Re: Eheim runs dry

["S. Hieber" <shieber at yahoo_com>]

Cavan said,  in part:

> How do you clean out the hoses?  They're long and
> filled with dirt.  Super, super long brushes?

Brushes work best.  You can get a small tube brush about 1
inch long or less and attach it to  a length of nylon cord
(you can use the stuff garden centers sell for weed
whackers).  You can feed the cord through the tubing and
yank through the brush.


> Anyone have that "priming aid" thing?  It's the
> L-shaped device.  I hate sucking on the hose.  problem
> is I can't seem to find the thing.  

Eheim's priming aid is the same idea as Rena's (whose is
incorporated into the filter right out of the box).  It's a
special siphon tube with an opening for funneling in water
by hand (how's that for progress?)

The idea is to fill tank-to-filter tube with water to get a
siphon started.  The siphon then fills the filter while
pushing the air out of the filter-to-tank tube.  

Sometimes, and this is easier with the Rena than the Eheim,
you can't get things going after a cleaning.  The siphon
tube is full, the filter is nearly full and the
filter-to-tank tube is full -- after all you used that
fancy shut-off/disconnect which keeps all the water in the
tubes.  If the filter-to-tank tube is full of water, it's
very hard for the pump to push any air out of the filter. 
Even a Suction bulb isn't much help. 

In this case, the easiest thing seems to be to lower the
outlet end of the filter-to-tank tube below the filter
pump, which will allow the water to drain out and
everything will start up.  I use a bucket to catch the
outflow -- it's easier to dry out than the carpet ;-)   .

On the Renas, the impeller sits a little lower in the
canister so it takes more gas inside the canister to
prevent the impeller blades from being able to pump water. 
Voila, they start easier.

You can start the Rena's by having the canister virtually
full when you put the motor assembly back on (watch out for
overfill spill :-0  ).  If the tubes are empty, the pump
will grab enough water in the canister to start a siphon. 
If the tubes aren't empty, then it's more iffy.

The Eheims are less likely to start up that same way.  you
need to start with empty tubes and then start up an initial
suck to start the siphon.  I don't use my mouth, I use one
of these:

 "Suction Starter (Eheim) " from ThatPetPlace and other
vendors.

It is a rubber squeeze bulb, with an internal bellows valve
and a conical fitting to fit into most any size diameter
tubing.  This works best if the filter is empty of water to
start with -- the siphon will push out all of the water! 
Also, this works great for the Eheim 594 and smaller tubing
*but* if you have a model 2250 or 2260 filter with the 794
tank-to-filter tubing, then you'll need a squeeze bulb the
size of the a Buick, which is hard to find.  Those filters
need to be started with the lowered-outlet-method described
above or a mouth, powerful lings, and pronounced lack of
squeamishness.  James, you run a 2260 don't you?  How do
you start that big pup?

Scott H.

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