# New C-360 springs a leak



## Markolodeon (Nov 4, 2007)

Purchased it online the beginning of the month from one of the bigger online retailers. Get it delivered, watched the DVD, studied all the instructions, loved they have little arrows to orient you so you can't screw up putting it back together.

So there it is, attached to my 55 gallon and per instructions all ready to go. Push the prime button twice and it self-primes, cool. Plug it in and it runs like a new BMW for over a week. Love this filter!

Then last night I noticed the tank was a little low on water which I knew wasn't right because I just topped it off the night before. Sure enough I open the cabinet doors and the C-360 is dripping from what appears to be the motor head seal, except on a side with one of the big black handles so it's hard to say exactly where the trouble is. But a handle can't leak, it either works or it doesn't, must be the seal.

So I unplug, remove the beast, clean up the half-gallon of water or so, and thanked my lucky stars I caught it before going to bed. That thing would have came darn close to emptying my tank by morning (no more intake tubes going anywhere near the bottom of the tank ever again). I inspect everything and all looks well, put it back together, a little silicone grease around the motor head seal, and it snaps back together like a champ. Hook it up to the tank again, prime it, let it run, and after about five minutes the drip, drip, drip (easily one or more drop per second) starts again.

Oh well, hope the company will pay for the postage to return it. If not, live and learn, there is no way I would trust one of these again.


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## Vincent (May 7, 2004)

On WaterWolves someone else had a leak and Marineland sent them a replacement.


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## khaki (Jan 12, 2008)

hmmm...i am running a Marineland C-360 right now for at least a year already...no trouble for me. yes, get it return...tell them to send you a new one...these filters are the best (Marineland C series)


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## demillso (Feb 4, 2008)

There is a problem with some of these filters. It is not the motor seal leaking, it is the valve block which leaks into the motor housing and then out the side by the handle. Marineland is aware of the problem and says they have fixed it on more recent production. They have excellent customer support and will send you a new one and pay to ship the old one back to them it they want it back. That being said I went through 3 before I got one that worked correctly, including one that was supposedly the new style. :roll:


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## Markolodeon (Nov 4, 2007)

The company I purchased it from kindly enough emailed me a UPS return label and it currently is being shipped back for a refund on my credit card. This thing easily could have emptied my 55 gallon onto my apartment floor while I was sleeping last night, killing my colony of cyps and multis who are breeding like crazy. And then the aftermath, that much water would get into everything. I'd have to move to another apartment, lugging all the other tanks along, dealing with insurance and water damage. So happy that nightmare was averted.

The leak was exactly as demillso described, dripping from/around one of the big handles, except just on one side. It went from no leak to seriously, seriously leaking, almost like there was a flip of a switch. The filter wasn't bumped or moved, no maintenance was done. It just went from running like a champ to out of the blue making an annoying mess in minutes. And again this was after over a week of new, out-of-the-box, flawless operation.

If Marineland knows they have seriously faulty product and are not recalling ALL of it that they can to refurbish/repair/replace, they are not a company worth doing business with imho, at least as far as canister filters go. You'd think if it can be proven they know they have a problem and someone has a serious flood they'll be sued out of business.

So far my experience with canisters is as follows:

Marineland C-350, running 10 years without a peep of a complaint, much less a leak. And you know, it works, it cleans the tank. Not as convenient for sure, but it is a tried and true.

Eheim Pro II 2028 - Took me a week to get it running right and now I like it, I guess. Still you read way too many posts about these buggers eventually leaking. I read some advice about keeping all canisters in five gallon pails just to have a little safety room in case of a leak. And don't even get me started about the uber-cheap plastic tube that connects the Pro II's motor head to the filter baskets. It's like everyone in Engineering at Eheim took that day off and the file clerk designed it.

Marineland C-360 - Glad there are non-defective units out there but no way would I gamble with one again.

Rena Filstar XP3 - Just received it, looking forward to setting it up this week. Big selling point is right on the box it says "NO LEAKS!" One of those things/features one should look for when shopping for a canister.

And it's a bummer, I really wanted to like the C-360!


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## supadave (Jun 19, 2007)

*Markolodeon*

Sorry you had problems with the Marineland C-360 , but you will love the Rena XP3. :thumb:


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## Markolodeon (Nov 4, 2007)

I hope I will love the XP3! Part of this has been about just trying different products and forming my own opinions based on experience. In fact I think I'll go take it out of the box now and marvel at what I'm sure will be many, many parts (a requirement of all canisters :lol: )


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## dtress3 (Jan 27, 2007)

A little off topic, but can anyone weigh-in on the C-360 and cleaning the tubes? I have cleaned my filter, but the water isn't coming out with as much pressure as it did initially, and it doesn't seem to clean the tank as well as I anticipated. I have it on a 55. As soon as I took off an additional Penguin 150 HOB (to use on a fry tank), the tank seemed to get dirty so much faster! And, I don't see very much circulation either. The only thing I can think of is that the actual hoses need cleaned. I'm not sure I want to venture into trying to dismantle the hoses to clean. I end up with a mess everytime I try to do maintenance. Anyone??


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## Markolodeon (Nov 4, 2007)

It seems like there would be a variety of ways to determine if one of the tubes is clogged. You'd think it would happen at the intake basket inside the tank. Otherwise next time you clean it pull the tubes with the intake and nozzle attachments off the tank and take it amd the bulkhead to the tub. Look inside it, if you have a garden hose or water python run water through it.

My guess is the tubes are just fine, but it's worth checking. Next all that leaves is a motor in slow decline, or clogged media, or both.

I'm still marveling at the simplicity of the xp3, haven't even hooked it up yet. The great part is when the time comes there doesn't appear to be any arrows or tubes to align. You just fill the baskets and stack them up, snap on the lid, prime it, and plug it in. Hopefully it goes that easy, the C-360 pretty much did. Still this business of pulling the bulkhead in and out of the canister each time for cleaning, it just seems awkward. That's where the Pro II's are light-years ahead of the canister pack.

Tomorrow, the xp3!


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