New here with some questions...

[Ryu Hayabusa]

Hey guys just joined the forum! I converted my African cichlid tank to Central/South American. I have do have a question for everyone. I just replaced my two back filters with a Fluval 406. The back filters were great but I needed something a little bit more quieter. First time dealing with a canister. I had the hardest time priming it. Matter fact I couldn't. I've researched and tried everything. Sucking the tube for any air locks, made sure everything was tight, aligned etc. I finally gave in and filled the canister with water ( I believe you're not suppose to and should prime to fill the canister) Anyway the canister looks like it's working. No noise with the output pushing air out. Here's my concern-

1- I don't know if my intake is actually working because I don't feel any suction
2- can the output work without the intake not properly working? Are they two separate functions? Can one work without the other?

Been an hour and water is not cleared up yet.

Thanks in advance!

 

[davenmandy]

Not being clean within an hour is normal I'd say, depending of course.

Try putting your canister mid way up the tank if you can (put on a table) while you prime, then siphon into a bucket. Gravity fed will help you. Once it's in the bucket steady then place output in tank.

If you want to see how much output you are getting take a 5 gallon bucket an see how long it takes to fill up and do the rough math.

 

[Ryu Hayabusa]

Not being clean within an hour is normal I'd say, depending of course.

Try putting your canister mid way up the tank if you can (put on a table) while you prime, then siphon into a bucket. Gravity fed will help you. Once it's in the bucket steady then place output in tank.

If you want to see how much output you are getting take a 5 gallon bucket an see how long it takes to fill up and do the rough math.

 

[Ryu Hayabusa]

I've tried everything. I place it a few inches higher get the cords so they're straight as much as possible. Sucking the water out with my mouth for air locks. So I'm worried about not getting any intake just the output working, if that makes sense..

 

[koltsixx]

I've tried everything. I place it a few inches higher get the cords so they're straight as much as possible. Sucking the water out with my mouth for air locks. So I'm worried about not getting any intake just the output working, if that makes sense..

It's impossible for the filter to output water without intaking water from the aquarium, where else would the water come from? If it was just the water you put in the canister it'd stop once it ran out but IME that's not even possible. With all the canisters I've run the motor alone isn't enough to push the water up the line and out the filter.

You mention placing "it" higher to make the cords straight. What are you referring to as "it"? The Canister? And do you mean hoses instead of cords? Canisters as far as I know work with gravity so the higher/closer they are to the aquariums water level the worse the flow through the Canister should be. So while yes you want straight hoses to make flow as unrestricted as possible you also don't want the filter too high. You also didn't mention what position your keeping your flow valve at. The valve is the black lever above the silver one that locks the hoses in place. It controls flow rate of the water so if it isn't all the way open that might be a problem. As far as suction goes though I personally don't feel it unless I remove the intake strainer and mostly cover it with my finger. Though as I said if water is coming out the filter into the aquarium then you don't need to do that to tell water is being taken in.

 

[Ryu Hayabusa]

It's impossible for the filter to output water without intaking water from the aquarium, where else would the water come from? If it was just the water you put in the canister it'd stop once it ran out but IME that's not even possible. With all the canisters I've run the motor alone isn't enough to push the water up the line and out the filter.

You mention placing "it" higher to make the cords straight. What are you referring to as "it"? The Canister? And do you mean hoses instead of cords? Canisters as far as I know work with gravity so the higher/closer they are to the aquariums water level the worse the flow through the Canister should be. So while yes you want straight hoses to make flow as unrestricted as possible you also don't want the filter too high. You also didn't mention what position your keeping your flow valve at. The valve is the black lever above the silver one that locks the hoses in place. It controls flow rate of the water so if it isn't all the way open that might be a problem. As far as suction goes though I personally don't feel it unless I remove the intake strainer and mostly cover it with my finger. Though as I said if water is coming out the filter into the aquarium then you don't need to do that to tell water is being taken in.

 

[Ryu Hayabusa]

Sorry let me clarify some things, forgive me it was late about 2:30am over here.

1-Yes I definitely meant "hoses" nor chords.
2- I messed around with hoses to see if it made a difference at all in priming, no luck.
3- I tried raising the canister about 4 inches off the floor but haven't put it on anything higher to see if it made a difference.
4- I put the motor in a bucket and primed it, finally success but once it went back into the body, the priming stopped.

Good to know that the intake is working, NOW I have another problem.... The canister turned my water orangy!! What do I do? Is there something wrong with the canister itself?

 

[koltsixx]

Sorry let me clarify some things, forgive me it was late about 2:30am over here.

4- I put the motor in a bucket and primed it, finally success but once it went back into the body, the priming stopped.

Good to know that the intake is working, NOW I have another problem.... The canister turned my water orangy!! What do I do? Is there something wrong with the canister itself?

No problem, I just wanted to make sure I knew what you where saying so I'd be addressing the problem correctly.

You say you put the motor in a bucket and it primed successfully. Do you mean the motor was hooked up to the hoses in the aquarium while in the bucket when it primed? If so I can't see why there'd be a difference if that's the case since the rest of the canister is essentially the same thing a bucket. Unless your using improper filer media that's restricting any kind of flow in the canister. You never responded to the position of the valve so again that might be a issue and how are you priming? Are you using the insta prime or are you trying to use the motor. Just to make sure we're understanding each other I'll include a video on how to set up a Fluval at the end of my response.

A canister can't turn your water orangy, improper media might. There's many other factors that could cause the orangy water as well. So first I'll ask what Filter Media are you using? What kind of substrate? Any new ornaments? What are your water parameters? How did you go about cycling the tank?

 

[Ryu Hayabusa]

No problem, I just wanted to make sure I knew what you where saying so I'd be addressing the problem correctly.

You say you put the motor in a bucket and it primed successfully. Do you mean the motor was hooked up to the hoses in the aquarium while in the bucket when it primed? If so I can't see why there'd be a difference if that's the case since the rest of the canister is essentially the same thing a bucket. Unless your using improper filer media that's restricting any kind of flow in the canister. You never responded to the position of the valve so again that might be a issue and how are you priming? Are you using the insta prime or are you trying to use the motor. Just to make sure we're understanding each other I'll include a video on how to set up a Fluval at the end of my response.

A canister can't turn your water orangy, improper media might. There's many other factors that could cause the orangy water as well. So first I'll ask what Filter Media are you using? What kind of substrate? Any new ornaments? What are your water parameters? How did you go about cycling the tank?

I've watched that video and a few others. The valve was on. I think I'm good with priming. The canister is working! Now for the orange water.

1- never had the problem until canister was installed, no new decor.
2- water level fine
3- I got the Fluval off someone from Craigslist, I kept the same media which are the basics I believe. Carbon, side sponge with 4 inserts, bottom sponge, carbon, purigen and I believe that's it.

 

[Ryu Hayabusa]

Thank you! Very helpful stuff