# Filter hose leaking - HELP



## Bushkill (Feb 15, 2012)

I don't own an Eheim, but it sounds like you could wrap a cable tie around the hose where it slips over the fitting and pull it tight to get it to stop leaking? Temporary, but it should work.


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## sushant (Mar 3, 2007)

Are you sure the leak is from the hose connection and not the quick release valves??? The classic line of Ehiem filter due to its simplistic design doesn't have many points that can leak. If it's from the connection at the output ,using hose clamps will work.


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## Rainer (Jan 30, 2011)

It isn't the quick release valves - it's the hose connection directly onto the filter outflow nipple. There's a locking nut which screws up onto the hose from the base and secures it...except it isn't, no matter how I tighten it.

I'll try a hose clamp if nothing else works.


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## mott (Nov 23, 2006)

A few zip ties will work, if you get the hose clamp don't tighten it too hard, somebody in another thread did just that and he thinks he cracked the output...


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## jrill (Nov 20, 2013)

Those nuts really don't stop the hose from leaking just keep the hose from coming off. Friction alone should keep it from leaking. I would look close at that nipple.


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## cg49me (Oct 25, 2014)

jrill said:


> Those nuts really don't stop the hose from leaking just keep the hose from coming off.


This. Also, if you tighten the nut too much, you might be bunching the hose up on the barb fitting, which is producing your leak.

How much of the end of the hose did you snip off? You might cut off however much typically fits over the barb fitting - it may have expanded over time, and is no longer forming a good seal.


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## Rainer (Jan 30, 2011)

cramramdon said:


> O.K. lets discuss substrate and fertilizer;
> 
> I am wondering what everybody's favorite fertilizer is?
> 
> ...


Test - this is what happens when I try quoting the post above.


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## Rainer (Jan 30, 2011)

To answer the question, I removed the expanded part in full.


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## Diana (Jan 14, 2010)

Is the barbed fitting cracked?


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## Rainer (Jan 30, 2011)

Diana said:


> Is the barbed fitting cracked?


No, not that I can see. I'm going to try a different hose and a clamp and see how it goes.


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## Rainer (Jan 30, 2011)

I had to take the reactor out of the loop to do it, but it's holding, only a drop every couple of minutes, perhaps stopped now. I tightened it as much as I dared.

The filter was off for 18 hours. I wonder how much of the filter bacteria died off and whether the bacteria on the plants were affected.


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## Rainer (Jan 30, 2011)

Moved the hose and it started leaking again. Must be a hairline crack. This is going to be expensive.


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## dcutl002 (Apr 8, 2014)

On the classic Eheim there is a curved plastic tube that the hose hooks to. Your canister might be leaking at the O-ring where that tube screws into the base of the Eheim canister. Unattach the tube by turning counterclockwise and examine to rubber O-ring.


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## Rainer (Jan 30, 2011)

That sounds like the inflow. This is coming from the top of the filter.


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## someoldguy (Feb 26, 2014)

Just a couple of thoughts ...I'm assuming you're using Eheim tubing and haven't jimmied things up with a pair of pliers or vise grips . First , is the end of the tubing cut at a 90 degree angle ? 
Second , is it old tubing , i.e. from a pump that's been running for a number of years ? Maybe the plasticizer in the tubing has degraded . Whether it is old or not , it's worth a shot to dip the end of the tubing in some boiling , or near boiling water to soften it up before putting it over the discharge neck and tightening the nut . Worked for me a few times .
I've been running Eheims for years and years , never had to go the hose clamp route but if you go for a hose clamp make sure it's clamping below the bulge in the outlet tube , go easy on the tightening of the hose clamp . When I pull my filters offline , I always disconnect via the double taps , if I've got to clean crud off the insides of the pipes I use a brush to snake out the run from the double tab to the filter head . 
If you find the outlet is cracked you can buy a new head cover , there's no need to buy the whole head .


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## Rainer (Jan 30, 2011)

The tubing is cut flush and I had to soften the hose in hot water each time to get it in place. The unit has been running three or four years. The quick disconnect is actually downstream of the reactor and heater because of space constraints.


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## dcutl002 (Apr 8, 2014)

Rainer said:


> That sounds like the inflow. This is coming from the top of the filter.



You are correct and I am wrong. It is the inflow. Apologies. And there is not a crack on the top of the unit? Baffling!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## someoldguy (Feb 26, 2014)

Got me beat , only other thing would be a tiny hairline crack in the outlet . Maybe it's time for the hose clamp , or maybe a light smear of silicone sealant around the outlet below the wider part before tightening the nut against the tubing .... won't be too helpful next time you want to pull it apart but it should eliminate the leak and cut you some time to get a new top cover.


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## Rainer (Jan 30, 2011)

Update: the hose clamp stopped the leaking until I had a chance to reinstall the reactor today. I inspected closely for cracks but couldn't see anything other than the line from the plastic mold on the top of the nipple. I reinstalled the old line and it began leaking immediately. In fact, I could hear bubbling when I moved the hose, so it almost has to be a hairline crack.

I'm not sure why the hose clamp works but the compression nut doesn't. Same principle, no? 

I'm going to pick up another hose clamp now and hope it will hold long enough to get a replacement cover.


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