Used Filter Problems

I recently got a used Top Fin HOB filter (10g) for free. I was extremely excited to test it out...but when I plugged in the power, nothing happened! I was ready to toss it in the trash....Until something peculiar happened.

I was cleaning my 30 g filter. When I plugged it back in, the filter motor would not run! Oh no, I thought, now I have to go and exchange it. What a hassle! However, I decided to see if submerging the motor (which is on the inside of the tank) helped. Lo and behold, submerging just 1/2 of the motor did the trick. Before I could say "ta-da", the tank was splishing and splashing again.

A little lightbulb lit up in my head! What if I primed this used HOB filter first? It hadn't occurred to me before, but I decided to give it a go. And what do ya know, the motor started humming! But there was still one problem. The intake tube didn't suck up water! Sure, the primed box had water swirling around in it, but without the intake tube working, there wasn't any flow!

I haven't figured out how to fix the intake tube yet, but there are a few lessons to be learned from my experience:

1. If your HOB filter's motor is SUPPOSED TO be submerged on the inside (noise reduction), make sure it's submerged before plugging it in.

2. If you're not sure about whether the filter requires priming or not, just prime it anyways.

3. If filter seems "broken", before you chuck it, check that isn't because a small, replaceable part is clogged or broken. In many cases, the impeller (spinning wheel type thingy) is clogged or broken. You could easily replace it at a fish store for like $5.


I'll update more if I manage to fix this used filter. On a lighter note, since I know the powerhead motor works, I might decide to just take that and make a sponge filter out of it instead since I need to use it for my 3 gallon QT/Hospital tank. Hmmmm

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Update

I decided to make my own sponge filter! Or something similar anyways. I have an old unused filter box...so my idea is this for my QT/Sick tank: if I need to use it, I will take one small filter pad from my 10gallon tank's filter. That way, the QT instantly cycles. Next, I will just plop this filter pad into my filter box and throw the powerhead into the tank. The water movement from the powerhead should be able to clean the water. It's actually more like a makeshift internal filter. But it should work splendidly.