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Re: [APD] Re: filter vs pump -- or - Siphoning a few more details on the ECCO



I confess I haven't read Eheim's instructions for the Eccos
in a long time. And I mightr be missunderstanding your
message. Still, I will venture these remarks:

I don't think it matters. If the pump has been running and
you close the valves, the rotor is still lubricated with
the water in the filter. If there is some air in the
canister, it might settle up around the rotor when the
water flow is stopped, but for the few minutes between
closing the valves and unplugging the filter, it shouldn't
hurt anything. Whether you turn the pump off first or not
should not matter either. When you shoult off the pump with
the hoses still open, the water has nowhere to go. Just
disconnect the hoses after shutting the valves and you
shouldn't have any problem. 

But if the hoses are connected and the valves closed, then
the canister can't draw in any air or water when you try to
open it. When you raise the handle back to open the
canister you are pulling the pump head out of the canister
and you thereby are trying to cause a vacuum in the
canister, which tries to pull the pump head back down into
the canister. It's like trying to pull up the handle on a
bicycle-tire air pump with the pump's air tube and air
inlet blocked. 

If you leave the hoses connected and either valve open when
you remove the pump head, then you risk siphoning water
from the tank, or at least dumping the water that's in the
tube, through the open valve, through the pump, and onto
the floor.

If after removing the hoses, you still need something to
pry the pump head off the canister, then something is wrong
-- probably the Oring needs a little petroleum jelly and
nothing more than that.

For restarting after removing the canister (for cleaning or
whatever) it helps if the output tube is empty of water or
at least the end of it above the aquarium water so that air
doesn't get blocked in the tube. But if you return the pump
head to the canister, reattach the hoses and open the
valves, you should then be able to work the handle freely,
which will suck water in through the intake on the
pull-the-handle-back stroke and (manually) pump it out
through the output tube on the forward stroke. The
ball-valve keeps the water from being sucked in through the
output tube. Once you draw enough water into the siphon
tube to start the siphon, the canister will fill and you
can then turn on the pump.

The only trouble I've had is with an airlock in the ouput
tube preventing the canister from filling all the way and
the rotor not having enough water to generate a flow. Some
folks like to fill the canister with water at the sink
before reassembly, and then just connect the tubes and turn
on the pump. If that works for you, go for it but if
there's a tad too much air left in the canister, the rotor
won't be able to pump. If there is a tad too much water, it
will spill when you put the pump head back on the canister.

Anyone wonder why lfss sell beginners backfilters? ;-)

Scott H.
--- Ann Viverette <annv777 at houston_rr.com> wrote:
> Funny thing about that ECCO, you have to close the IN
> valve, then close the
> OUT valve BEFORE you unplug the unit. This is very hard
> to do since it seems
> so wrong to let the filter run as you have shut off the
> water going in. But,
> if you do this, the lever and cam works just fine.
> 
> I bought a pair of used ECCOs and recieved a small
> screwdriver along with
> instructions from the prior owner that if it got stuck to
> use the
> screwdriver to force the locks open. It sounded all wrong
> to me -- this is
> supposed to be a highly engineered device, it is supposed
> to WORK. So, I
> read the instructions.... It is very hard to resist the
> urge to unplug the
> unit before closing the valves, I keep the instrucitons
> propped in front of
> the ECCO so I have to look at them before I work on the
> filter.
> 


=====
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