unplugged, aqua tech 5-15 help

[badhat]

hey guys,

i accidentally unplugged my roommate's aquatech 5-15.
when i plugged it back in - it made a bit of pumping noise, but there was no water circulation and the water level [where the water flows back out] had dropped. i assume that the filter drained out back into the tank when i unplugged it.

i don't know anything about filters, pumps, etc...
but it didn't seem like a good idea to leave it dry, so i filled it back to the top with room temp water.

it's running again, but the output is very litte. it's pretty much just dribbling.
i tried wiggling the input thing, plugging/unplugging...

what else can i do?

and am i going to kill his frog by using tap water?

ugh,
any help would be appreciated

 

[theotheragentm]

Don't use tap water untreated. Does he have water treatment chemicals anywhere? If not, use water that has been sitting out for twenty four hours if you really need to add new water.

As far as the filter, try to pour some of the tank water into the back of the filter and see if it increases things. The higher the water level in the actual tank, the more the filter will flow. Is the water level high or low?

 

[badhat]

i found aqua plus tap water conditioner.
is it too late to use it now? the tap water's already in...
can i just add it to the tank or filter?

i poured some tank water into the back of the filter, but it's still just dribbling.

the tank is only half full -
with a pile of rocks that just barely reaches above the water surface, off to one side.

maybe it was only ever dribbling in the first place, due to the low water level?

 

[theotheragentm]

Pour in the conditioner now. It will work now still if the frogs aren't already dead. It's quite possible the filter was dribbling before. When my water level is low, I can't get a whole lot of flow out of it.