Dumb canister filter!!

[fangsalot]

i have a proquatics 1600 givin to me thru a second party and it wont startup.it kind of wants to and make the water move a little at initial start but thats it.it has water in it.i have 10" of water in a 55g(setting up a amozon river terrerium/aquarium.the intake is about 2" below the waterline and the outtake is about 10" above waterline,could this be the problem.plus i cant even get the darn cap open!grrrr

 

[amosf]

if you start a siphon on the input hose to the filter then it should run.

is it full of water, ready to run? like pre cycled? or do you need to clean it, set it up, fill with water, whatever...

 

[fangsalot]

if you start a siphon on the input hose to the filter then it should run.

is it full of water, ready to run? like pre cycled? or do you need to clean it, set it up, fill with water, whatever...

tanks not cycled but it has 10" of water.im setting up something like this..

 

[bluerose]

no, the filter.

most filters need to be filled with water before they'll run... you can kill the motor by running them dry.

 

[fangsalot]

yeah it has water.someone told me to fill the hose.how do i do that without it spilling back out and making a giant mess?

 

[jsoong]

Depends on where you put your canister, a cheap one might not be able to over come the head pressure differential of the intake/output. Generally, a canister has a pretty weak pump & is designed to work with no head pressure. <ie. it rely on the water pressure in the intake line to drive the water back up to the output.> You might want to put your intake line down in the water as well, then prime it so it is full of water & act as siphon before you start the pump. <Better filter has auto priming, you might have to suck on the output (while the intake is under water) to full up the hoses.> Once the pump starts, you might be able to raise the output above water, but at some point, the pump will quit ....

One other point si to clean out the impeller, that would make the pump work the best it can.