Fluval 304 Leaking

[rusky]

Carried out a water change yesterday & after a couple of hours, noticed that the 304 was leaking. Since I have had this before I now stand the filters in seed trays!

Took the lid off & made sure the O ring & mating surfaces were clean, put it back together again & when I checked this morning, it had leaked again.

Stripped & cleaned it again only to find it had leaked so I shut it off & went to have lunch (with a beer!!)

I've not liked the 304 since I got it as it doesn't prime but it's now really hacked me off!

I'm now going to investigate it again in the hope I can stop it from leaking. I also need to top up the water since I loast a load *curse*

It's leaking from the area I've circled.

Took it apart & there's loads of water in there.

Cleaned all the seals but it still leaks.

Any ideas? I can't use it at the moment!

 

[minnnt]

Make sure the O ring is greased. If it hasn't been greased then it may have started to perish and you will need a new one.

 

[walkers101]

vaseline or even butter will do the job

 

[rusky]

It's not a drip but a constant stream so I doubt greasing it will work for long if at all, all the seals look fine, no perishing at all.

I may buy a new aqua stop valve & see if that stops it.

 

[minnnt]

Seals need to be greased from day one to stop them hardening. It's worth a go mate.

 

[IAmATeaf]

When putting the lid on my 405 I always make sure to apply equal pressure so that it goes on square? Only after I pushed the lid on do I do up the catches.

Also, lubing the rubber seal is always a good idea as it also stop the seal from being dislodged when putting the top of the filter on.

 

[rusky]

I got a new aquastop today, need to fit it now!

 

[rusky]

Fitted the new aquastop & it still leaks

 

[Liam2368]

I had a similar problem I solved mine by putting a heavy rock on top of the filter and it applied pressure and hasn't leaked since.

 

[Rda]

Ive had similar problems with all this series of fluval filters. 204/205 304/5 404/5 Every time a new gasket has fixed the problem for me.

They don't look damaged perished or stretched, but a new gadget always seems to solve it.

I've moved on to fx5's now though.

 

[rusky]

I'll pop along & get a new o-ring tomorrow.

Luckily I have an Eheim 2224 Professionel too!

 

[adamgreen240]

Yep, sounds very similar to an issue i used to have.

The o-ring can crack if its left to dry out (you cant really see the cracks looking at it, but they are there)

I imagine the new o-ring will solve your issue!

 

[IAmATeaf]

Fitted the new aquastop & it still leaks

Why did you think that a new aquastop valve would stop the leak when you pictured the leak from the side of the lid?

 

[rusky]

Fitted the new aquastop & it still leaks

Why did you think that a new aquastop valve would stop the leak when you pictured the leak from the side of the lid?

The water is finding its way into the motor housing & the only way for that to happen is from the aqua stop connection. If it was the main seal it would be dry.