# General > AquaTalk >  Need urgent help in setting up pleco tank

## wasabi8888

hi all

Anyone stays in woodlands here? i need help to set up Eheim 2026. it has been 6 hours since i tried to set up and i hope the BB is still alive. I cant get my 2026 to work....

And the worse i need to bring my kid to the clinic, so i am leaving things as it is.. I threw an airstone into the pleco tank. hopefully all will be alive when i come back. Dumped the media of 2X 2026 into a pail and also running an air stone. Again, pray that BB will be alive as well..

Any kind soul in Woodlands want to help me? The motor is OK but there seems to be air in the inlet hose. Everytime i switch on the filter, the water level of the inlet hose gets lower and lower and until the whole hose is filled with air and the motor gets air locked. I checked but no leakage at inlet, so i cant figure what is wrong. I am also using installation kit 1 & 2 but also no use....

sms at 90606752 if you can help

Jeff

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## chingkt

Did you fill the canister with tank water? I usually fill them with tank water and make sure tank water is at correct height. Next start the motor. It should work unless the hose is too long or with obstruction.  :Smile:  :Smile:  :Smile:

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## bossteck

Hi Jeff,

First of all, hope your kid is fine. 

You did a good thing in putting in an air stone into your tank, this will ensure there is sufficient dissolved oxygen now that flow of water is absent. 

You also did well in putting all your media into a pail and running an air stone there, this made sure they don't die off due to lack of oxygen, but they will get hungry eventually. 

In the worse case, you just have to reseed your filter, some starter bacteria would help, and given that yours is an established tank it shouldn't be a problem. 

Read this thread on priming 2026 filter, hope it helps. 

P.S. If it is any comfort, I once had a 5ft tank sit 2 whole days without water circulation, my pump crocked, I run an air stone, went to get a replacement, found out it was the wrong model, went the replace it the next day. So that's 48 hours. My catfishes (not plec*s though) survive that. I think the main thing is don't get panic into making unnecessarily large water changes.

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## benny

I'm sure some kind soul will come to his aid and all will turn out well in the end.

Cheers,

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## wasabi8888

All in all, everything went well.. Thanks to 2 great persons in this forum and you know who you are.. Came to my help when I asked them to.....although one of them came at 10pm.....

Let me at least explain what caused the problem. It was not the priming problem, neither was it because the canister was half filled etc. In fact, after we found the problem and solved it, the 2nd Eheim 2026 cannister, we only filled the water to half and prime the rest.

As I mentioned just now, i am using installation kit 1 and 2. The problem was installation kit 1. For some strange reason, there was air sucking into the top of the joint. (where the inlet rod is connected to the U-joint). We found that out by connecting one end to a hose and blowing into it and covering the other end. Even though there is an O-ring in the groove, air was being sucked in. How we solved it was fixing a spare O-ring just before the inlet rod.

That solved the problem. Even though the instruction booklet did not specify to put an 0-ring there.

Thanks to the 2 bros here... Could not have done it without you...

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## bossteck

Glad to hear that your problem is solved and you made 2 new friends!  :Smile:

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## wasabi8888

Hi Eric

Not new friends.. old friends... with similar hobbies... fish, photography, and lots more..

Thanks for your earlier encouragement and advice as well.... forgot to thank you in my earlier post.... 

Thank to mod for moving this thread to the approriate section....

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## bossteck

I see. 

Hey, no problem!

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## benetay

I hope they made your day!

Cheers!  :Well done:

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## Wackytpt

Jeff,

Glad to hear things are solved.

Cheers

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## benny

> Jeff,
> 
> Glad to hear things are solved.
> 
> Cheers


Is it true that Jeff never even offer any plain water to his tank rescuers?  :Shocked: 

Cheers,

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## genes

I thought you mentioned setting up the tank after Chinese New Year? Setting up now already?

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## wasabi8888

> I thought you mentioned setting up the tank after Chinese New Year? Setting up now already?




Phase 1 first...ie move the current tank into the steel rack....

then scape next Saturday....

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## wasabi8888

> Is it true that Jeff never even offer any plain water to his tank rescuers? 
> 
> Cheers,


yes & no.. offered water to one rescuer.. the other one....not so effective.. so i offered some tank water instead  :Blah:

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## genes

Actually if you have the double taps, the installation kits are redundant. To prevent air lock, just off the outlet pipe. Valice taught me this and its very effective. Now i can change my water without having the air lock problems.

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## wasabi8888

> Actually if you have the double taps, the installation kits are redundant. To prevent air lock, just off the outlet pipe. Valice taught me this and its very effective. Now i can change my water without having the air lock problems.


Actually with 2026, don't even need double taps and installation kits.. My reason for that is because i like grey color tubes and not the standard eheim green ones  :Smile:  Goes better with substrate color

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## benny

> Actually with 2026, don't even need double taps and installation kits.. My reason for that is because i like grey color tubes and not the standard eheim green ones  Goes better with substrate color


Vain!!!!!!  :Exasperated: 

Cheers,

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## wasabi8888

> Vain!!!!!! 
> 
> Cheers,


And who taught me that???

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## Wackytpt

> Actually with 2026, don't even need double taps and installation kits.. My reason for that is because i like grey color tubes and not the standard eheim green ones  Goes better with substrate color


You super Vain man!!!!!!!

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## wasabi8888

> You super Vain man!!!!!!!


well, there are people that buy ADA inlets and outlets for the same reason.... come to think about it... maybe i should try.... nothing else to be vain about anyway

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## Wackytpt

Wow! Then you are the winner.... Using ADA outlet and inlet for pleco tank.

 :Shocked:  :Shocked:  :Shocked:  :Shocked:

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## Savant

Just saw this thread and glad that things worked out  :Smile:  

I dont think anyone else outside this hobby will or can understand how a bunch of guys will do so much to save a bunch of bacteria :P

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## wasabi8888

Ya.. you are right. Hence it's great to be in this forum because most of us here think that way...

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## benetay

Hmm... ADA for pleco tank.  :Well done:  

Play with your current setup for awhile before trying to change everything to ADA. I'll love to see the outcome. 

Cheers!

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## Wackytpt

Bene,

I think Jeff can consider changing to ADA tank, Jet Filter, Using ADA Filter Media, ADA Light ... wow... =p

Jeff let us know if you even going to do up a grand "Palace" for your L46 =p

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## benny

The L46 tank is already in a grand 'palace'!

Cheers,

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## Wackytpt

Then if full ADA... won't it be the Taj Maha.. keke..

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## benny

Choy! Taj Mahal is actually a mausoleum! Jeff want his L46 live long, long, with many, many generations of offsprings.

Cheers,

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## Wackytpt

Opps.... then his will be the Grand Castle of L46. 

Full ada stuff. 

Wow..

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## wasabi8888

> Opps.... then his will be the Grand Castle of L46. 
> 
> Full ada stuff. 
> 
> Wow..


I was thinking about going ADA until someone told me it was an overkill.... Besides, the only other thing is that i may need to clean the inlet and outlet more often since it's glass and transparent.. I am not afraid of the work, but i know i will break the glass at some point in time...

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## benetay

Sad but true at how Jeff handles this equipment. Stick to plastic or metal not glass. I broke a number of pollen beetles already & i don't wish to see him in the same plight as myself. I got 2 spare pollen beetles to make up for the broken ones & unless he wants to have spare lily pipes to be broken every week or so.

Cheers!

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## Wackytpt

That I agree. ADA glassware are fragile.

That why I am extremely careful when I wash my ADA equipments.

Cheers

PS: ADA also got metal inlet and outlet =p

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## wasabi8888

> That I agree. ADA glassware are fragile.
> 
> That why I am extremely careful when I wash my ADA equipments.
> 
> Cheers
> 
> PS: ADA also got metal inlet and outlet =p



ya.... that's why i stick to hardy eheim...

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## genes

> Actually with 2026, don't even need double taps...


You'll need, once the O-ring for the primer goes KA-PUT!  :Grin:

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## benetay

He got a few spare 2026 on standby. What's a spoil 2026? just swap the head of a new to replace the old one. Don't even need more than 1 minute to do that.

That's Jeff.

At most he just mobilise some of us. Recall time is 1 Hour flat. If you do not react to the timing stipulated, he will not be your friend & will not offer plain water to you. Right Benny? 

Cheers!

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## wasabi8888

> He got a few spare 2026 on standby. What's a spoil 2026? just swap the head of a new to replace the old one. Don't even need more than 1 minute to do that.
> 
> That's Jeff.
> 
> At most he just mobilise some of us. Recall time is 1 Hour flat. If you do not react to the timing stipulated, he will not be your friend & will not offer plain water to you. Right Benny? 
> 
> Cheers!


wa.... paint so bad picture of me.... recall time not 1 hour... 2 hours is acceptable... I offer water to you hoh.... the other one needs more than water to sustain.

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## Wackytpt

So who was activated?

You and Benny?

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## benetay

:Laughing:  The other person need high value liquid to sustain? I always thought he is quite healthy & plain water is the best for him. 

Nic. If someone say you're the last person who can help, of cause by all means you will try to help even if you're very very busy!

Cheers!

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## Wackytpt

Bene,

I blur already. So who is the last angel who went to help Jeff?

 :Confused:  :Confused:  :Confused:

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## benetay

Nic, still can't figure?

Cheers!

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## Wackytpt

Still can't figure out..

 :Embarassed:  :Embarassed:  :Embarassed:

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