Please - Urgent Help With External Filter!

[ChilliPepper]

I have just done my weekly water change - about 30%.

This is the first time I have attempted to clean my external filter as I was worried about doing it wrong and water spilling everywhere. However I could see some gunge building up through the casing and so knew it was time to do it. It has been running about 6-8 weeks fine.

Anyway I washed everything in old tank water, put it back together how it was. Put some water from the tank into the basket with the bio balls etc to keep them wet. I added some filter floss into the top basket after washing it in de-chlorinated water. Have put it back together and it clipped into place fine. I screwed the taps back on, then turned the filter on at the mains. Immediately it was making a chugging noise, sounds like the balls rattling really loudly. Forgot to turn the taps on so did this and water is coming out the outlet spray bar like mad and turned it back off the mains. Then turned it on again and the water is coming out in a really fine mist of bubbles (out the spray bar) and the filter is making a really loud noise.

I'm quite scared And afraid to turn it back on. What have I done wrong???

Oh it's an Aquis CF1000 external filter.

Please can someone help a.s.a.p as my fish are without a filter, though have got some fresh water in so should be OK for a short space of time.

 

[ChilliPepper]

Is it possible that I have put too much floss in? I had no idea how much to put it so filled my top basket. Now I'm worried its done something to my impeller. I guess I'll have to take it apart again and have a look.

Search function isn't working on the forum so I can't even see if someone else has had the same problem. Argh.

 

[OldMan47]

Let the filter fill for a minute or two before it gets plugged in. It needs to fill completely with water before the impeller starts. If it still shows signs of having air in it, try tilting it this way and that to let the bubbles vent out of the impeller area of the filter. That kind of noisy operation is usually air in the impeller area of the filter.

 

[minxfishy]

The CF1000 needs to be completely filled to the top with water BEFORE turning it back on, I dont know if this is whats causing your problem, but make sure its full up (I think you remove the red button on the top to fill up via a jug or such like).

 

[ChilliPepper]

Thanks. When you say turn it back on do you mean turn it on at the mains or turn it on as in turn the taps on?

I have taken it apart again and removed some of the filter floss as I think I put too much in.

Is it now completely filled with water - should I turn the mains back on first and then the taps or the other way around?

 

[waterdrop]

If this is your first time at a re-start, you may be just experiencing the sound of air in the impeller and worrying that something's wrong. There are lots of trapped air bubbles in the media after you clean a cannister filter. These air bubbles rise and make a lot of noise as they are "chopped up" by the impellor (the little "fan" that moves the water in a water pump) but this is not a bad thing. When you first open your tube locks, water should siphon down from the tank and fill the cannister, sometimes making a lot of noise as you describe. Then, on some cannisters, you have to perform a "priming" process (described in instructions) to also get water up from the cannister going into the tank via the output tube. Many cannisters though, if they are almost entirely filled with water, will just more or less immediately start working the moment after you plug them in (always, always, double check that any stop valves on your hoses are -open- before you plug in your filter!)

Right after you plug in the filter and establish that the prime worked and water is flowing, you will nearly always be hearing bubble noises. Its good pratice at this point to get yourself in position and lift the entire cannister box and gently (you don't want to dislodge the tubes!) tilt the box maybe 30 degrees in all directions while giving it a constant little shaking motion. The idea is to facilitate the trapped air bubbles being released from the media and then being broken up by the impeller and noisily spurting out the spraybar. The more effectively you do this, the more silent the cannister filter will be thereafter until the next month's cleaning.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[ChilliPepper]

Thanks so much waterdrop, yes it is the first time I have cleaned an external filter and the noise it was making was really worrying me incase it blew up and our living room carpet was soaked with 190L of water

The filter is full of water now and I have taken some of the floss out - should I turn the taps back on first then put the mains on and see what happens?

 

[OldMan47]

Turn on the water flow path and make sure you give it time to release any bubbles before you turn on the filter at the mains. WD has described nicely how to vent the impeller if it is still holding bubbles.

 

[minxfishy]

Yep as above, turn on the taps, give it time for air to escape, then turn on the mains, might splutter for a bit then should get a proper flow going.

 

[ChilliPepper]

Thanks so much for all your help It's working normally now. What a wally I am, I think it was because I didn't turn the taps on first and then freaked out by the horrendous noise it was making. I just turned it back on and it spluttered a bit but is OK now. There are LOADS of particles floating about.

So, for next time... I should....
1) Turn off filter at mains
2)Turn off taps
3) Unscrew taps from box, mopping any dripping water up
4)Take filter box to sink and rinse out all media in old tank water
5)Put back together
5) Take back to tank and clip top bit in place
6) Screw taps back on
7) Turn taps on
8) Wait for filter to fill with water and any air bubbles to escape (is it OK to put some old tank water in the boxes myself during cleaning out so I don't need to prime it?)
9) Turn back on at mains

Have I got that all right? Just so I don't almost give myself a heartattack again

Also the top bit of media in the box was a white bit to start with and is now quite brown, I rinsed it out and put it back in filter Did I do the right thing or should I buy a new one? I have put some filter floss in the top box, any ideas how often this needs to be replaced?

Thanks again

Sorry for any typo's, I don't get on very well with my OH's laptop but it comes in handy for watching TV at the same time as being on the net

 

[rabbut]

Well, nearly right When you switch the taps on, do the outlet side first, and allow a minuite or two for the pipe to fill with air, BEFORE turning on the inlet side. This avoids the filter trying to prime from the outlet and purge from the inlet; this is the opposit of what you want... This method avoids the above behavior as it breaks the syphen on the outlet side, so the filter can only fill under syphen from the inlet side

Always allow the filter to prime, do not fill the box manually, as you increase the chances of an air lock forming, and these are hard to clear unless you take it appart again and drain. By allowing the thing to fill itself, you should find that all air locks are removed, and only a select few bubbles in the media remain to caurse any loss of flow or unusual noise

If the filter is coping well with the tank, it should go 6 months without a clean It only needs cleaning when there is a noticable drop in flow from it, same as with your internals

HTH
Rabbut

 

[waterdrop]

Yes, you definately can on number 8. What I do is rest the output end of my gravel-cleaning python in a bucket in the bathtub, then as I gravel-clean the outflow fills the bucket first before the bucket overflows out the bathtub drain. When I'm done I've got a bucket of (not all that dirty) water sitting in the tub. I set my cannister box next to it and then I split that tank water between two buckets. In one, I clean the media. I empty the water and bottom mulm from the cannister box. I put the media back in. I then overfill the cannister box using the slightly cleaner water from the other bucket and then clip the cannister top on. The tub is catching the overflows from all this. I then dry the cannister box with a towel and carry it back and set it in its tupperwear safety tub that it sits in in the tank cabinet. (and the rest you've already got down) (anyway, result is that the cannister is very full of tank water and the media stayed nice and wet all along)

Any media, including floss should eventually be replaced if its structural integrity breaks down. With floss this will happen much sooner than other media, but usually floss is not holding a significant portion of your bacteria, so replacement is nothing to worry about. When big sponges break down, its more serious and you may need to cut the sponge into sections and replace it in thirds or halves so as not to lose too much bacteria at once.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[ChilliPepper]

Thanks for all the help Next time I won't panic so much! I will leave it a month or two before taking it apart again and seeing if it needs cleaning. I hadn't noticed any loss in flow but felt it needed a clear out as I could see some scum forming.

 

[OldMan47]

The only thing that confuses me a bit about your sequence is that you are removing and installing hoses in there. I have a few different brands of canister filter and all of them have a quick disconnect of some kind for the hose so nothing gets removed and there is no water spill to clean up. If you still have the filter instructions, read through them and see if there isn't some spot in the hose or filter head where things can disconnect in a water tight manner. Your filter sounds like it would be a pain to clean if it has no such feature.

 

[vinylman]

Thanks for all the help Next time I won't panic so much! I will leave it a month or two before taking it apart again and seeing if it needs cleaning. I hadn't noticed any loss in flow but felt it needed a clear out as I could see some scum forming.

No need to open it to see if it needs cleaning; as Rabbut says, only clean the filter out when you notice the return flow into the tank is dropping. This is the massive advantage of an external over an internal.