# Help needed w/install. of my Aquatop cf500



## Hammerstix (Feb 23, 2012)

The prime valve/button, as described as such in the instructions, doesn't appear to be acting as sucj. Compress & depress the prime pump, as described, won't do either.

Is there a trick to this or do I have a dud?


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## Hammerstix (Feb 23, 2012)

Water is supposed to be poured into the canister, right?


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## rp-photo (Sep 22, 2011)

no... u have a self prime button on top of the tank .. just press it and and once u see the bubbles stop plug in

... u could try pouring water in through the intank tube.. but *** never heard of anyone having issues w/ the self prime button


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## Hammerstix (Feb 23, 2012)

I filled the canister all the way to the top w/water.
I put the top on, then attempted to prime it but when I pressed down on it, nothing happened. The button didn't go down.
I thought maybe it didn't need primed so I plugged it in. Prior to plugging in I noticed the tubes had water in them.
I plugged in & the water in the tubes stayed where they were.
I thought maybe if I primed the button the water would be pushed through the tube. I pushed, but button didn't go down & then motor made a weird noise so I unplugged.
Thoughts? What am I doing wrong?


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## rp-photo (Sep 22, 2011)

hmmm not sure.. maybe call Customer Support, or wait and see if Razor catches this post to see what he says


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## Hammerstix (Feb 23, 2012)

Well I finally figured out the primer button actually has to be pushed down, not pressed. But I still can't get the air bubble in both tubes closest to the tank to push through.
Appreciate your help...I'll check in again...


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## countryboy814 (Feb 19, 2012)

Never had a problem with mine. Youtube has demo video. Just to be sure....you are pushing the large blue primer and not the uv switch cover? You have to keep pushing primer until it primes. I did not fill the canister first.


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## 13razorbackfan (Sep 28, 2011)

Hammerstix said:


> I filled the canister all the way to the top w/water.
> I put the top on, then attempted to prime it but when I pressed down on it, nothing happened. The button didn't go down.
> I thought maybe it didn't need primed so I plugged it in. Prior to plugging in I noticed the tubes had water in them.
> I plugged in & the water in the tubes stayed where they were.
> ...


In order for the prime to work correctly you can't have it filled with water....won't work right. It will be really hard to push or at least it was for me. If it is filled with water just plug it in and away you go. When I do water changes my water level drops below both my output and my intake. I just fill the tank back up and turn it back on.

PS...the canister over the next hour or so will continue to push out air. So don't worry about that.


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## Hammerstix (Feb 23, 2012)

Im burnt out on this & not dealing w/it again till customer service calls me back.

I will keep you posted...just in case anyone elsd is considefing this type of filter...I will be your guinea pig.


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## countryboy814 (Feb 19, 2012)

13razorbackfan said:


> Hammerstix said:
> 
> 
> > I filled the canister all the way to the top w/water.
> ...


When you just turn it back on you haven't lost water in the tubing. That's what I do too. That being said....when I first hooked it up I followed the directions and the only thing was that I had to pump the primer more than I thought in order to get the flow going into the canister. Following directions is the key. I hope you haven't ruined the moving part.


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## 13razorbackfan (Sep 28, 2011)

Hammerstix said:


> Im burnt out on this & not dealing w/it again till customer service calls me back.
> 
> I will keep you posted...just in case anyone elsd is considefing this type of filter...I will be your guinea pig.


Just curious....will it not turn on? If you filled the canister full of water and put the top back on just plug it in. Also...there is a helpful install video on youtube it is around 7 minutes long.

Also...I emailed and always received prompt help from [email protected]


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## Hammerstix (Feb 23, 2012)

I don't have time today to mess with it.

I will admit, I didn't follow the instructions...I filled the canister with a bucket. I knew it had to have water in it for the thing to eork. Instead of priming the water in I just used a bucket.

That was my first mistake.

Secondly, I was unclear as to how to get the primer button to work. Foolish as it seems I thought it had to be pressed, not pushed down with my whole hand. So after closing the top of the canister I made an "attempt" to prime w/ no avail.. So I just plugged the thing in. it sounded ok but then started making this crazy noise. I unplugged it immediately. I didn't know what went wrong!

After I figured out that in order to prime the thing, which requires me standing over it & pushing down in a "pumping" motion, I was filling the tank /canister w/even more water & plugged back in. It still didn't sound right & the water in the tube was doing nothing.

I popped the top off the canister & water dribbled everywhere.

Then I thought the tubes were too long so I cut them shorter but now I have to pump the primer w/out standing over it. Im no weakling, I work out 6 days a week 90 munutes @ a time & was finding this quite difficult.

That's when I had enough & left an email for aquatop peeps.

They haven't responded but that's cool...been too busy today. I will start again tomorrow.

I aporeciate ya'lls feedback. May not sound like it but its helpful hearing from experienced individuals. Im using the information trying to figure this thing out.

Will keep ya'll posted...


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## Hammerstix (Feb 23, 2012)

I did check out the Youtube vid., although they make it look easier then my experience it was very helpful! Thank you for sharing!


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## 13razorbackfan (Sep 28, 2011)

Hammerstix said:


> I did check out the Youtube vid., although they make it look easier then my experience it was very helpful! Thank you for sharing!


You are welcome...hope it works out.

PS...the noise you may have heard was it purging the air.


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## Hammerstix (Feb 23, 2012)

13razorbackfan said:


> PS...the noise you may have heard was it purging the air.


It very well may have been. I freaked though after reading online how quiet the filter runs.

I'll be a bit more patient tomorrow & hopefully customer service can walk me through it. I sure hope I didn't damage the thing!


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## 13razorbackfan (Sep 28, 2011)

Hammerstix said:


> 13razorbackfan said:
> 
> 
> > PS...the noise you may have heard was it purging the air.
> ...


They do run quiet after they get going. I bet you heard it purging air then freaked out. Even if it is primed there will still be air in the lines. It usually pushes all air out in about an hour and every so often for the next few hours.


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## countryboy814 (Feb 19, 2012)

Any follow up? I feel bad after raving about the company.


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## Hammerstix (Feb 23, 2012)

UPDATE: The filter is now working! Apparently the newer canister prime buttons are harder to push unless you can find its "sweet spot". So, there is a manual way which is sucking the output line from the spraybar end which drew the water through the intake line to the canister. Took one try before the filter took over.

Aquatop tech. support was easy to get a hold of & walked the process through. Im pleased with them, despite a rough beginning.

I did do a water change before the installation & things are clearing very quickly.

I really hope this prohibits me from having to deal w/another algea bloom.

Thanks for yalls help, I appreciate the help that was given. It kept me feeling positive knowing others have dealt w/these filtets before. Hopefully this post will help someone like me.


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## flemming (Mar 3, 2010)

I got my Aquatop CF500UV fiter up and running on my 30 gallon bow front aquarium i found out i cant use my Eheim Spray Bar (Installation Set 2)16mm any i idea how to make this work ??
:-?? http://www.photos.jcstudiosinc.com/user369/eheim400431-1.jpg


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## flemming (Mar 3, 2010)

the hose is 3/4 OD


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## 13razorbackfan (Sep 28, 2011)

What is the ID(inner diameter) of the hose that is supposed to connect to the eheim spray bar in inches? I am pretty sure the ID of the green hose from the aquatop is 5/8".


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## smitty814 (Sep 27, 2012)

I think it's 3/4 on the 500 and 5/8 on the 400


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## 13razorbackfan (Sep 28, 2011)

smitty814 said:


> I think it's 3/4 on the 500 and 5/8 on the 400


Yep....my bad. 3/4" for sure. I measured the wrong hose.


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## Woundedyak (Oct 19, 2007)

Scrap the Eheim Spray Bar and build your own. There are tons of walk through in the DYI section. I built one for my cf400 for about 10bucks and took a couple of beers to get it done.


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## 13razorbackfan (Sep 28, 2011)

Woundedyak said:


> Scrap the Eheim Spray Bar and build your own. There are tons of walk through in the DYI section. I built one for my cf400 for about 10bucks and took a couple of beers to get it done.


Just imagine what you could have done with a 6 pack!!! 

Seriously though....here is a good DIY spray bar thread.

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=248582


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