Fergy Posted May 1, 2009 Report Share Posted May 1, 2009 (edited) I picked up a small canister for some extra filtration on my sliders tank. I got it at the .... going out of business sale for 75% off, I thought it might work decently. It's the .... brand, say biopower filter 33, says it self primes you just need to fill the canister with water. I tried for a couple hours today and it will only pump water until the level drops about an inch, then nothing... no forcing air out or anything. I put a bit of vaseline on the o-ring to try to get a better seal, still no success. I can get it to run for about 30 seconds if I use a submersible filter or power to get it started, but then it just loses vacuum I guess and quits. I guess the lesson is you get what you pay for... but any ideas? Also, through trial and error trying to start the siphon with my submersible fluval I could also see it would forced quite a bit of water out of the canister seal, as if it wasn't water tight at all. Edited for the store name.. Probably isn't allowed since I mentioned a sale and everything? I'm sure most people know the chain I'm referring to. Edited May 1, 2009 by Fergy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darkangel Posted May 2, 2009 Report Share Posted May 2, 2009 IME forcing water out of the seal is a sign of the impeller not working. Try taking the lid off and plug it in just long enough to see if the motor & impeller are working. If they are, check to see if your hoses are conected correctly, If all is well there try funneling some water down the intake hose until it is full, then hook it up to the U tube for the intake. Also check and see if it has a plunger to prime it with after you plug it in. If this don't work then your filter may be NFG.Hope this helps you out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thegrandpoohbah Posted May 2, 2009 Report Share Posted May 2, 2009 (edited) Easy way to prime a canister filter: drop a powerhead in the tank, plug it in and use it to force water up the filter intake until the filter is primed. Oops, just read the rest of your post. I guess returning it isn't an option since it was a going out of business sale? Edited May 2, 2009 by thegrandpoohbah Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fergy Posted May 2, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 2, 2009 Yeah a great big 'no returns, refunds, exchanges or adjustments' sign. I can hear the impeller working, but I will check and see if it's actually spinning. And no plunger. Also you mentioned a 'U' tube, what would that be? I basically have two flexible hoses going straight from the canister to the hard plastic intake tube and spray bar out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darkangel Posted May 2, 2009 Report Share Posted May 2, 2009 It would be the hard plastic tube for the intake. Actually looks more like a J. Hooks on the tank and one end connects to the hose the other end is for the intake screen. Sorry for the confussion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arixonbarnes Posted May 2, 2009 Report Share Posted May 2, 2009 Most canister filters need to be lower than the tank in order to work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
randy Posted May 2, 2009 Report Share Posted May 2, 2009 (edited) I have one of them (oval shaped canister). I had 2 problems with it 1. Leaked like yours. Fixed that by raising the canister higher, about level with the bottom of the tank. It does not have the power to lift the water very high. The pressure builds up in the canister (pushing out the sides) and it starts to leak, would probably not happen if it was round or square shaped. 2. Yup self priming that means you prime it your self. The shorter the hoses the better it works. Had mine working for about a year now on a small 7 G tank works well once ya figure it out. Edited May 2, 2009 by randy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fergy Posted May 2, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 2, 2009 Well I don't know what I did differently but I've started and stopped it a few times and it works just fine now... Thanks for all the tips though everybody! Mine came with a bracket to hang it on the back of the tank and I used that and seems to work fine.. The hoses weren't really long enough for the tank I'm using it with. But yeah, works perfectly fine now, not a very high flow rate but I knew that already. We'll just see how well it works now I guess! Thanks again for the help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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