# Anyone here had to repair a leaking Canister filter(Aquatop, Sunsun,etc..) ?



## PlantedRich (Jul 21, 2010)

It is not at all unusual to find used filters that have been stored and have small leaks. I go the deadly, certain to kill, highly dangerous, petroleum, stuff often called "Vasoline".
Please note that I use it frequently and it never kills my fish. 
Try taking the rubbery type gaskets off and rubbing just a bit of petroleum jelly on and then wiping off as much as you can. It lubes and refreshes the plastic gasket and often restores them for years. What I actually have is a small tub of no-name product that most likely came from Wal-mart, etc. A $2 tub of it will last for years if you keep the lid on. 
The key point is that petroleum jelly is no longer petroleum and rubber things are no longer rubber in most cases but a form of plastic.


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## DaveK (Jul 10, 2010)

PlantedRish is correct Vasoline will work just fine.

However, if your a real fanatic, you can get silicone base lubricants for o rings and such. It looks about like uncured silicone rubber, but it never hardens. 
Here is an example (offsite) - Shop Aqua EZ O-Ring Lubricant at Lowes.com

Another consideration is that canister filters usually have a lot of o rings and similar stuff inside them. Make sure one of those is not the source of your problem. 

Lastly the o ring and the surfaces it seats on must be completely clean. Often o rings sit in groves. I usually remove the o ring and clean the grove in addition to the o ring.


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## miogpsrocks (Sep 3, 2015)

DaveK said:


> PlantedRish is correct Vasoline will work just fine.
> 
> However, if your a real fanatic, you can get silicone base lubricants for o rings and such. It looks about like uncured silicone rubber, but it never hardens.
> Here is an example (offsite) - Shop Aqua EZ O-Ring Lubricant at Lowes.com
> ...


What about the fact that the 0 ring is lose and is not staying in place on 1 side? Could that also be a problem? I think maybe it was caused by trying to put the lid on the wrong orientation and maybe it stretched the O ring on the lid. I have another canister filter from the same company and the 0 ring is more secure in its location. 

The Vaseline is to repair a worn O ring? This canister filter is brand new and this is the first time being used. 

Thanks.


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## goodbytes (Aug 18, 2014)

Well, if that's the case then any way you slice it you're going to need a new o-ring. If it is indeed slack and does not fit very snugly into the groove on that head unit then no amount of Vasoline is going to make it snap back tight again. I took mine off once to add a bit of petroleum jelly and I needed a butter knife to gently pry it off of there. You'll have to get Aquatop spare parts as SunSun doesn't seem to have any readily available--one of these will do you depending on which SunSun model you have. 
Amazon.com: aquatop canister filter o ring

Is a crying shame these things aren't cheaper considering how cheap these filters are to begin with.


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## WaterLife (Jul 1, 2015)

All great info. But yes, as goodbytes mentioned, if the gasket is too loose/stretched, it won't snug up tight enough to create a seal. (unless you are handy enough to cut a section out to tighten things up and remold/melt the cut gasket back together. I'm not sure if there is some "gasket maker" out there that is aquarium safe either.)

For what it's worth, I read a review of someone who bought a SunSun and it had a leaky head unit gasket ("O"-ring), same as mio has, and he called SunSun (not the vendor he bought it from) and they sent him a new complete whole unit and let him keep the other one as well. Can't say they will do the same, but just thought I'd mention that. Worth a try calling, at the very least they should send you a free gasket.
But if you get a new gasket or unit, I would recommend lubing all gaskets and connections with Vaseline/Petroleum Jelly before assembling to prevent dry gaskets from tearing and make assembly easier so you don't have to manhandle the fragile parts.


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## DaveK (Jul 10, 2010)

miogpsrocks said:


> What about the fact that the 0 ring is lose and is not staying in place on 1 side? Could that also be a problem? I think maybe it was caused by trying to put the lid on the wrong orientation and maybe it stretched the O ring on the lid. I have another canister filter from the same company and the 0 ring is more secure in its location.
> 
> The Vaseline is to repair a worn O ring? This canister filter is brand new and this is the first time being used.
> 
> Thanks.


Yes that could be the problem. 

Using a lube like Vaseline should still be done on a new O ring. It prevents the O ring from sticking to the plastic, and goes a long way toward preventing the O ring from stretching or being pinched.


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## LeahAnn (Jul 25, 2021)

I have had 2 -525 gph polar auroras spring leaks. The tab that locks the tubing mechanism to the barrel head breaks off and then you have a wonderful leak. Need to find a repair for replacing the flimsy tab on the barrelhead itself, so that I can use theses 2 filters. I noticed on the sunsun 793 they changed that mechaism and its great no more broken plastic tabs not strong enough to handle any move ment of the camnister. I love polar/ sun sun. Have several of them.


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