Aqueon Water changer - doesn't stay attached to vacuum attachment!?

[badandyhtc]

Hi Everyone, new to the site - I have been having trouble finding anyone else with this same problem...


When I flip the valve on the aqueon water changer 50' to fill the aquarium, the water pressure forces the hose right off of the vacuum attachment every time. It can hold on for maybe 20-30 seconds before it lets go. Even with the valve on the vacuum attachment wide open, the pressure still forces it right off after a few seconds.

I'm wondering if I have a missing part. The faucet attachment had an extra sleeve that fit over the hose before you tightened the nut over it, the vacuum attachment did not - and I think the problem is that maybe there was supposed to be one of those extra sleeves on the vacuum attachment end too.

The siphoning seems to work just fine. The only change I made to the setup was to remove the faucet adapter since my utility sink has outside threads. I seriously doubt this causes so much more pressure that the hose won't stay attached to the vacuum attachment..

Any help would be appreciated, I tried contacting Aqueon but I don't know whether they'll respond with a competent answer or not.

 

[LyndaB]

If you're tightening a nut around your faucet, then it seems you should be okay. I don't get why this is happening. Are you using an adapter on your faucet between the faucet and hose?

 

[badandyhtc]

No adapters, everything is straight out of the box. The problem really isn't on the faucet side.. it's on the vacuum end of things. Water comes out to fill the aquarium etc.. but it also starts forcing the hose right off of the vacuum attachment....aaaaand then there is water everywhere.

 

[LyndaB]

Then I'm misunderstanding where the break is. Can you post photos?

 

[TT71]

I wonder if that extra sleeve is the nut that holds the tube on to the gravel tube or maybe a ferrule that goes onto the hose at the gravel tube end. Because then the nut slides over the ferrule and the nut then screws on to the gravel tube. Are you able to take a picture of the extra part and the part where the gravel tube meets up with the tube? That would help me get a better idea?

 

[badandyhtc]

TT71 - that is exactly what I'm talking about - I didn't have a ferrule that goes on the hose before screwing the nut on for the gravel tube. I was wondering if there was supposed to be one and I didn't get it. I can take pics, but I'm not at home right now so it will have to wait until this evening.

 

[meegosh]

Yes, there should be a nut on the vac side that gets threaded down over the hose. I've still had mine pull out with the nut tightened down though.

Do you let the pressure build up in the hose? I tape the vac side to the tank and then flip the switch at the faucet end. That way there is no pressure building up, the water just comes out the vac side.

 

[badandyhtc]

Yes there is a nut..and hand tightened as much as possible, but that doesn't seem enough to hold the hose on under pressure. I've tried it both ways, with the valve open or closed and it doesn't matter

 

[meegosh]

There should be no pressure if you have the vac side open when you turn the switch at the faucet end. Should just be the weight of the water in the hose. Make sure the hose is pushed all the way down and hand tighten the nut as much as possible. Not sure what else could be wrong. Maybe cut a few inches of the hose off, could it be stretched?

 

[mohican]

I got the python brand, works so much better than aqueon brand. Maybe try switching. Try putting a hose clamp around the vacuum side to keep it in place.

 

[Hholly]

There should have been a nut on that end just like the other end. Call the company and they should send you one.

 

[badandyhtc]

Yeah, its not the nut that is missing. If that was the case the hose wouldn't even stay on (with or without water in the line).

A hose clamp is a good idea, but its on a tapered nipple, so I doubt it would hold on too well - I might give it a try if Aqeuon can't get me another ferrule like the other end has on it. Otherwise, it's probably getting returned since it doesn't work straight out of the box.

I'll post pics tonight since Aqueon also seems to need a visual aid.

 

[badandyhtc]

Here's a link to the images

https://skydrive.live.com/redir.aspx?cid=7ce57c6e6a1467bb&resid=7CE57C6E6A1467BB!351&parid=root

The first image is the gravel vacuum - does this come with a ferrule that fits over the hose like the end in pictures two, which shows the attachment at the sink?

 

[Hholly]

Here's both ends of mine, screwed and unscrewed.

 

[foster53]

Is the gravel cleaning tube submerged when you turn the water on? That will create a lot of pressure in the small amount of airspace between the hose and water level in the tube.

 

[meegosh]

Looks to me that you need to push that down further. I'll check mine tonight and post a picture. I think my tubing goes down further on the nipple.

 

[badandyhtc]

Aqueon replied to me today and stated that the hose needs to be pushed up over the two large threads on the nipple for the gravel tube attachment. I'll take a run at it, but I think it's going to be tough to get it up that far, plus how well is the nut going to screw on with the hose over the top of the threads..

 

[meegosh]

The nut is supposed to thread over the tube. It pushes the tubing down into the threads. It sounds weird but it works. That's what keeps the hose on. If you unscrew it a few times to clean it out sometimes you'll need to cut the end off and use a new piece to get a nice snug fit.

 

[badandyhtc]

OK glad to hear that works for you then. It didn't make sense to me that it should go up that far and still be able to screw on the nut. I didn't see any actual assembly instructions in the packaging, it would've been nice if they had included some.

 

[TT71]

Sorry for the late response. I checked my Aqueon it looks similar to how yours (also no ferrule) and I haven't had any problems like you are describing. I also agree with meegosh's suggestion.