is put the output of the canister to a bucket on the same level as the filter or even lower to establish the flow and purge the filter (mainly the impeller chamber) of air and establish the flow of water.

Literally this is "priming the pump"!

Thank you so much for the advice. It actually worked as long as the output was kept below the pump. However, during normal operation, I would like the pump to be kept below the tank, out of sight. When I tried this the flow of water stopped again.

 

[Galantspeedz]

i usually encounter this when i try a new canister or i forgot and drained water till below the intake pipe while doing water change. the height of my tank is about 6ft.

What i do is remove the tube from both the intake and output side (tank side) , fill both tubes with as much water as i can, then connect back to the intake and output and on the canister filter.

so far this method has not failed me.

Take note and see if the pump specs allows you to pump to the height you require.

 

[Oughtsix]

I don't think your filter is completely purged of air. I would continue to run the filter into a bucket until you get a heavy stream of water. Use a clean bucket so you can return the water to the tank. If you go through a several gallons of water into the bucket and the canister is not able to pump water back into the tank I would check the impeller inside the filter, something may be blocking it. I am not familiar with the CFS filters so I don't know how likely a blocked impeller might be?

Some of my filters can be primed easier by tilting them on one or more sides to help the air escape while priming. Sometimes I will even hit them when they are on their sides to jar the air loose. Again I don't know the CFS internal layout so I don't know if this will help or not. It is possible that you have a bad filter... but I really doubt it. It really sounds like you have air trapped in the filter.

 

[nossalucard]

Honestly, these Odyssea canisters a really low quality(plastic lids crack easily) canister filters (I have 2) and although I knew it when I bought mine just to tinker, they weren’t being used in a critical scenario.


They are known to be more likely to leak as well(did you grease the orings?), and require "modifications" right out of the box(I did the recommended mods and added a few new ones.

If possible, you'd be better served going with at LEAST a SunSun model, may a 304 or 404. If budget will allow, go with a FX4 or better for high quality.