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Air in Fluval 403


Drydock
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Hi,

Wondering if anyone else has experienced this...

I have a Fluval 403 that I have run since the early 90's. Just recently replaced O-ring, Impeller and shaft...

Recently, I have been getting air into the canister. You can hear some air go through the impeller every 5-10 minutes and once in a while it locks up the filter.

I have ceramic rings in the bottom, lava rock in the mid and the sponge in the upper cavities. I just rinsed out the media and cleaned the sponge this week, so they should be running fairly clear.

I have removed the air bubble inside previously, but it is getting in somehow.

Any thoughts or suggestions on what is causing the air?

Thoughts and opinions?

Thanks,

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My planted tanks get some air in the canisters during the day. In my case, it's dissolved O2 coming out of solution - could this be the case with you? If the air is in there from the start, I have found that tilting the canister so the output hose is on the high side, and giving it a light shake gets air out pretty easily.

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My planted tanks get some air in the canisters during the day. In my case, it's dissolved O2 coming out of solution - could this be the case with you? If the air is in there from the start, I have found that tilting the canister so the output hose is on the high side, and giving it a light shake gets air out pretty easily.

I tilted the cansiter a couple of days ago, and then again before I posted, so I don't think it was an air bubble that was left after I primed it.

I'll look into the sponge, but my other theory was the valve on the intake side might be siphoning in air. I have had it leak when I have opened or closed it in the past...

If it is dissolved O2, anything that can be done?

Roger

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I have ceramic rings in the bottom, lava rock in the mid and the sponge in the upper cavities. I just rinsed out the media and cleaned the sponge this week, so they should be running fairly clear.

On a slightly different note, I believe the 403, like my 404, filters from the bottom to the top. Having said that, you would want to have your sponge on the bottom to get the mechanical filtration out of the way first. And your ceramic rings would best accomplish your biological filtration in the top tray after the sponge has completed mechanical filtration so that the rings do not get clogged. Finally, lava rock is an extremely poor filter media as cheap and effective as it looks like it would be. Have a look at this thread at MFK for some help. Good luck.

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I have ceramic rings in the bottom, lava rock in the mid and the sponge in the upper cavities. I just rinsed out the media and cleaned the sponge this week, so they should be running fairly clear.

On a slightly different note, I believe the 403, like my 404, filters from the bottom to the top. Having said that, you would want to have your sponge on the bottom to get the mechanical filtration out of the way first. And your ceramic rings would best accomplish your biological filtration in the top tray after the sponge has completed mechanical filtration so that the rings do not get clogged. Finally, lava rock is an extremely poor filter media as cheap and effective as it looks like it would be. Have a look at this thread at MFK for some help. Good luck.

Dean,

Thanks for the link.

I was just talking with Jvision last week and he told me the same thing about the lava rocks. He just switched to something else... I'm probably going to switch out the lava rock next cleaning.

I have always put the foam in the top compartment of the filter. I think that was what was set out in the instructions. But now that you bring it up, I always did wonder why the Fluval was different from an aqua clear with the filter in the lowest section...

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