55 Gallon Tank Ehiem Canister filter running very slow

My filter is running very slow. I've changed the filter pad but its still running very slow. I did prime the filter proberly but still running slow. The water seems to struggle to get up the output tube. The suction from the intake tube seems to be strong. Might it be an air leak? If so, how can I find and fix it. Other possible causes for this?

 

How did you prime it? I prime mine by sticking air tubing up the intake to where it looks around the tanks edge and manually suck the air out myself....sometimes it seems primed but it's not 100% and it will be sucking in water and spitting it out very slowly I keep sucking air out and then it goes to full flow. Do you think that's the case? If not then I'm not sure I've never had an air leak in mine.

 

2 things come to mind,

have you extended the tubing to reach from weird positions? is the tank very low down?

as stated above how was it primed?

only other thing that comes to mind is how low is low? in my honest opinion eheims don't have that massive burst spray like an FX5.

 

not low enough to the ground?

 

I primed the filter by sucking on the outtake tube. I've redone it 3 time empting the filter each time to try again over the last week. I've shaken the filter to make sure there are no air bubbles. The filter is under the tank on a stand I've been using since I got the tank 3 years ago. I've never had this problem before. The flow is significantly less than it should be, even for an Ehiem filter.
Flow is slightly better this morning but not close to what it should be.

 

When is the last time you took apart the motor head and cleaned the impeller well? Doing this once a year helps clean out the gunk that builds up.

 

I believe I did it last this past fall. I'll check it out though. thanks. Other sugestions?

 

The impeller was dirty but not that bad. Flow has remanied the same. What else could it be?

 

The impeller was dirty but not that bad. Flow has remanied the same. What else could it be?

I can't say for sure. If there was an air leak you would have noisy air bubbles gurgling out of the spray-bar.

 

I don't have that going on. It sounds like its running normal but just very little flow.

 

The impeller was dirty but not that bad. Flow has remanied the same. What else could it be?

Did the impeller have any cracks or anything that looked worn or damaged? How long have you had the filter?

 

Impeller apears to be in good shape. I've had the filter for about 3 years.

 

Flow is worse today. Its down to slightly more than a trickle. Please help!!! My fish are all at the top of the tank sucking in air and the water is getting cloudy. I don't know what to do.

 

Flow is worse today. Its down to slightly more than a trickle. Please help!!! My fish are all at the top of the tank sucking in air and the water is getting cloudy. I don't know what to do.

Do you have a back up filter? I would add all your media to another filter (like a power filter) and run that on the tank until you can figure out what's wrong with the eheim.

Also, check your water parameters. If any ammonia or nitrite is present, do a 50% water change and dose the entire tank volume with Amquel+ or Prime. These two products detoxify ammonia and nitrite and keep the fish safe from their harmful effects.

 

Thank for the advice. I will do that.

 

Thank for the advice. I will do that.

You're welcome. I'm sorry I can't be of more help diagnosing your filter. I can't think of what else to try other than a new motor head. For the price of a new motor head you mind as well just buy another canister.

I forget the name of them, but there is a good brand canister on eBay that sells for a great price. Jaysee will be able to help if you're interested in a replacement filter.

Keep us posted

 

it is the sunsun canister filter I believe

 

it is the sunsun canister filter I believe

That's the name! Here is a

 

I've been having the same problem with my e h eI m. Sucking on output pipe seems to help a little, but not much. Cleaning makes no difference . Filters a year and a half old. If I find a solution I'll let you know..

Hmm i've just taken the filter and pump chamber apart and cleaned it. No improvement. So I scrutinized the manual and realised I have not been priming the filter properly: I've been plugging in the filter before priming. How embarrassing , but felt I should share, in case someone else has been doing the same.

 

My filter is still running slow. I put a HOB filter that is rated up to 20 gallons along with my trickling Eheim. As soon as I put the HOB filter on, all of the fish left the top of the water and started swimming around. Fhew! I did another 50% water change as well since it was getting cloudy again.
I've primed my filter wrong in the past but I made sure to do it correctly during this dilemma. I am completely out of ideas and don't have the extra money right now to buy a new filter, even a cheap one until next month. I hope this set up keeps them content until then.
If anyone else can think of anything I can do to fix my filter please, please share. Thanks to all of you who have offered suggestions and comments. Please keep them coming.

 

Well you can try replacing the whole head as suggested, I would first try replacing the impeller and magnet, my friend suggested spraying the area where impeller sits encase there is a slime coat or something else is up there that you can't see, also to fill the canister prime it etc, shut the taps and try to remove the roof apparently if the roof is hard to come off that means it air tight if not there's an air leak! but if all this does fail I would still try a new impeller!

Sometime I have to fully take one of mine apart dismantle the impeller get all the water out, remove the Oring and replace it then it works fine, but I believe its because the canisters sit at the same level as the tank and has extended tubing.

only other thing I could think about would be giving it a good tap on the head I would just buy a new 2217 without media they go for 170$ here so about 120 in the US if you can buy them without media or a second hand one you should be able to get a second hand filter for 100 and lower! Its really weird that the filter has semI given up on you

 

yeah I hope its something simple that you'll figure out. Like I said as I am priming mine, sometimes I think its primed but I can tell that it is not because the flow is hardly anything. But I don't know if that is the case. I've never had any problems with my 2213 like that, to where I couldn't figure out.
I hope you get it settled. If not.....if the budget allows go for a new and improved one like mr squirtle said.

 

UPDATE: My filter automagically stated working. I was running both my Eheim filter that was running just more that a trickle and a 30 gallon HOB filter to help with air flow. As the water level dropped in the tank, I noticed that my Eheim was working properly again. The flow has returned to normal. I have no idea why it started to work again. It was not working for about 2 weeks then all of the sudden, the flow was normal. I have not touched in a week and a half to two weeks. I’m so glad I don’t have to go buy another filter. YAY! Hope the problem has worked its self out and next time I clean it, it starts fine right away and not two weeks later. Finger crosses…
Thank you to all who made posts to help me with this problem and to keep my fish happy while it worked itself out.

 

Well that's good to hear!

 

Hooray!!!!!!!;D