Why will the filter not pull water into the canister when I compress the handle?

by Adam Jenkins
(Louisville, Ohio, United States)

I recently moved my 28 gallon tank to the other end of the living room. I cleaned and inserted new filter media and primed the tubing in my XP1 filter. When I inserted the tubing into the canister housing and compressed the handle the unit failed to absorb and collect water. When I plugged it in the motor made a crackling noise. It is apparent that the filter is not working properly. I purchased it 1 year ago and have never had any problems with it until now. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Adam Jenkins

A: No it is not normal and you need to troubleshoot the problem. There have been a number of Q&A's already posted on this subject. Here are some links to those sections:

http://www.planetrena.com/rena-filstar-performance-questions.html

http://www.planetrena.com/Filstar-Rena-FAQ.html

I would also check out the video on Rena Filstar XP setup at Mars Fishcare.

You will need to scroll down the page to find them but there are at least 4 or 5 questions and troubleshooting guides on this subject on either page.