Equipment Review and Discussion :: Filter Won't Prime

[Kurtni]

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 was cleaning my filter out to replace some media and I was good up until step 8... the "walk away" step, which quickly turned into the filter flooding my dining room step. I have a magnum 350 (believe me, I know it's dreadful) and normally changing media out isn't a hassle, but I guess I didn't get the seal tight enough so I lost the siphon and now I can't get it to reprime. I checked and the impeller is clear, my media is in place. Water will go up the outtake tube, but not down through the intake.
Does anyone know what else could be wrong?

[steve]

I haven't used the 350 before, so I'm not sure if the lid needs to be seated in a certain way. You might as well empty the canister, reseat the seals and re-prime .

[Kurtni]

I think the O ring slid off when I put the top of the canister on initially, which was the seal problem. I've tried just starting completely over and it won't reprime, is the problem.

[steve]

Does the motor hum when you plug it in?

[VeipaCray]

I had the same problem with my 350 numerous times. It's supposed to be a self priming filter. If the o-ring is seated properly and the tubes inside are aligned with the lid and the impeller is spinning and it STILL won't reprime... walk it over to the trash can.

I eventually took my 350 to the range and shot it. Awful filter.

[Kurtni]

^I can see that being very satisfying.

My fiance did some marineland-voodoo nonsense and managed to fix it, although I still intend on getting a new filter pretty soon because I hate this thing.