Equipment Review and Discussion

So, I took my FLUVAL 305 out for its first cleaning and after re installing it and plugging it in, it's not pumping and making a grinding noise.

I did prime it. There were no more bubbles coming out when I tried to start it. I actually have a blister on my hand now from pumping for so long.
The water level is within the range set by the manufacturer.
The aqua stop value is open and seated correctly.
There are no kinks or loops in the hosing.
The impeller appears to be OK.
There is no debris or foreign object in the filter.

Ok, so although I said the impeller appears to be OK, I did remove it and inspect it. Another forum claims that the magnet part and the plastic fins should not spin independently (they do on mine) but didn't recommend a solution.
Can I just glue the plastic to the magnet?

I would love some help because I'm pretty upset about this and I don't understand what I'm doing wrong.
Does anyone have any additional troubleshooting tips.
My turtles are back in their original dish until I get this sorted out.

Maybe it isn't fully priming. I pumped for literally a half hour and the unit isn't full.

Victory! I read a couple more forums and found one where someone suggested filling the canister with tank water and then trying to prime. It totally worked. So, anyone out there with a 305, if the priming isn't working, save yourself a headache and fill the canister before manually pumping. Hey, at least I got a workout.
Also, it looks like impeller is fine so don't listen to people on the internet that tell you the plastic fins shouldn't spin on their own.

I went through this yesterday too!! PAIN IN THE NECK. I primed for an hour! I had to fill mine up with tank water also but what really got it going was I filled the hoses with water also

I'm having a hard time imagining how you filled up the hoses. Would you mind walking me through your process?

Sure. You can close off the end of the hoses that go in the filter by lifting the little lever up. Then just sink the hoses into the tank water and let them fill. Hold the hoses upright so they stay full and hook up the other side of the hoses to the filter. Immediately put the upright hoses into the water. This will get all the air out of the hoses and help getting water moving. I also filled the canister up. Let me know if it works!

When you clean your filters, you don't need to re-prime.

Follow these directions in this exact order when you're doing your filter maintenance... print them and store the paper by your filter.

- don't let the water level drop below the filter intake. letting air in the intake path breaks the siphon -

1. Close the aquastop valve while the filter is running
2. Unplug the filter
NEVER NEVER pull up on the primer/plunger - doing so breaks the siphon in the hoses and lets them drain back into the tank
3. Lift the release lever and disconnect hoses from canister filter
4. Do your maintenance
5. Fill the canister with as much water as you can before you seal the top half back on
6. attach the hoses - NEVER NEVER pull up on the primer / plunger
7. lock the hose connector in place and open the aqua stop valve all the way
8. walk away for a minute - your canister is filling all the way because you left the hose primed and the siphon just restarted
9. turn the canister on... it will start

Thanks VeipaCray! That Fluval is a pain. I had to take my hoses out and clean the intake (egg junk!)

Cleaning the hoses... eww what a pain.

I cleaned my filter hoses a couple of days ago and managed to plug my sink's drain. What a horrible mess it was!

ugg. Worst part of having turtles is cleaning the gunk. Still.. its much better than the Fluval Plus (in tank underwater filter)I had (2 in a 50 gallon). Those things worked so well but man they were NASTY to clean. the 305 isnt so bad to clean but starting it is an all day thing it seems. EW whats really gross is when your hair gets caught in it... I have no idea how my hair lands in the turtle tank but it apparently does. *gag*. I really wish I had a water hose outside

I'm going to quote myself again. This is from a topic about priming and restarting fluval 05 series filters. I could get rich off this post...

VeipaCray wrote:When you clean your filters, you don't need to re-prime.

Follow these directions in this exact order when you're doing your filter maintenance... print them and store the paper by your filter.

- don't let the water level drop below the filter intake. letting air in the intake path breaks the siphon -

1. Close the aquastop valve while the filter is running
2. Unplug the filter
NEVER NEVER pull up on the primer/plunger - doing so breaks the siphon in the hoses and lets them drain back into the tank
3. Lift the release lever and disconnect hoses from canister filter
4. Do your maintenance
5. Fill the canister with as much water as you can before you seal the top half back on
6. attach the hoses - NEVER NEVER pull up on the primer / plunger
7. lock the hose connector in place and open the aqua stop valve all the way
8. walk away for a minute - your canister is filling all the way because you left the hose primed and the siphon just restarted
9. turn the canister on... it will start

I haven't had to clean it again since you posted that but trust me, I have the list on hand lol

I have a 305 on my wife's cichlid tank. No problems restarting. I can shut that filter down, clean it, and put it back together running again in under 10 minutes. I really like the fluval 05 series for small fish tanks.

Filling the hoses up really seemed to get it going faster (since I took them out to clean them). I wasn't filling the canister up with water before I started it because I was following some youtube video. I had never had a canister filter before and since I bought the whole setup used, I didnt have instructions. Anyway, I have your list with my filter now

Equipment Review and Discussion :: FLUVAL 305 not pumping / making grinding noise

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