Equipment Review and Discussion :: Need help with XP3

[tknq]

Hi everyone.

There hasn't been any water flow in my XP3 for the past few days. So far I've tried changing/rinsing the media, rinsing the impeller, rinsing the tubing, priming the filter manually, and all of the other usual things. When I plug the filter in it only makes a soft hum as if it were operating normally, but there is no water flow at all. Something tells me that something is wrong with the motor but hopefully it's something with an easier fix. What can I be missing?

Thanks in advance.

[megcornell]

Have you done anything to change the height of the filter in respect to the tank?
I assume you have it lower than the tank, but if for some reason after this cleaning there is more slack in the tubing it may be too much for the motor to overcome.

If not, I wouldn't fool around with it, and would look into having it replaced... how long ago did you buy it? Most chain stores will replace it no questions asked. I've had to do that a few times with petsmart.

[marisa]

I had this happen a couple of times to me (motor hums, no water is being pumped through the tubing and filter). You filled the intake with water as instructed? All baskets are seated properly? The impellar is in correctly? The lever on the filter is pushed down all the way?

[Spookster]

How old is the filter?

[tknq]

Thanks a lot for the replies.
I've had my filter for about a year and a half, and I'm not sure if I can get away with getting a replacement that easily since I bought it online at Big Al's. I think I can still get it replaced with the manufacturer's warranty though. About how long do you think it take for them to ship it to me, and what should I do in the meantime if I decide to do this?
The water level seems about as high as I had it before. I've tried raising it a bit more but the filter still doesn't work.
I have noticed that the rubber tips on the impeller keep coming off whenever I open up my filter though. Maybe I should just try getting a replacement for that?

[TheComputerGremlin]

I'd call Rena and ask what the warranty process entails and what can be replaced or repaired.

In the meantime, 25% water changes every couple days with some scrubbing will probably hold off most of the ich until the filter is replaced. You might have to do a whole tank cleaning before you put the filter back in, also.

[SpotsMama]

Once I got the intake hose accidently plugged onto the outtake nozzle and vice versa. My XP3 acted like what you describe. My husband pointed out the problem - I was pretty embarrased but at least was able to fix it.

[tknq]

Thanks for the help everyone. It turned out that I needed to replace the impeller. I ordered a new one and it works perfectly fine now.