Brand new filter stopped working Help!

Hey guys! Happy 50th post! Glad to be a part of this community! Here I am, once more asking for opinions. Last night my brand new canister filter crapped out on me. What a mess. Any suggestions on where to go from here for a temporary fix?

Here’s what I’ve done thus far;
1) Attempted to fix the canister; looks like it’s an issue with the propeller; after reinstalling the unit still wasn’t working and backflowed under my tank all over the floor. (WHAT A PAIN!!!)
2) called my LFS; they do not have a replacement unit in stock nor the propeller, they were suppose to get another unit in yesterday but they are out of stock. My guy at the shop also told me, after calling the company directly, they are out of propellers...
3) emailed the filter company directly to rectify the issue.
4) installed an airstone into the now disconnected filter unit to keep water flow/oxygen for my beneficial bacteria.
— keep in mind this filter was only about 2 weeks old so this is an ABSOLUTELY critical time for bacteria growth, so I’m very frustrated.
5) I now have an airstone running in the tank 24hrs (rather than just for night) to help agitate the water a touch. (Temporary fix)

Right now I need to know what my BEST option is for a temporary fix. My plan is to administer water changes daily (until I have a new filter), about 20%.( I normally do 15% h2o changes 3x per week. ) This tank is 120 g so this is VERY physically demanding but I am at a critical point in my “fish in cycle”. (4 fish currently inhabit the tank; 3 barbs & 1 catfish) Any input would be GREATLY appreciated!

 

What brand and model of canister filter do you have? How old is it?

An impeller does not normally go bad unless it gets sand or other grit in it? I like running prefilter sponges on the intake to prevent any large debris from getting into the pump.

If a mag drive pump motor overheats, it can swell up causing the impeller to get stuck. What did you see when you pulled the impeller out of the unit.

 

Hi!
This filter is about 2 weeks old, everything was properly installed intially no dry running or the like. It is an Oase 350 Thermal. The instructions that come with the unit are absolutely abysmal so there was no assistance there.


the only thing on the actual propeller was BB and there was no sand/grit/rock in the propeller/intake or outtake. I’m very confused; Here’s some photos. I am about to run a test in my bathroom incase the thing decides to overflow again but I will wait for your response.

All this happened within a matter of 2 days.

 

I have no experience with that specific brand, but it looks like many similar brands with the motor and impeller in the head unit. I do not see any scratches in the impeller magnet, so it does not look like sand got in the pump.

If you put the impeller back into the pump cavity and plug the cord in, does the impeller turn properly. If the impeller magnet does not turn, then the problem is in the pump motor. If the impeller magnet spins, but the fins that move the water do not spin, then it appears that the glue bond between the magnet and fins has broken. That is probably the most common cause of impeller failures. If Osase has no impellers in stock, it sounds like they may have had a lot of defective impellers...improper glue bonds. You might be able to glue the fins back to the magnet using a marine exoxy adhesive. I tried SuperGlue on one impeller for a HOB filter and it only worked a couple of days before failing again.

You also might take the Osase impeller to a locally owned LFS and see if they have a different brand of impeller that is of similar size. You just might get lucky.

 

RayClem thanks for the suggestions; going to troubleshoot with the impeller now. I’m going to send some pictures over to my LFS as he’s been working closely with me to fix the issue.
This may end of bridging over into tomorrow; had an issue in one of the other tanks that required immediate action. I have 5 tanks (plus one quarantine) / (Setting up a sponge filter and the air tube shot out and got water all over my electrical panels -.-)

Do you feel as though the temporary fixes I have in place will be sufficient for another night or two?

it’s been a messy week over here!!
Thanks for the suggestions; I’ll continue updating.
RayClem should this test be done with or without water?

 

As long as your filter media stays wet, you should not have an issue. Using an air stone to generate some water flow was a great idea.

It has been messy here in Chicagoland as well. It seems like it has been snowing constantly since middle of January. We got almost a foot of snow last Sunday. I know some parts of the northeast were hit even harder. It is snowing again pretty hard now. It's 33 degrees F now, so the snow is wet. However, it will drop to about around 10 degrees F by Friday morning. Starting Saturday, it will get down below zero F every morning for the next week. The way things are going, it may be April before we see grass again.

 

As long as your filter media stays wet, you should not have an issue. Using an air stone to generate some water flow was a great idea.

It has been messy here in Chicagoland as well. It seems like it has been snowing constantly since middle of January. We got almost a foot of snow last Sunday. I know some parts of the northeast were hit even harder. It is snowing again pretty hard now. It's 33 degrees F now, so the snow is wet. However, it will drop to about around 10 degrees F by Friday morning. Starting Saturday, it will get down below zero F every morning for the next week. The way things are going, it may be April before we see grass again.

I will not complain about the weather dropping below 60 here again.
It was 77 Sunday but the wind coming off the ocean was so cold we couldn’t stay at the beach.

RayClem thanks for the suggestions; going to troubleshoot with the impeller now. I’m going to send some pictures over to my LFS as he’s been working closely with me to fix the issue.
This may end of bridging over into tomorrow; had an issue in one of the other tanks that required immediate action. I have 5 tanks (plus one quarantine) / (Setting up a sponge filter and the air tube shot out and got water all over my electrical panels -.-)

Do you feel as though the temporary fixes I have in place will be sufficient for another night or two?

it’s been a messy week over here!!
Thanks for the suggestions; I’ll continue updating.
RayClem should this test be done with or without water?

I hope you are able to get your filter situation sorted out soon!

 

As long as your filter media stays wet, you should not have an issue. Using an air stone to generate some water flow was a great idea.

It has been messy here in Chicagoland as well. It seems like it has been snowing constantly since middle of January. We got almost a foot of snow last Sunday. I know some parts of the northeast were hit even harder. It is snowing again pretty hard now. It's 33 degrees F now, so the snow is wet. However, it will drop to about around 10 degrees F by Friday morning. Starting Saturday, it will get down below zero F every morning for the next week. The way things are going, it may be April before we see grass again.

Thanks! My LFS has an extra impeller he can have it for me tomorrow! I hope that’s the fix I need!
I feel that! We are in New England, we just had a nasty storm too! The only point you can see the ground is where I dump my water!!

 

UPDATE

Yikes!
I went to my LFS as they had an extra impeller for me, switched it out, no change. UGH!! Worst case scenario
I’ve reached out to the company and I am hoping they are able to send me a new unit as my LFS doesn’t have one. What a mess... hopefully they can expedite shipping