My top fin 10 gallon filter somehow lost all the water in media area. It makes noise but won't pull the water thru the system. Please help!?

3 possibilities:

1) The power was lost at some point and the filter can't get itself going again (unusual, most filters will eventually get going on their own). Just fill up the media area and plug it in again.

2) The impeller is dirty/clogged/not in position. clean out the impeller and housing and make sure it is securely in place. Sometimes when I clean out my intakes and impellers, I don't push them down far enough into the housing. what happens is the impeller starts spinning when you plug it in, but the intake is too far away from the impeller to get enough suction going to draw water from the tank.

3) Some filters have a grated intake halfway up the intake tube. make sure your water line covers all of the openings. If it takes in air, it can cause this problem. usually not an issue unless your tank is not 100% full (I do this all the time on my axolotl tank which is 70% full).

If the power is interrupted, the filter loses its siphon, and then behaves as you describe.

Unplug the filter, then fill the filter box with water from the aquarium. Then plug the filter back in, and it should start normally. If it doesn't the motor may be burned out.

All you have to do is

1. make sure aquarium is full to within 1 inch of the top with water.

2. rinse a cup very thoroughly to get off any soap residue, then fill it with water from the aquarium, then pour the water quickly into the filter. you may have to try that a few times.

make sure you use water dechlorinator if you add water to the aquarium.