Almost completely set up my new tank and filters

Just one question- I was wondering, does the rod that allows the water to flow out have to be attached above or below the waterline, or just on it, or what? I know the intake has to be as low as possible for barebottom tanks. But this is the output thing which I am unsure of. Any help much appreciated!

Hi Caroline

From memory, I think Hagen/Fluval recommend that the actual output nozzle is something like 3 inches below the water line in order that a watertight seal is created between the rubber connector of the hose tubing and the outflow nozzle (I'm sure this is the same for the 04 series) Personally, I've not found that to be essential and on both of my Fluvals (the 205 and the 405) the outflow is between 1-2 inches below the water line in order to create some more surface aggitation. If you allow a ltttle slack in the hosing at the back of the tank you can adjust it as and when in order to create more or less surface aggitation. Personally, I allow at least an inche under the water line to prevent spitting of water on to the lighting bar and to allow for evaporated water and top-ups between changes. Hope that helps

BTW You can download the complete instructions from the hagen.com site if that helps

Thanks very much! That's that sorted then

Unfortunately it's missing a suction cup thing so we can't finish setting it up yet until we get some more, grr.

Just looked at the website, there might be a difference between the "smooth" and "ribbed" hose versions of the 204 - which one do you have? (manuals for both on website) Either way, if you can just adjust the outflow under the water line until you get a surface aggitation/flow you like

We have the ribbed hose version!

Another question for your epic knowledge- the Eheim Aquaball filter has 4 suction cups on the bracket holder thing- for some reason they are completely rock hard and won't suck to the glass! So we're just going to get a heap of new suction cups that actually stick. Whilst removing one we somehow pulled off a bit of plastic off the bracket- so that needs glueing back on... but all the websites advertising aquarium glue seem to talk about sticking it to glass- we need one that sticks plastic- any ideas on this? Cheers

Goodness! I'm not so sure about epic....

It's quite normal for suction cups to do that after a while. You can buy new ones (pck of 4) and eheim spares from here, it's the 2210, right?

http://www.aquatics-online.co.uk/catalogue...spare-parts.asp

I'm not so sure about the question of "aquarium glue" I believe you get some sort of "glue", although I don't know of any specific brands - although the thing most people use is just all purpose aquarium silicon (it should bond the suction cup directly onto the holder alright) Pets At Home sell a tube of it made by Juwel for a fiver, that works alright. Alternatively, you may be able to get a new holding bracket from a spares store or a holding bracket for another filter brand might work

We got new suction cups and fixed the thing without glue using a plastic tie

The only problem now is that the Fluval leaks! Arrggggh. We've replaced the rubber binding sealing things as one was broken, but it still has a slight leak- we've wet them and taken them off and on a few times and it just doesn't want to stop

OK, so the leak is coming from where the powerhead/motor part fits onto the canister, right?

So, you've replaced the rubber gasket that fits around the inside rim of the powerhead part? Make sure it's moist and not split. Make sure it's totally in that little groove - I had a leak on my 405 from the same problem a little while back.

When you put the powerhead/motor back on - push down hard, it should be a tight fit. Make sure there is nothing obstructing the fit - for example, make sure the filter baskets are not overfilled and that they stack on top of each other perfectly. Make sure the lid to the filter baskets fits on evenly too - so that the round raised rim fits the impeller shaft tightly.

Hope this helps, let me know how you get on

Any luck Caroline?

Still leaks Yeah we made sure it was moist, it's in good condition and everything seems to be fitting perfectly. How frustrating argh.

Oh that's disappointing.. I'm not quite sure what else you can do - the things I mentioned above are the most common causes of leaks in Fluval canisters