hi guys, first post and all...

i picked up my first big tank today, its a 6 fooot standard.

im currently setting it up and have hit a snag..
the setup was second hand, and did not come with instructions. ive spent the last few hours cleaning everything and finally got it sorted, added the wtaer ager and conditioner, have the tank at 26 dgress, just about to start the filter and low and behold i cant get it working.

i figured it was a simple matter of filling it with water, giving the start lever a pump or 2, and making sure the in was under water, and the out was hanging into tank.

am i misguided? or is there something wrong...

many thanks in advance

Can you hear the pump running?

The biggest problem I have had getting my 404's to fire up again is if there is a "S" shape in the pipework. i.e. part of the pipe work dips/sags down below the level of the cannister lid. What I normally do is lay the cannister down almost flat on its back and fire it up that way. Slowly putting it back upright once it is running.

i can hear the pump running, its rattling alot, im guessing as its dry. i fill it with water and its fine. there is also 2 levers, the blue on seems to hold the hoses in place and the grey one is a throttle? where should it be at.

if i fill the filter with water first, it runs quiet for about 30 seconds before pumping a little bit of water out then starting to rattle again. how many priming pumps should i be giving, and how quick should the pumps be?

sorry for the many questions, im kinda lost atm, cheers

If you are going to use the primer, you are better off not putting anywater in the cannister to start with. Just keep the outlet above the water when priming. Also make sure there is a big white ball in the inlet strainer. If that ball is missing the primer won't work anyway. It takes quite a few goes with the primer to get it going. You do need to make sure that the pipe work is as straight as possible too with no sags in it (that will cause air locks).

thanls for the help, turns out it was the sagging of the hoses.

:thanks: