So I own my first canister filter...

[jwcarlson]

I bought an unused (but pre-owned) 75 gallon tank and the guy threw in a used SunSun HW-304B.  I fired it up a few days ago after testing tank for leaks.  Ran two+ days without issue.  

Bought some new filter pads for it and wanted to rearrange some media.  So I shut it off and popped the top.  In a total brain-dead moment I did not consider that it has an active siphon in both tubes and when I popped the top it, um... Siphoned a good amount of water all over until I could get it sorted out.  Totally my fault.  Cleaned up, rearranged media, closed it up, and good to go. 

A few hours later my wife wakes me up (we have a sick kid and she fell asleep on me and I dosed off watching an old Cory live stream)..."There's water all over again!" 

So another big cleanup.  Took it all back apart again.  Something must have been holding one side of the top up a little bit. 

So now it is in a plastic tub in "time out".  Everything is cleaned up, no leaks out of it yet. Are these things always this big of a pain in the rear or will I get used to it doing enough maintenance on it? 

I've always had HOBs on everything when I was younger.  The amount of biological filtration you can fit in this thing is something to behold, honestly. Just wondering if I should drain it all and move everything from the living room to the unfinished basement. 🤣

[Flumpweesel]

Can't speak for the make you have but I find my canister pretty painless. 

As it's second hand it might be worth checking that the seals haven't perished they are generally pretty easy to replace or oil if they are brittle

[jwcarlson]

Breaking the siphon is really a royal pain unless there's a trick I don't know.  I might have to do some thinking about how to sort that out easier.

I checked out what I could before filling it up, everything is in pretty good shape, honestly.  I don't think he used it very much (maybe because it was a pain?).  It's nothing I can't deal with, in any event.  

[Flumpweesel]

Have you got the manual might be worth a down load to see if you have missed a trick. 

[HH Morant]

I keep my canisters in plastic storage containers from Walmart. It is good for small leaks, but not enough volume if the leak siphons out two thirds of the water in the aquarium.

I have seen recommendations to put a small hole in the siphon tube a couple of inches below the water line so that in the event of a canister leak siphoning out your water, the siphon will be lost when the water level gets down to the hole. The motor on the canister would burn out, but maybe you wouldn't have to replace your hardwood floors.

This would prevent a catastrophic siphon event, but it would also mean you would lose the siphon every time the water level gets below the small hole. Like when you do a water change.

I have not done that with my canisters yet. Is it a good idea?

[gardenman]

I use the Cascade canister filters and they're pretty easy to live with. They have shutoff valves on the hoses. You shut off the intake valve with the filter running. Let it drain for a few seconds, then shut off the outlet hose valve, then unplug it. Then unscrew the hoses and wander off with the canister to clean it. I use some petroleum jelly on the gasket to keep it flexible and help it seal. I almost never have leaking issues with them. I always listen as they're refilling after a cleaning and if I hear air escaping as the water comes in, I shut the valves and recheck the seals, but that almost never happens. (Been well over a year since the last time it happened.)

You do have to clean the hoses on a regular basis. I'd thought mine were slowing down due to a bad impeller or something as the flow had been drastically reduced. Then I bought a hose cleaning brush and about a pound of gunk came out and the flow was back to normal. I now clean the hoses on a regular basis. If you use a canister filter, invest in a hose cleaning brush. 

[BETTA999]

nonono the sponge is better than the canister 🤣 but i dont row alot bout canisters

[jwcarlson]

Minor update:

There is a shut off.  I was playing with it without it being on and thought it was a clamp keeping the hose barb assembly in.  So that helped a lot.  But there was still a slow drip leak from the seal area.  I bought a replacement seal even though the seal seems absolutely fine and flexible.  I removed/rearranged a bit of the bio rings.  I think the top wasn't seating fully because it was hitting on some of the rings.  

No more dripping at this point.  Now if I can sort out how to get the intake and outlet held down to the tank I'd be good to go.  Didn't come with that part of it.

[MyFish]

Look up your filter on Amazon.  Read the reviews and questions for your product.  
 

if that doesn’t help I have a pen-plax canister 1500 I would sell you.  I bought it new for my 55 gallon I’m starting up.  I thought the extra size 350gph, would help, but the flow rate is too strong. (I went up in size because I knew I wanted cichlids). It’s rated for up to 200gallon tanks. I still have it hooked up for cycling the tank and am waiting to install my other canister filter, an Aqueon Quietflow 200. Rated for up to 55gallon tanks. (200gph). I have plants so the extra filtration the plants provide should be fine.

enclosed is pictures if your interested.  I do love how easy it is to operate, just don’t need it.  

[jwcarlson]

On 1/17/2022 at 7:29 PM, MyFish said:

if that doesn’t help I have a pen-plax canister 1500 I would sell you.  

Have a lead on an aquarium friendly apartment?  Might be looking for one if anything else shows up in the mail. 😄 😄

 

[jwcarlson]

Spoke too soon, when I went to bed last night there was no leakage and it had been 5-6 hours.  But this morning it's leaked out into the tub again.  Strange.  Guess I'll wait and see if the seal fixes it when it arrives (or maybe vasoline it up and see if that helps).

 

Making me miss my "Penguin" filters on my old 75 circa 15 years ago.  😄

[isaly]

On 1/18/2022 at 8:53 AM, jwcarlson said:

(or maybe vasoline it up and see if that helps).

Don't use Vaseline on rubber seals. Petrolatum will degrade rubber and latex. Use Silicone grease.

[MyFish]

Isaly is correct!  Vaseline is a petroleum product and will also leach into the water toxins.  The penn plax website states to not use Vaseline as well.  I recommend looking up your filter on their website and contacting them for advice.  I have experienced superior customer service with Penn-plax and also Aqueon; when I emailed them.  They both responded the next day!

[jwcarlson]

Thanks 🙂  

Was planning on doing vaseline only as something to try with this gasket I am replacing.  But am getting plumbers grease today when I go to the hardware store so will not bother with the vaseline at all.  Also found a video of someone loosening some screws at SunSun's recommendation, so will try that tonight probably. 

[MyFish]

I would not use plumbers grease at least hold off. You may just order a new gasket from Sunsun. But I would check with their website to see what they recommend usually silicon grease will work fine don’t know what the plumbers grease is made of but I would be very cautious.

https://www.sunsun-china.com/product/aquarium-equipment/

Edited January 19, 2022 by MyFish

[jwcarlson]

On 1/19/2022 at 8:05 AM, MyFish said:

I would not use plumbers grease at least hold off. You may just order a new gasket from Sunsun. But I would check with their website to see what they recommend usually silicon grease will work fine don’t know what the plumbers grease is made of but I would be very cautious.

I've got two gaskets on the way.  Plumber's grease is silicone grease (so far as I know).

[MyFish]

Cool.

Do you know how old your filter is?  Most reviews I’ve looked Companies recommend replacing or inspecting the mean gasket at one year of use.  I to I am going through a learning curve with my canister filter as this is the first canister filter I’ve owned. If the maintenance becomes too much for me I may just switch to a HOB (hang on back), However I wanted to try canisters because they filter much more efficiently and better.

[jwcarlson]

I'm not sure the canisters are "better" in a way we'd traditionally think of them.  But they certainly have a lot of space for biological media (in my opinion).  And because of that I'd imagine they can handle converting a lot of waste into nitrates, but I really wonder how much is necessary.

 

The filter is of unknown age.  Honestly, if I'd have known it would be a headache I would have just bought something else.  At this point I'd just bought spares of things if I end up buying another of the same.  I would guess that the seal hasn't been replaced and, honestly, it might have sat for years for all I know.  So the seal could be dry it just "feels" good to me but it isn't.  The first time I put it into service it didn't leak.  But maybe it was a little brittle and there's some damage now. *shrug*

I'll eventually get it sorted out (or replaced). 🙂