Aqueon water changer, help?

[CaptainMako]

Waited, put it in, opened the vacuum. No suction, neither siphoning nor vacuuming D;

 

[Dissy]

Waited, put it in, opened the vacuum. No suction, neither siphoning nor vacuuming D;

Is your water turned on high enough? You need the water pressure to start the suctioning.

 

[CaptainMako]

I did start over, tried on a higher power but all I got was a momentary big burst of suction when I first opened the vacuum underwater.

 

[Dissy]

I did start over, tried on a higher power but all I got was a momentary big burst of suction when I first opened the vacuum underwater.

What size is your hose, and what size is your tank? The gravel filter portion must be completely submerged in your tank.

 

[Dissy]

I have a 25' hose; the gravel cleaner portion is probably about 12", but my tank is 22" deep, so it works fine.

 

[CaptainMako]

Hose is Aqueon made, 50 ft. Tank is 30 gallons. I can try again but submerge it completely this time.
And is the trick to only open the vacuum end slightly so the suction lasts, instead of all the way?

 

[Dissy]

No. You open the vacuum end all the way. I've used this on a 30 gallon tank as well, and it worked. Tilt your vacuum so it's totally submerged.

 

[CaptainMako]

All right. I'll try it again. Open sink attachment with the water on high power, I will wait a tiny bit, completely submerge it in the tank, and open it all the way.
Fish are the most spoiled pets on Earth!

 

[CaptainMako]

Tried two more times. High power, totally submerged, pressure should have been incredible inside of the hose. Opened the vacuum and still about 2 seconds of suction before it dies.

 

[Dissy]

Tried two more times. High power, totally submerged, pressure should have been incredible inside of the hose. Opened the vacuum and still about 2 seconds of suction before it dies.

Then I'm not understanding why.. How far is your tank from your sink? If the hose is *totally* coiled, it takes a few seconds, but it still goes. At one point, my tank was probably only 12 feet from my sink.

 

[Dissy]

Are all of your fittings tight on both the sink, and the hose itself?

 

[CaptainMako]

Well I still have a comfortable amount of slack left on it, it isn't using the whole 50.
It goes from the sink, around a corner, around another, up a single set of stairs, around a corner and then up and into my tank.

I just put the decor back into the tank, added a tiny amount of fresh water but didn't take any out.

 

[CaptainMako]

Attachments and connectors were tight. No leakage there or on the hose. Hose was straight for the most part. Valves turned.
For all intents and purposes, brand new just like it should be.

So I don't know if I just have the one defective model (Figures I pay up the a** for it and there are no returns) or if I am just really, really stupid.
Also another piece of great news, in an attempt to clear the now semi-cloudy water, I replaced the carbon filter. Rinsed the new one, blah blah, but as soon as it fit in it spouted a bunch of thick dust into the water. I'm just hoping that if it kills my fish it does so quickly.

Ugh. I know your first tank doesn't go perfectly, but I don't think they are supposed to include a fungal attack, possible freshwater velvet, breaking down filters, trips to Petco at midnight, heaters that melt their holding clamps and now seemingly defective water changers.

 

[mfdrookie516]

I never use the sink attachment to siphon. I know this isn't a solution to your problem, but this is what I do.. Its easier IMO, and cheaper (since I'm not running water the whole time I'm doing a water change... 50% on a 150g, 125g, 40g, and 10g every week would add up big time). I just open a window or door, or in the winter run the hose to the bathtub, suck on the hose for just a second to start the siphon, do my gravel vac, get the water down to what I figure is the half way mark, stick my finger over the end of the tube to keep water from going out, hook up to the sink, get my water temp right, turn the sink attachment to the fill position, add my Prime, then fill up the tank.

Like I said, it saves money on the water bill every month that way.