I set up my new Fluval 304 yesterday and it seems to be operating correctly; however, last night I was lying in bed with sweaty palms thinking of 55 gallons of water on my office floor. Is a catastrophic failure of my filter a significant possibility? Does anyone have an experience with an O ring failure or hose disconnect. Will I ever be able to leave on vacation without psychological counselling?
Catastrophic Cannister Failure?
- Thread starter kempjn
- Start date
As long as you clamp down the clips at the top you should be good. And the hoses on my FilStar are held down with metal garden house clamps. So far I have yet to have a problem with this system. If you really worry about it, place it in a big rubbermade box, so it will hold all the water should anything happen.
Kempjn,
Stop panicking
I've been running a Fluval 204 for the last three years and never had a problem, just make sure that the big O ring seal around the top of the filter is kept lubricated (I use vaseline 
) and everything will be fine But I doubt you'll ever be able to dismantle the hoses from the rubber connections, they seem pretty permanently fixed The Main hose connections (with the levers ) make it really easy to clean the filter too 
Stop panicking
I've been running a Fluval 204 for the last three years and never had a problem, just make sure that the big O ring seal around the top of the filter is kept lubricated (I use vaseline ) and everything will be fine But I doubt you'll ever be able to dismantle the hoses from the rubber connections, they seem pretty permanently fixed The Main hose connections (with the levers ) make it really easy to clean the filter too 
I have been running a Fluval 204 on a 29 gallon tank for over a year with no problems.
I have, however, heard of Fluvals "rupturing" causing just such a disaster. But it seems to be only a small chance of that happening.
I have, however, heard of Fluvals "rupturing" causing just such a disaster. But it seems to be only a small chance of that happening.
If you want to ease your mind, just drill a hole in the inlet tube about 1" below the waterline (assuming you never allow your water to get that low). That way if you ever blow a hose fitting, the water will only drain to that level, then air will enter the hose and break the siphon. You usually don't need to do this for the outlet, as they usually discharge near the top of the tank. If your outlet doesn't, you might want to drill a small hole in it just below the waterline, too.
HTH,
Jim
HTH,
Jim
Re: JSchmidt's note - this is not at all a bad technique, although I admit that I don't use it for canisters, as I run a large number of them and have for decades and have never had a failure. I do use it routinely for the retun lines from sumps to the tanks.
Be sure to add cleaning that little breather hole weekly as part of your normal upkeep routine, and to turn the canister off anytime you are going to lower the water level. The breather hole in the intake line will clog routinely in a planted tank.
Be sure to add cleaning that little breather hole weekly as part of your normal upkeep routine, and to turn the canister off anytime you are going to lower the water level. The breather hole in the intake line will clog routinely in a planted tank.
pbecot01 said:
Yes, petroleum based lubricates will cause rubber to deteriorate. Use a silicone or water based lubricant.
I have had one bad experience with a canister. It was my own fault however, I did not secure one of the tubes properly. In the middle of the night (about 2 AM I believe) I awoke to the sound of water splashing. The water in the tank had gone down about 6"-8" and the HOB filter was making some noise. Had I not had those HOB filters running, I probably would not have woke up until much later into the incident. Figure some ~20-30 gallons of water was already on my floor.
I now absolutely despise the sound of running water and had to move all the tanks out of my bedroom.