Aqueon Filter Not Working

[Gidget]

Hi--
My daughter and I are brand new to fish-keeping and we're doing a fishless cycling. We had a power outage today and when the power came back on, the pump was humming, but not actually pumping any water. I've taken the pump apart and cleaned it (not that it needed it). Aqueon is sending me a new impeller, but the original one is humming away.

Any ideas? Do I need to get a different filter? In other words, is this a common problem with power outages and Aqueons?

Thanks!
Gidget

 

[waterdrop]

Do you know how to "prime" your filter? All water pumps need to be "primed" with water such that the entire pumping path is water without air pockets. If an air pocket gets to the impeller then the pump will just hum without doing anything. Pumps should only be run with water against the impellor.

(of course you could just have a broken filter!)

~~waterdrop~~

 

[Gidget]

One pet shop that I called suggested pouring water in the top of the filter to prime it, but that didn't work. I'm not sure how else I would do it, but I'll see if I can figure it out.

Thanks!
Gidget

 

[OldMan47]

Welcome Gidget. I would take the impeller out of the filter and check that it has a little rubber looking thing on both ends of the pump shaft, that bit is a bearing that the impeller assembly runs in. While the impeller is out have a look into the hole it normally sits in using a bright light. You want that well to be spotlessly clean and it would be a good idea to wipe off the smooth magnet that is attached to the impeller. Anything, no matter how small it seems, that gets between the magnet and the well it sits in, will stop the impeller turning. When I clean that kind of filter, I sometimes get sloppy and don't clean the media very well but I never do anything but a thorough cleaning on the impeller magnet and the well that it sits in. After you reassemble the filter, make sure the impeller is free to move before putting the pump casing back over the top of it.

 

[Gidget]

Thank you all! My husband got it to work last night--a combination of cleaning and fiddling, I think.

Gidget