Habitat - Indoor :: Fluval 405 not working

[QtCowgirl]

Hello,

I just got a fluval 405 second hand. It worked in a 56g freshwater tank before I purchased it off a friend moving 5 hours away and couldnt take the tank with them. This is now my turtle's home until we get something bigger in the future. After looking online and reading all I could find, I still cannot seem for the life of me to get my filter to work! I replaced the cover over the impeller, and the gasket that goes around the top of the filter. I have put all new media in the housing, put it back together and no luck. I try to prime it, it wont even prime! So I tried a few other things suggested online about filling the housing first then turning it on, etc. to no avail. There are no kinks in the hoses, they arent too long, and I just cannot get any suction at all! What am I missing, what am I doing wrong? Any advice would be most appreciated! Thank you!

[VeipaCray]

Is the filter below your tank? Is the filter intake completely submersed in the water?

I just cannot get any suction at all!

Canister filters do not suck water in. They are a gravity fed siphon. Priming the canister is starting the siphon.
The pump in the canister pushes water out and back up to your tank and the gravity siphon will pull water down into the canister at a rate equal to the pump pushing the water out.

If the canister is not below your tank the siphon won't work.

[QtCowgirl]

It is below the tank. Its beneath the tank inside the stand. And yes the filter intake is completely submersed in water. I watched a youtube video on how to properly install this thing, so I made sure the connection point was beneath the water as well, and the water is not more than 7" from the rim of the tank.

[QtCowgirl]

I think I may have found the problem, the impeller seems to catch and get stuck. I tried to turn it manually, and it only goes about halfway and then gets stuck. Going to get a new one and see if thats the issue.

[steve]

Were you able to get it working?

[QtCowgirl]

I did get it working!! Sorry for the delay in response! With a new baby, life doesnt ever seem to slow down anymore! However I was wondering if anyone happens to know of a good setup for the media? Right now in the side compartment I have 4 of the foam sponges, then in the stacking compartments, the top I have the bio foam, second compartment is biomax media, then carbon, and the bottom is a polishing pad. However I cant seem to get my tank nice and crystal clear! Is there a better setup for the media to get a clearer tank?

[ljapa]

There's a great thread in the equipment for media setup. The second post there covers the 405.

viewtopic.php?f=9&t=30145

As you know, turtles produce a lot of waste. It's possible that your polishing pad gets gunked up quickly and reduces the flow. I have a 406 set up as recommended in that thread and have no problems keeping the water clear.

[QtCowgirl]

Thank you so much!!!

[QtCowgirl]

I discovered my problem!! Not only was I using media that probably wasnt the most effective, but I had everything backwards!! Like the polishing pads I was using were supposed to be on the top of the 4 basket set, but I had them on the bottom, etc. Now after getting all the most effective media (I assume) and a 60% water change (it was so cloudy due to my mistake on the filter issue), within 3 hours its almost crystal clear!! Thank y'all so much for the help!

[steve]

Glad it was sorted out!

[QtCowgirl]

Me too!! Im still noticing the water is still a tad cloudy, its not crystal clear. Any tips on how to help this? Perhaps another partial water change? Or is this the cycling process all over again because I took extra water out this last change?

[steve]

It could be taking a bit of time to cycle. My tank has a big piece of cork, and that always leaves the water a bit cloudy.

[VeipaCray]

If you changed media you've probably lost most of your bacteria colony and are going through another cycle. Give it a few days to see if it clears up. I'd avoid the water change as you'll just prolong the cycle.

[QtCowgirl]

It was a small cycle and cleared up in a few days! Its been nice and clear since!! Thanks so much!