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Hi! I just got a Sunsun 304B filter & there are no assembly instructions. It seems fairly simple & I'm going to give it a shot, but, here comes the silly question, do I put water in it like I did in my Magnum 350? Is there anything quirky about this filter that I should know before I get it going?

I found this: http://www.allpondsolutions.co.uk/media/pdf/EF-PDF.pdf

It's a canister filter, it should ideally be placed under your tank. Where did you get the filter from? Is it new?

I got it new off ebay. I've got it all set up, but do I put water in the canister and if so, how much? My previous filter called for a full canister, so I'll assume that it should take some. It reminds me of R2D2. It's a big boy.

With most canisters, it's empty until you are ready to prime it. In most cases, you can fill it but it can be a bit messy and time consuming.

When I first set my 304b I did it dry and it took several pumps to get it primed. Since then I have filled the canister almost to the top of the trays and its much easier and less bubbles to purge. With mine I found that it would suck in air if I didn't have all the joints under water on the intake pipe. Another member here used tape and that seems to work too. I used regular hose clamps on the green tubing instead of using the screw on compression clamps because I heard that can cause air to leak. Knowing these things I absolutely love my filter for the past 3 months I have had it. My ammonia stays at 0 and I'm slowly building up the right bacteria to get nitrites under control and so far it has kept the 125 gallon tank crystal clear. I have mine set up with blue pads in the bottom, carbon in the second, and the top 2 full of bio rings. I haven't had an issue with algae yet so I keep the UV light off for now.

I got it together, turned it on and it makes a noise but nothing else. No water going in, no water coming out. I put water in the canister, put clamps on the hoses...same thing. Nada. Unbelievable! I've watched youtube videos & I don't know. No directions, so what can I do besides taking the damn thing apart & starting over. I've been at this for hours, I'm going to bed.

The last thing you do is turn it on. So once the filter is assembled, you start priming it. Each canister might have a different method for that, I think this one has a pump. Once its finished, plug it in and turn it on.