Moved On To A Canister Filter

[onidrase]

Hey guys. I was in the market for a new filter for a while as my marineland emperor was biting the dust. First went for an aquaclear but I realized the black trim of my tank is too think to support any models of aquaclear filters. Ultimately, after a lot of debate, I went for a Fluval 406 canister filter (seeing as I get a good discount for working where I bought it from and the only other brand of canisters they have is marineland.)

Anyways. I've been reading a lot of stories and videos of canisters siphoning tanks to the bone due to leaks while people are away. This is a really scary thought. my dad would kill me if 75 gallons of water started making its way onto the floor while I was at work.

The setup for the canister filter seemed simple enough, and the gasket seems nice and strong, and the plastic it's made of is very thick and sturdy, but I guess anything is possible.

A few people have said that Typically leaks are caused by "user errors" in which it's never really a manufacturing issue, but rather a neglected maintenance issue.

Somebody said something about drilling a siphoning break on the intake, and to just make sure to watch evaporation levels. it sounds easy enough, but I have no idea what it means or where it goes.

In short, what are good precautions to take in order to not end up coming home to a soaked floor, angry father, and drained aquarium? What are the chances of a leak really happening?

 

[fenny666]

To be honest it's not something i've ever given any thought but now that you mention it's definately something to think about.

The anti-syphon hole sounds like a good idea.The hole needs to be made below the water line say maybe 15mm.The idea being if a leak were to occur and the water began to syphon it would only syphon down to the hole, at this point air would be drawn into the pipe thereby breaking the syphon. The thing to watch for would be evaporation as in normal use the water level should never reach this hole.You could put the hole further down but obviously more water would syphon out before it is broken.

I suppose with proper maintenance leaks shouldn't happen.But they might.

I've got a 205 but also an All Ponds Solutions filter which actually has a surface skimmer coming off the intake pipe which would act as a syphon break should a leak occur.I'm wondering if one could be incorporated in to the 205 piping.