I bought an Eheim Ecco filter 2236 and is it supposed to continuously pull in the water and fllter out?

Question

It doesn't seem to be pulling a lot in, but every 3 or 5 minutes it shoots the filtered water out.

Answer 1

You have too much air in the filter canister.  You will need to take the lid off the canister, fill it with tank water as full as you can get it, then fill the intake hose with tank water before starting it again.  If there is a little air in either the intake hose or the canister, the filter will eventually be able to push it out but too much and you will have to start over.

Answer 2

sounds like its full of air. On this filter I'm not sure how to get it out .

check the directions you just need to prime it.