# Eheim canister filter not pumping



## dakotanut (Aug 9, 2016)

Did a partial (50%) water change today. Dish were at the bottom breathing heavy this morning. Cleaned everything real good. Got the Eheim cleaned up and installed and never got any pressure from the return( outtake) side. Took it to the sink and filled the sink up with water. Filled up the canister and both hoses and just had no output. I have to have filtration so I went and bought a Fluval 306 filter. I'll deal with Eheim later. Unless yall know what is wrong and can be fixed relative easily. My question with the Fluval is, do the intake and outtake hoses need to be the same length? I did on the Eheim. The Eheim fit inside my stand but the Fluval doesn't. So it's on the right side of the tank. One hose reaches to the left side of tank and one to the right side. I don't want to burn up the new filter. Thanks for any and all help.


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## Bd79 (Apr 11, 2011)

Which Eheim model? If it's a Classic, back flush it (drain the water out the bottom tube) to make sure it's not clogged. I'd guess that the filter isn't primed, or has a clog in the intake.


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## LXXero (May 4, 2016)

did you hear the pump running?

if it's a classic then you need to prime it. Just disconnect the intake hose, and i usually just suck on it and get it started, just don't take a drink of water, lol. Then close the valve as soon as the water starts coming, it shouldn't take much at all. I'd have a bucket nearby so you can make sure the hose is fully filled up with water before you close the valve.

At that point, re-attach the drain hose/valve to the canister, and disconnect the output hose from the canister. Open all the valves now, and the canister should start filling with water. As soon as the water tries to come out of the output side, close the return valve, and re-attach the return hose. Open all the return valves, plug in the pump. It should pump out any air and start working at this point.

If not, you could have a bad propeller, that's one of those things that occasionally can get damaged in shipping or what not. Make sure the magnet is attached to the propeller and not cracked loose or broken. Make sure it spins freely on the shaft and that nothing is blocked....


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## Ryan_R (Aug 20, 2014)

Indeed, you've gotta have the intake primed. Bleeding some air via the outlet hose might do it. Either way, filling it with water won't do it. I love the Eheims, but they can be finicky. If you ran it dry, there's a possibility that you broke the impeller magnet.

-Ryan


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