New here, need help setting up filter!

[RobbyMomma]

Hi

My 9 year old daughter is starting an aquarium. She's researching and setting up now. She got an old Penguin HOB filter and we filled it with coarse sponge. Now, are you supposed to fill the whole thing with water to start it? At first we did not and it was loud and not sucking. So we did fill mostly with water, and now it's quiet, seems to be sucking, but no output into tank. Just wondering if we've set this up right as it was second hand with no instructions and I'm sure it's suppose  to be outputting back into tank.

Thanks so much!

Robin

[FrozenFins]

Can you send pictures/ vidoes. This may help identify your problem.

[RobbyMomma]

Thanks James.

I'm having trouble logging into this forum on my phone,  and that is where the video is. Even so, looks like I can only upload a URL, so it's kind of out of my league. Sorry. I can try to describe more detail?

 

[FrozenFins]

You can try this....

1) Send the picture to your self through email 

2) log onto your computer

3) go onto your email, and down load the image

4) now copy and paste the image onto to your message

If that doesn't make sense, then sure try to explain it with more detail.

[RobbyMomma]

Thanks again!

I have a nice video, but too big to email I guess.

Just a pic, let's try this:

[Dawn T]

Have you tried filling it all the way? When I have to start an HOB, I fill it to the point it starts overflowing into the tank THEN plug it in. They start right up that way, with only a bit of air in the intake tube to clear out (if they're working correctly, that is).

[OceanTruth]

You definitely need to fill it with water to prime it. You said it’s taking in water so it should be exiting somewhere visible.

Is the flow controller turned all the way up? Did you check the impeller? Doesn’t happen often, but they do break.

[RobbyMomma]

what does the impeller look like? this is an old second hand unit, so it may have pooped  out.  I guess it may not actually be taking in  water, but i do feel the motor on and something is spinning i think.

thanks!

[Anita]

2 hours ago, RobbyMomma said:

She got an old Penguin HOB filter and we filled it with coarse sponge.

I have used a couple brands of hang-on-back (HOB) filters, Fluval and Top Fin (Petsmart), modified with coarse foam. Both models needed priming if they sat turned off for more than a few minutes. At first, I only had to pour one cup full (6-8 oz) of water to get them going. Over time, it took multiple cups of water to get them going. Like your Penguin HOB, with the first cup the filter reservoir fills up but doesn't overflow into the tank. The reservoir would only overflow from pouring in multiple cups of water. I could see the water level surging up and down slightly, as the pump tried to achieve sufficient vacuum to get the flow going. Eventually, after more cups of water, the motor sound changed and the filter reservoir would overflow and start flowing into the tank.

The Top Fin was particularly fiddly. Sometimes I had better luck with the flow rate turned down halfway so the impeller was turning more slowly. (I have no idea why this worked. 🤔) Then once the filter was flowing, I turned the flow rate back to full. Sometimes I removed all the foam inserts to maximize water flow and then poured in multiple cups of water. Once the filter was flowing again, I put the foam back in. What a pain in the you-know-what! 🙄

I wonder if this priming issue has something to do with dirt/mineral build-up gradually clogging up and impeding pump efficiency? You mentioned the Penguin filter is old, so I wonder if something similar has happened?

Good luck!

[Dawn T]

@RobbyMomma, I haven't used the Penguin filters, but are they set up so you can remove the motor unit? If so, you can check it closely to make sure all the parts are there. If the impeller is missing, it definitely won't work. If it's there and all of THAT is working properly, the only other thing that comes to mind is the intake tube. Is it clogged enough to prevent water uptake. I've had that happen with my old Top Fin models. The way they're designed makes it really easy for gunk to clog them so they stop up-taking water properly. It's a bear to clean out. Below is a photo of what that looks like on the Top Fin model (I grabbed one of mine out of storage). In that case, it's the end of the intake tube inside the filter. The impeller is mounted in the center hole in this case, leaving only the 3 slots around the center point to uptake water. If the Penguin has a similar setup on the intake tube, it could be clogged. If the entire tube is clear and the motor is working properly, I'm out of ideas.