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Help! My canister filter is leaking :(


djsurfs

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I finally finished re-urethaning my cabinet and decided last night to finally set up my replacement tank.

To make the move from the Rubbermaid tub quick & easy, and not wanting to "upset" things too much, I didn't even open the lid on my canister, a 2 year old Via Aqua 300 (800lph). I just shut the valves, undid hoses, moved it and chiller to new tank, reconnected hoses and thought everything was sweeeeeeeet.

kicked back with a glass of wine in celebration of being able to actually view my seahorses again...... an hour later, noticed a small puddle.

mopped up, later another puddle. Well, perhaps the seal got disturbed in the move? so I opened th lid and cleaned around the rubber seal and the rim and reseated everything, mopped up & started up again.... hehehe ; might as well have another glass . 2 hours later another puddle :evil: actually, I think i went thru the procedure twice ... Too tired by this time, so placed in fish bin and left running overnight. It lost about 1- 1.5 litres overnight.

So, what else can I try or do?!

Is it time for a new canister? :-?

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Oh shucks, I wasn't planning on the spend-up just now....

and then there is the dilemma what model to replace it with?!!!! another "cheapy" or something better?....

ahhhhhhhh, I sure opened 'a can o worms' by deciding to move. shoulda left em in the rubbertub a while longer.... :roll:

ah well...

thanks conch

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id say it will be leaking from the taps if you didnt open the cannister itself. you should find new taps etc from any good lfs. no need to go out and buy a new one just yet. check also where the hose fits on to the tap, i found the hose gets stretched over time and leaks a little, and may be fixed by just cutting off 20mm of hose and re-attaching. the grey bit that screws over and locks the hose on can also crack quite easily.

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I have one of these filters with the exact same problem. It was the taps though. A replacement pair of taps cost $7. All you need is a screwdriver and remember to put the O rings in. Took 5 minutes - if that is the source of your leak.

One of my large canisters was leaking from the main canister seal. It turned out I had too much media in the trays. So I took some out, cleaned the main seal and it is fine atm.

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Thanks for all the suggestions!

I keep thoroughly drying Everything with papertowelling, trying to trace where it is actually coming from...

It does not appear to be from the hoses or taps, but if I can get replacements it is definitely worth a shot!

the only place I see any weeping is where the electric cord comes out of the lid! and maybe a seam in that same area , the "alcove" not really handles but the hole which sorta acts as a handhold... water collects there before dripping down

I'll attach a pic to show where I mean...

viaaqualeak.jpg

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If it is indeed leaking out from where the cord comes out of the housing you need to disconnect the taps form the top.

Undo the latches, and unscrew the four top screws.

Once you have done this, separate the top and bottom halves and replace/reposition the o-rings that go in the connection of the taps to the housing inside. There should be two for each tap.

However if water is leaking from the outer top part of the taps it can drip into the hand holds and sit there, making it appear like it is leaking from the cord connection.

HTH

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Vinson,

thank you so much for explaining how to do that!!! I didn't have a clue what to do... I just know it was coming from the cord and not the top of the taps, cuz I sat there for ages staring & waiting for moisture to appear after drying thoroughly with paper towels , LOL!

So, I went to town and they actually had the parts. My local shop charged me $15 though ... grrr

Hope it does the trick; will let you know later.

Thanks again!

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  • 2 weeks later...

OK, I've had the parts but am only just sick enough of the fish bin, LOL, and have some time now to actually try fitting the parts....

Vinson!!!! :hail::)

OK, so I was panicking, LOL :lol: edit out yesterdays rambling!

The original only had 2 o-rings securely fitted, and once I removed them could see they didn't even match in size! I wonder if this was a returned product? It didn't come in a box...

I Hate having "extra" parts, so used all 4 o-rings like Vin said, in the most probable places ...

I've learned there are several other seals that could use replacing too. the main housing, the impeller housing and the purge valve...

Long story short- It's all good now! :bounce:

Cheers!

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I had a similar leak appear at a seam at the base of the hose connection on my Sacem Pegasso, perhaps not as bad as yours, only a few mL a minute, but it adds up overnight. I 'temporarily' fixed it with a squirt and smear of transparent silicone. That was a year ago and it's still there and still doesn't leak.

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