SUNSUN HW-302 Outside Filter setup & test

Mine is a 303 equivalent, and the only time I have air issues is when I don't take the time to prime correctly. I think I can shorten both the intake and return hoses, and that will probably help, as well. I just haven't settled on mounting yet, for sure. I keep playing with it, so I want to have some leeway until I settle on the mounting. It seems that the hose going up, then down, then up again, however many times it happens, impedes the priming process. I have been holding the return tube in as straight of an ascending line as I can manage while priming, and will also rock the canister while priming, and that seems to leave very little air in the canister. While it still burps a bit when I feel I'm done, the remaining air works itself out overnight.

I didn't buy mine with media, but I bought it from Amazon. I already had the Marineland filter foam stuff, so I cut it to shape. I bought some biomax at PetSmart (it was convenient with my other errands), and also bought a bag of purigen from Amazon. I'll be buying another one or two, I think, because there's enough room, and that's much better than carbon, IMO.
 
ZivaD said:
Yeah, I got mine through TruAqua (it's the Aquatop version) and was decidedly unimpressed with the "filter media included". The only upside in my case was it wasn't a matter of paying extra as it was the standard offering via their website. Like you said it's about 12 bio-balls and a carbon pack. Silly me, I saw "included" and thought it would actually be enough to, you know, set up the filter.
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I got mine through Amazon, and after seeing the reviews on there, I knew what I would be getting, so I wasn't caught off guard like that. Interesting note? When Amazon asked me for my opinion on shipping and stuff, I told them my UV bulb was broken when I received it. They're currently reviewing their shipping practices or some such. Of course, I sent that email like 2 weeks ago, so I don't know if it was *just* me that had that kind of problem, or if they're running tests to try to prevent a repeat. The best news about that? TruAqua was very helpful in terms of getting me a replacement bulb.
 
I got a problem. I have had my 302 installed for about a month. The water still hasn't got clear. I also have a small bio filter running in the system. I have a 55 gal tank with mostly goldfish. two white catfish, three alge eaters. My 20 gallon is going fine and clear with just a outside filter and goldfish. I have my 302 with lava rock in bottom, bio balls in middle topped with a filter pad and top layer a bag of ceramic rings and topped with a filter pad. Just can't seem to figure if my media is wrong or just where to find answers short of water replacement. Any ideas?
 
I'm no expert on any of this, but IMO, it doesn't sound like you've got the media stacked properly in your 302. The unfiltered water enters the bottom of your filter, so you want some type of thick, coarse sponge on the bottom or a large volume of any other type of coarse mechanical filtration. I've seen some folks run a bunch of (tank safe) plastic pot scrubbies in the bottom tray.

The middle tray should be some type of finer mechanical filtration like filter floss or a fine sponge. You can also add your chemical filtration in the center tray like a bag of carbon, etc.

The top tray should be your biological media like ceramic rings, plastic balls, gravel, rocks, etc.. You want the bio media in the cleanest part of the filter, so they should be on the top ideally.

FWIW, this is how I have my Sunsun HW-302 stacked:

Bottom tray: A thick, coarse sponge, with one of the thin floss pads that came with the unit on top of the sponge.
Middle tray: Loaded with polyester filter floss/batting, with a bag of carbon on top (bag of carbon came with the 302)
Top tray: Thin floss pad that came with unit, topped with plastic bio balls and ceramic rings.
 
Try reaching out to AquaTop. They'll be likely to help you figure out what's wrong, because it's probably more than just media stacking issue.
 
authmal said:
Try reaching out to AquaTop. They'll be likely to help you figure out what's wrong, because it's probably more than just media stacking issue.
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Good idea.

Looks like the Sunsun 302 is identical to the AquaTop CF300. Prolly have to pretend you've got the AquaTop version to get help though.
 
With the differences pretty much being the stickers, box and, allegedly, higher quality plastic on the inputs/returns, I'm pretty sure Sun Sun and Aquatop are as different as Ford and Mercury.
 
authmal said:
With the differences pretty much being the stickers, box and, allegedly, higher quality plastic on the inputs/returns, I'm pretty sure Sun Sun and Aquatop are as different as Ford and Mercury.
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Well, Mercury doesn't exist any more, so there ya go...
 
Meh.. well maybe they're more comparable to a Pontiac vs. an Oldsmobile then? :evil_lol:
 
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