# Help! How to get water filtration cycle started?!



## skunker (Feb 13, 2009)

Hello,
I'm helping a friend restore their aquarium with a house they recently bought.

It's a large aquarium and at the corner there is a place where water is 'sucked' into a pipe where it will be taken to a filter area on the bottom of the tank. My question is, how do you get the water to start flowing through the "U" tubes so the tank can start the filtration cycle? Here's a photo of the tube i am talking about:

Do I need to siphon it somehow?

7thcode.com/temp/tube.jpg


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## budcarlson (Feb 3, 2009)

Can the tubes be lifted out? If so, you could fill the sump, then dunk the tubes and fill them up, put your hands over the holes as you lift them out and turn it over and set it back in. I'm guessing this isn't the case though. Give me a little more info on the setup - hard to tell from the pic

I would fill the sump then fire it up. Most of the air should get sucked out.

If there's some left, shut off the pump and stick a thick piece of tubing up into the U and let the air bleed out. This will only work to bring the water level to the water line, then you have to suck the rest out, pinching off the hose between each suck of air and plain airline tubing will probably do most of that, but might collapse when the pressure is too low, so you might have to find a more rigid tube to the last little bit. Plus you might get some water in the process.

Not the best solution but let me think some more...I'm an engineer so there's gotta be a way...


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## skunker (Feb 13, 2009)

I got it solved, thanks I used saran wrap on both ends of the tube and then quickly removed them. Thanks.




budcarlson said:


> Can the tubes be lifted out? If so, you could fill the sump, then dunk the tubes and fill them up, put your hands over the holes as you lift them out and turn it over and set it back in. I'm guessing this isn't the case though. Give me a little more info on the setup - hard to tell from the pic
> 
> I would fill the sump then fire it up. Most of the air should get sucked out.
> 
> ...


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## budcarlson (Feb 3, 2009)

Damn! I was hoping I could come up with something using Duct Tape. I always say - when in doubt, duct it.


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