Aquaclear Intake Tube Not Priming Properly... Help?

[Winterlily]

I've got a new (about a week old) AquaClear 70 that's acting funky. I have a slew of AquaClear 20s on my small tanks, so I'm used to the filter, how they work, how to work WITH them, and what to expect. But I haven't a clue what's wrong with this one or how to fix it. When I first turned it on (brand new), the current was REALLY strong (so much so that it cleared a big circle in the gravel!). I do not remember if all the air was, at that time, completely out of the intake tube. Well, the flow has slowed significantly and there is a huge amount of air in the horizontal part of the U-shaped intake tube. Nearly the entire back half of that horizontal bit is an air bubble. No matter what I do, I cannot make this better. The filter is of course filled with water, it's on maximum, I've tried adjusting and readjusting the levelers (the filter is perfectly level at the moment), I've tried turning it to minimum then back to maximum to jumpstart it, tried emptying it and starting again, nothing works. I've tried just leaving it alone, too, and that doesn't work either.

This is in a snail tank, so needs to be working optimally - not on 1/4 speed like it is now. And because it's on a snail tank, I've got a piece of foam over the intake (that has been there from before I turned the filter on for the first time), and I also have a flow deflector on just because it had been SO strong. But, I've tried to fix this intake tube problem by removing the deflector as well and it makes no difference at all. Oh, and not sure if it matters, but the tank is slightly under-filled (waterline is about 2 inches from the very top).

Any thoughts here? Do I have a filter with a problem and so needs to be returned, or am I missing something obvious?

Thanks!

 

[fatheadminnow]

Did you clean the impeller out at all?

And yes, the water level does matter, IME. The lower the water level in the tank, the harder the filter has to pump. You should have the water in the tank filled up and then try starting the filter again.

-FHM

 

[Tolak]

As mentioned, fill the tank. While the AC's will continue to run with a lower water level once started, they will not prime properly. Make sure the intake tube is back as far as it will go in the recess of the body, sometimes they just need to click in a hair more. Make sure it is down all the way on the impeller recess as well. Make sure all the connections on the intake tube are snug.

Pre-filters on the intake will reduce flow, these need to be rinsed more often than the filter media. Try removing it at first, this will tell you right away. The best way to remove these is to get a clean cup, submerge the cup, and insert the pre-filter below the surface. Remove the pre-filter cup & all, this prevents all the debris from the pre-filter from being dumped in the tank.

Funny this should come up, I just got done doing maintenance on a pair of AC 300/70's. A week is nothing, I've been torture testing these for nearly two years.

 

[Winterlily]

Okay - so I need to fill the tank, start the filter, wait for it to prime, THEN remove some of the water? (The snails need at least 2 inches of space between waterline and top of tank.)

FHM - didn't clean the impeller at all, because the filter is only a week old - didn't think that, even with the messy snails, it would need it yet.

Tolak - yeah, the first thing I did was mess with the placement of the intake tube and make sure it was sitting properly. The foam on the intake is new (and so, currently clean) but regardless, I did pull it and clean it. Even with it off, the filter isn't priming properly - so that's not it for sure.

And I think I miscommunicated, Tolak - sorry for that. I didn't mean that I know all about these filters in a week! I just meant that this particular filter is just a week old - but I've been using ACs (the smaller ones generally) for a long time and have them running on every one of my small tanks, so am used to the filter and how it's supposed to work. Course, all the other tanks are fish tanks, not snail tanks - this is the first tank I've ever had that requires a big air space be left. Everyone else gets filled up to the top.

I love the ACs a lot, but is there a better filter for a tank that requires a lowered water level? Perhaps AC wasn't the best choice here. It's a 20 gallon Long and is housing apple snails (diffusa) - messy guys and need about a 10x per hour turnover of water - hence the AC70.

 

[fatheadminnow]

Yeah, try to up the level of the water and see what happens.

Other than that, canister filters would be a good choice other than AC's in this situation.

-FHM

 

[Winterlily]

Okay! You were both exactly right. I filled the tank up to nearly the top and restarted the filter. Perfectly fine. Primed properly, no air, running just right. I removed just some of the water (so at the moment I have only about an inch of empty space instead of 2) and it stayed just fine.

A Hagen lady finally called back today (VERY nice, knowledgable, and helpful - I'd asked that someone call me when this first happened, even before I posted here - little did I know I only needed to post here!) and told her this whole story and that my "forum guys" had already figured it out for me. She confirmed that if I fill it up, let it prime properly, then remove as much of the water as I need to, it should continue to work properly. She said they see this issue with turtle tanks a lot. I suggested to her, then, that in the section about Why isn't my filter priming properly in the Troubleshooting guide, they add something about the fact that the tank needs to be filled to the top.

So anyhow. Thank you ever so much for this!!