HELP! my filtering system!

[NatalieFish]

HEy! please! i need some help! i cleaned my fishtank for the first time today i did it with the knowledge and everything so im sure i did it right. My filtering system.. wont work it seems.. im sure i put it back together correctly and .. i have water in it and everything but its not sucking up the water and filtering it through! what happens, is the tube that descends into the tank, has water in it, you can see the water going up and down suctioning up and down the water, and it will not go UP and through the tube and it will not cycle! i'm so worried and scared for my fish! please help me to figure this out. the filtering system CANNOT be faulty or broken, it just has not been cleaned for a very long time ( for the reason to that visit my profile and read, also see my other thread. the previous owners didn't clean it and the sludge was horrible. the water lever is okay, it covers the tube the way it should but the bubbles are not coming out and the waterfalls off each end of the system are not flowing! i tried over flowing it to help multiple times, and checked the system and readjusted it many time! i don't kno what to do! i don't want my fish to die! if you need ANY more information please tell me im right at my computer now. and ill be checking! please help! and thank you so much!!!

 

[Bige]

What kind of filter is it? It sounds like it needs to be primed. Try adding more water to intake line.

 

[mfdrookie516]

did you put tank water in the filter before starting it back? If not it wont prime and it will just sit there trying to pump water until it eventually burns up the motor

 

[NatalieFish]

kind of filther

What kind of filter is it? It sounds like it needs to be primed. Try adding more water to intake line.

I'm not exactly sure. ill try my best to describe in great detail.
ITs well, the standard black of course, two biological filters ( blue sponges with the black rocks in them ) and im sure i put them in the right places, so, theres a left compartment and a right compartment... each one of them goes in there and in the middle of the two compartments is a tube. this tube consists of three parts. the first part, which looks like the end of a flute or something, its rounded off at the top, and it goes INTO the filtering system first.. and then theres the tube. it looks like a U only one of the sides is shorter. i have that side connected to the tube that descends into the tank. it seems that the motor is not strong enough. but its so strange because before, with all that sludge in it, it worked. the bubbles would come up and the water falls on each side would be consistent but now it doesn't work. the tube that descends is fully submerged in the water.. and i kept readjusting the filter system, switching the tube around since one end is longer and the other shorter, making the descending part descent more or less.. and i kept trying different things like turning it on as im pouring the water in but it seems when i have the longer part of the tube in the descending tube ,the water seems to go up more. I'm sorry if this is too all over the place! im so thankful for your reply!

continue to help me if you want!

 

[NatalieFish]

tank water

did you put tank water in the filter before starting it back? If not it wont prime and it will just sit there trying to pump water until it eventually burns up the motor

actually i have sat there waiting for it to go but them my brother called and asked me how everything was going. i then told him the filtering system was not working. he asked me if i put water in it and i said no. so then i started trying and .. still it would not go. the water would just keep going up an down in the tube that descends in the tank. im wondering if the motor is still strong enough but its so strange that its not strong now because before when it had all that sludge in it it worked perfectly it seemed....thank you for your reply, please continue to help me! if not thats okay! thanks so much again!

 

[mfdrookie516]

Turn it off, fill it as full as you can get it with tank water, lift up the tube, pour water in the hole where the tube goes in, stick the tube back in, and turn it back on. Also make sure your water level is up near the top as well. I have one filter that will NOT prime if the water level is any more than 1/2" below the filter....

 

[mermaid8]

Yes i have the same one just turn the knob on the top after priming it.. this happened to me too and after turing the knob it should start to work..

 

[mermaid8]

the u part oops i forgot push on it a little and it should work..

 

[NatalieFish]

priming..

Turn it off, fill it as full as you can get it with tank water, lift up the tube, pour water in the hole where the tube goes in, stick the tube back in, and turn it back on. Also make sure your water level is up near the top as well. I have one filter that will NOT prime if the water level is any more than 1/2" below the filter....

Does it matter how far the descending part goes into the tank? cause i noticed you can do it either way.. with the U shaped tube with the shorter side . ill give that a try and ill see what happens..thank you so much

 

[NatalieFish]

U

the u part oops i forgot push on it a little and it should work..

oh yes i've tried that. didn't work out for mw

 

[NatalieFish]

knob?

Yes i have the same one just turn the knob on the top after priming it.. this happened to me too and after turing the knob it should start to work..

wheres the knob? hahah. i didn't notice a knob on it anywhere...

 

[NatalieFish]

For everyone who is giving me advice on my filtering system i, have once again tried today to get it working.. im thinking that the pump is too weak. im getting a new filtering system today and im going to hook t hat up. hopefully that works because if i don't get my filtering system working for my fish im going to panic.

today i did the exact same thing as yesterday. i even took it apart, filled it with tank water, put the tubes back in it and started it up again but it still did the same thing. Oh m gosh im so exhausted over this! who knew this could be so stressful! so, i should be getting my new filtering system be 2 today my time right now is 12:42. ill be back..

 

[Bige]

Low water level can also make problems with priming. If water is low there is a long way to pull water in to start flowing. Fill filter all the way up with tank water, then take u tube and turn upside down in tank to fill with water, put finger over the end to hold water then seat in filter. Check and make sure u tube is properly seated in intake of filter. Now the filter is full and utube is full, turn on filter and see what happens. Hopefully it will begin to flow.

 

[NatalieFish]

I got a new filtering system.

HEy! please! i need some help! i cleaned my fishtank for the first time today i did it with the knowledge and everything so im sure i did it right. My filtering system.. wont work it seems.. im sure i put it back together correctly and .. i have water in it and everything but its not sucking up the water and filtering it through! what happens, is the tube that descends into the tank, has water in it, you can see the water going up and down suctioning up and down the water, and it will not go UP and through the tube and it will not cycle! i'm so worried and scared for my fish! please help me to figure this out. the filtering system CANNOT be faulty or broken, it just has not been cleaned for a very long time ( for the reason to that visit my profile and read, also see my other thread. the previous owners didn't clean it and the sludge was horrible. the water lever is okay, it covers the tube the way it should but the bubbles are not coming out and the waterfalls off each end of the system are not flowing! i tried over flowing it to help multiple times, and checked the system and readjusted it many time! i don't kno what to do! i don't want my fish to die! if you need ANY more information please tell me im right at my computer now. and ill be checking! please help! and thank you so much!!!

So hey! I just wanted to let everyone know that there was no hope for the other filtering system. but i got a brand new one now! and its working so everything is fine! i want to thank you all for your advice! also, ill mention that the other filtering system was missing an important part! because i compared them and the other had the blue thing on the metal rod, not quite sure what the name of it is, but im sure you have an idea!

ill be posting pics soon.

and again, Thank you!

 

[mooky]

take the tube thats marked out and suck on it out of the tank into a pot or some thing , you need to syphon it. do it when filter is on.when water starts coming out put your finger on the end and put it into the tank, you should be fine.



let me know if it works

 

[mfdrookie516]

So hey! I just wanted to let everyone know that there was no hope for the other filtering system. but i got a brand new one now! and its working so everything is fine! i want to thank you all for your advice! also, ill mention that the other filtering system was missing an important part! because i compared them and the other had the blue thing on the metal rod, not quite sure what the name of it is, but im sure you have an idea!

ill be posting pics soon.

and again, Thank you!

are you talking about the impeller? the little metal rod with caps on each end and a "fan" in the middle?