why is there always air in my filter??

[Tristan]

There is always air in my 2217...
and i think it's spoilt it...
it's less than a year old... anyway... i'm gonna get a new one.. but i want to know what was wrong first... so my new one won't get spoilt....
could it be bubbles from my CO2 diffuser and o2 from my plants?
it's always noisey... dunno why...
thanks...

[kingpin]

Tristan,

Do you have a surface skimmer? Sometimes, my 2213 will blow out some very fine bubbles because the skimmer is taking in the air instead of water from the top. I have to adjust the suction power very now and then to prevent this from happening.

[spilopterus]

If you got the money to buy a new one, I do not mind taking your filter to check it out man.

Alright, hold on buying the new filter, if water still comes out at a good rate, why change? My filter, been around for... let me see... 4 years I think, maybe 5, noisy, do not know for what reason but still works out fine.

Next, to get rid of air, try tipping the filter upside down, but be careful as more than once when i did that, the tubes popped out as I didn't secure it properly, if got air, should be quite obvious by the sound. So tip and tilt until all the air is gone.

Finally, as kingpin says, check your filter inlet, air doesn't go in by itself, should be able to find the source.

If all else fails and you buy a new filter, give the old one to me. []

[Tristan]

hmmm...
nope.. it's not working well... flow rate prolly >200l/h...
anyway... maybe just change the impeller...
but i should be getting a new 2213 anyway...

i do tilt it.. and there is that air sound..
but it's always there... always...
and it's always noisy...
and the water is much less than before....

oh yeah.. i have a skimmer... i thought that might be the problem.. so i adjusted the top so that all the water goes in from the bottom.. ya?

spilopterus... if you want it.. er.. sure.. but I got it second hand... so you'll need to get your own valves.. and you'll need to wait until i get my 2213...

[spilopterus]

well, try setting the skimmer properly, eh, getting rid of air from the filter is not joke you know. Basically do this:

tilt - the air sounds
wait - no more sound
tilt upright a bit - sound then keep it there
if no sound, upright more and start from the top again.