Holy Noob -- Heater Not Heating & Canister Not Emptying

[fredmertz]

Less than 48 hours in and not a single fish in the building, but the questions are already mounting!

I have a 75g tank that I set up on Friday night. It is moderately planted with a jumbo driftwood piece in the middle.

I am running a Cascade 1200 filter and a Fluval e300 300 watt heater and they are the source of my early questions.

First, the filter. I tried to go through the filter medium process as a test run and it didn't go well. I shut off the intake, disconnected the intake hose and let the filter keep running, but it did not empty the canister. A big mess when I took the top off. I thought running the filter with the intake clamped off would empty it. Am I mistaken, did I do something wrong or was I too impatient?

Regarding the Fluval heater -- it is rated for 90 gallons but does not appear able to heat the tank at all. It turns on and the display works, but after 12 hours at 82 degrees, the tem would not go above 80. If I put my hand in the tank near the heater it does not appear to be warm at all. So I ask again (for the second time of many I am sure), did I do something wrong or am I being impatient?

Thanks in advance for your help and patience with a Noob Nooberson (should be forum handle!).

Fred

 

[mfdrookie516]

Canisters don't work that way. They work off gravity and a pump. The intake fills the canister, but the pump is at the top.. you'll never 'empty' the canister unless you dump it out. I'm not familiar with that canister, but you should have a shut off for in and out... shutt them both off, then you should be able to take the top off without any spillage.

The thermostat may be off on the heater by a couple degrees. Try upping the temp to 84 and see if it'll do 82. Why are you going to 82 though? Are you keeping discus? 78 is what I keep all my fish at.

 

[fredmertz]

Thanks for the response. I thought it would largely empty, although I guess the water that's left in the filter is perfect for rinsing filters that need to be cleaned.

I don't have any fish in the tank yet and only put the temperature that high when it didn't seem to be heating up.

I am planning on keeping Angels, which I know require a lower temp.

Either way, should the heater feel at least warm to the touch (even with the safety guard on)?

Thanks.

 

[mfdrookie516]

Hmm. That's tough for me to say, since I don't have one of those heaters. I'm not sure if this is one of the heaters I've heard about or not, but I've seen people say that some of the fluval heaters have to have flow around them or they won't heat. Does it have some kind of low flow alert on it (might check the box?)? My heaters all feel warm to the touch when theyr'e on, but they also don't have guards on them. I think first hand experience with that particular heater might be of more assistance, which is something I don't have. I'll let someone else chime in here if nothing I've said helps.