Eheim 2213 won't prime

[Lori]

I'm about 7 steps from the trash can. Did a water change today. Cleaned everything. Filled canister up with water. Still had water in the hoses since I shut the quick connects off before pulling the plug. Hooked it all up. It's been running for an hour. Water is barely trickling out. Please help.

[magicfishy]

I've had that happen to me several times until I finally figured out what was going on. Somehow you got an air bubble caught in the filter. The only way I know of how to fix this is, basically start from scratch. Shut the pump off, open it, fill the canister with water all the way to the top, close it again, fill the hoses with water, then start it again.

Once or twice I managed to get it working again by just GENTLY turning the pump side ways/upside down and basically forcing the bubble out of the filter this way. But be careful, if something is not closed correctly this could turn into a mess.

But don't give up on the Eheim! It's the best you'll find out there. Good luck!

[Zulaab]

the other option is to rock the filter back and forth and you will hear the air running out of the exhaust and suddenly the filter will run at 100%

The other thing I would do in the future... turn off the valves like you have done.. clean the filter, install it again.. make sure the EXHAUST side is ABOVE water... I then turn the Return on... since gravity will fill the canister up and air can exhaust out the return it will fill back up all the way. Once filled, turn the pump on.

[Lori]

I'm just wondering if the impeller is shot. The filter is roughly two years old. I've never had to replace it yet. I'm making cheap guesses. I've done the filter over and over since 5 this evening.

[magicfishy]

Is it making unusual or loud noises other then the I-am-low-on-water sounds? If the impeller is gone you should here it. But two years under normal circumstances is nothing for an Eheim. I doubt that it's the impeller but did you look at it?

I was cleaning one of my filters not too long ago and had parts all over the floor, the phone rang, I jumped up to grab the phone and steps on the very tip of one of the impeller blades. Just enough to bend it. That was an Eheim. too, but in my case you could clearly see that the impeller was messed up.

[Lori]

Never. One more time. Never do anything water related where the House Boss, "Wife" is in plain view. I turned the canister on it's a couple of times and what happens? Hose disconnects and here goes the water. Now that i've checked to make sure I still have an @$$ left. Back to the original problem.

[Lori]

Oh, forgot about the unusual noice that you were reffering to. No, it's pretty normal. It's just the wife.

[Lori]

Ok. So, I unhooked everything and started over from scratch. Dumped the canister out. Hooked it back up. Opened the valves and gave the hose a good suck. Wife gave me a quircky smile. So, i'm watching the canister fill up. Gets to the top, plug it in. Still the same. What am I doing wrong. This is the way i've been told to do it many times.

[magicfishy]

Sounds like you are doing what you are supposed to. If it is running, even just a little, how about letting it run over night? Sounds like you could use a break.....maybe entertain your wife for a while? So next time you flood the house she won't mind as much!

Who knows, by tomorrow the Eheim may change its mind and run just fine again and if not you can always throw it out the window then....but let me know where you live!

[freespool]

If you give up I will take it off your hands. I really don't know how to fix it. Sorry.

[Dow]

I would chek and see if something is stopping the impeller. This happens to me on my fluval a lot and it's usually something like the cichlids spit sand into the intake and that plugged the impeller. IDK, just a suggestion.

[Lori]

You guy's an gals are great. It's good to have alittle humor when messing with these thing's. I'm gonna run to city pets tomorrow anyway. Got to pick up a few things. If it doesn't fix itself over night, it will be going with me. I'm sure they deal with these problems all the time.

[Fire_chair]

Have you tried sucking on the output? I've had to do it to my 2213 more than once, and it works some of the time.

[SOULJAA]

Rather than sucking and if you have a python, disconnect the gravel tube from the python hose...and then attach the hose to the outlet ("into tank line") of your filter. You could choose to have the filter plugged in and running (which is what I do) or you can leave it unplugged while doing this. But make sure your inlet ("out of tank line") is completely submerged and in place in the tank. Then, with your python connected to the faucet (whether inside or outside...I prefer outside b/c it's less of a mess and the outside faucet usually would give you a greater amount of water pressure) as if you're doing a water change, turn on the water (not full blast, but enough to get a pretty good suction going). This usually always works for me on all my canister filters, which includes various Eheim models and Fluvals. Using the "python trick" is effective for me b/c: 1 - it pulls out the air in the filter, 2 - facilitates a good water flow through your filter, and 3 - I don't have to worry about gargling and/or drinking tank water.

Now if this doesn't work, then you may have an O-ring issue which is preventing enough pressure from building in your filter for it to work properly. Bad O-rings could cause leaks both water and/or pressure. So make sure the O-Ring isn't twisted or anything like that, lube it up w/ some petroleum jelly, and that may get you right.

[Bluefyre_Rob]

If all else fails-

Remove outlet tubing from elbow or whatever other fitting it's attatched to before it runs into the tank. Put the end of the outlet tubing in a bucket on the floor and turn on filter. With the bucket at floor level (or lower if needed) water should be at full flow. Then, with pump on and water flying, reconnect outlet hose to fitting you removed it from.