# eheim 2217 air trapped



## Mikaila31 (Mar 28, 2010)

I've never had a eheim, but a trick I use to get air out of my rena is to push firmly on the top of the canister. Then release one of the clamps that holds the top motor housing to the round filter chamber. The pressure from you pushing should not allow any leaks. Now slowly let up on the pressure, usually with trapped air you will get a hissing sound. Reapply pressure as soon as water starts leaking out between the seal, then reclamp the filter. It should be good to go. Their may be a little bubbling going on, but it should go away in an hour or 2. It works best to have the filter off when doing this and the quick release valves need to be open.


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## BenderBendingRodriguez (Aug 29, 2009)

Try tilting it up on its side until it gets caught in the impeller and then gets pumped out.


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## markopolo (Jun 2, 2008)

tried both of those methods neither worked, also checked connections and hoses to see if air was leaking in at some point no luck. should i take apart the impeller shaft and clean it?


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## deeda (Jun 28, 2005)

Are you using the green intake/output tubes or the gray ones? The gray ones are occasionally the problem because of assembling the sections incorrectly, missing o-rings or hairline cracks.


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## xmas_one (Feb 5, 2010)

If you switched out to a larger than stock output tube, you may be cavitating...


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## markopolo (Jun 2, 2008)

i use the green tubes did not switch them out, along with the annoying noise the outflow is severely reduced as well, :-( i did clean the impeller and its assembly but sitll making this noise and having reduced flow. checked all connections again as well.......:confused1:


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## comet (Jun 10, 2006)

Perhaps one of the o rings is not tight anymore.....put a large container/bucket under it and watch for puddles/leaks.

Here are a few links with people having the same problem. Hope you can pick up a tip somewhere to help you out.

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f60/help-with-starting-up-eheim-2217-a-115823.html

http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=170601


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## xmas_one (Feb 5, 2010)

Try running one single piece for the intake to see if it's one of the disconnects sucking air. If that's not it, try a little bit of cooking oil spray on the main o ring. If it's not either of those, you probably primed it wrong. Did you suck on the output to get a siphon going, and then put it in the tank when all the air was out? If not, that's likely your problem.


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## hoochi (Apr 10, 2003)

Do you have a sponge on the intake? A clogged up sponge on the intake can cause such low flow that the impeller will start making noise like there is air trapped in the canister.


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## markopolo (Jun 2, 2008)

nope i dont have a sponge and its not leaking anywhere i can see, ill try the cooking oil and the one piece of tubing for the intake and see what happens.


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## markopolo (Jun 2, 2008)

well neither of those methods worked, so what is the proper way to prime it? with the quick disconnects full of water?


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## dthb4438 (Nov 12, 2007)

I have two 2217's and when I break them down for cleaning, I reassemble them with the water to the top. I close off the bottom tube, open the top tube, push the top on and the water gushes out the top tube. Then to prevent air locks (yes, I've had them too), I put the suction tube (bottom, I think) in a bucket, open the valve and turn the pump on. I make sure it works good before I hook it up to the tank. Once, I had a ball of the filter material stuck in the tube/container so I couldn't see it and it hardly worked at all. After I figured that is what my problem was, it worked great. 

So I recommend that you try it in the sink or outside with the suction tube in a bucket full of water and see how the flow is. Troubleshoot from there...


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## markopolo (Jun 2, 2008)

dont want to get ahead of myself because every time i think its fixed it starts with air again but i think i may have found the problem!!! 


where the little gray part of the intake connects to the bottom of the filter, it was not fully tightened, it was tight, however it was not fully within the recess of the filter, this may have allowed a small air leak which would explain why this only happens 6 hours after i would have the filter running thanks for all the help guys, lets cross our fingers that this is the real problem!!!


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## xmas_one (Feb 5, 2010)

markopolo said:


> dont want to get ahead of myself because every time i think its fixed it starts with air again but i think i may have found the problem!!!
> 
> 
> where the little gray part of the intake connects to the bottom of the filter, it was not fully tightened, it was tight, however it was not fully within the recess of the filter, this may have allowed a small air leak which would explain why this only happens 6 hours after i would have the filter running thanks for all the help guys, lets cross our fingers that this is the real problem!!!


Good to know marko, I never would have thought of that thing!

Thanks


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## markopolo (Jun 2, 2008)

same, thanks to u i realized it made the most sense that it would be somethin on the intake and then thanks to dthb4438 for me taking it outside where i could see it better in the sun or somethin, cause that is when i noticed it! so thanks guys!!! :biggrin:

ps it does seem to be working now


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## markopolo (Jun 2, 2008)

ugh, i thought it was gone, its back anyone have any other ideas? :icon_frow


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## markopolo (Jun 2, 2008)

in case anyone was still looking at this thread or wondering, after 2 weeks of this issue i took apart the eheim one more time and as i took apart the impeller assembly and jiggled the little stick back and forth a small ball of thread came out. Thread from the pad in the filter!!! so i took this off as it had wound around the stick. Now the flow is a lot better and it seems as if the noise will not return. 

2 things i learned from this if ur eheim is making noise for no apparent reason check the impeller assembly and shaft as well as your intake tube. Make sure all connections are tight and that there are no leaks or hairline cracks. check the impeller assembly for any foreign object or bending. 

that is all


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