Fluval 305 Problem

[Jamepsss]

I'm having a few issues with my Fluval 305. It's about two years old and has been running fine up until the last couple of weeks but it's started blowing millions of tiny, pin prick sized bubbles in to the water giving the tank a bit of a haze. It's also a bit noiser than usual, not loud but 'noticeable'. Air must be getting in somewhere.

I've read a lot of previous threads about this and other 305 issues but I can't seem to fix it.

I've taken the filter apart and inspected all components thoroughly. The impeller is fine, as is the impeller cover. The pipework is fine and the baskets and foam frame all sit in place as they should. The gasket rubber o-ring thing appears to be perfect.

I've emptied and re-primed, tilted forward/back/left/right, primed some more etc etc.

Comparing it to my 205 I see that the filter head doesn't appear to sit as tight. There's about a two mil gap between the bucket and the head when the clasps are locked. This can be pushed down manually before it lifts itself again.

Could the rubber gasket o-ring thing really cause all this? It seems to be perfect but I don't know how perfect it needs to be. Will a new one do the trick? Or could it be something completely different? Anyone had this problem and sorted it?

Please help, any suggestions at all, the bubbles are driving me mad!!

 

[Westwood]

With my 205, i have never had the problem, but each time i clean out the filter, i put alot of vasaline on the oring, just to make the seal a bit better, Its never done any harm to my fish? just something you could try!

 

[Jamepsss]

With my 205, i have never had the problem, but each time i clean out the filter, i put alot of vasaline on the oring, just to make the seal a bit better, Its never done any harm to my fish? just something you could try!

Yeah, must admit that's something I've not been doing but will start doing. The Fluval site says not to use vaseline, not sure if that's them trying to make us buy there lubricant though.

By the way, I 'lubed it up' before but no improvement.

 

[Westwood]

Yeah, must admit that's something I've not been doing but will start doing. The Fluval site says not to use vaseline, not sure if that's them trying to make us buy there lubricant though.

By the way, I 'lubed it up' before but no improvement.

I Haven't ever had a problem with the vaseline, so they are probley trying to make a few more coins.
I dont know what elce to check, just cheak conections, but i guess you have tryed that 4 times over
would drive me mad as well.

 

[onebto]

Just clutching at straws as it sounds like your certain there is no air leaks.

you can get small bubbles from cavitation but how you would verify that is a little tricky and would more than likely happen in the impeller area.

I have heard someone a long while back saying you can get ware on parts of the impeller and adjoining parts but I cannot remember what make of filter it was.

If you do discover the reason I would like to hear what it was good luck,

Regards onebto

 

[Jamepsss]

Just clutching at straws as it sounds like your certain there is no air leaks.

you can get small bubbles from cavitation but how you would verify that is a little tricky and would more than likely happen in the impeller area.

I have heard someone a long while back saying you can get ware on parts of the impeller and adjoining parts but I cannot remember what make of filter it was.

If you do discover the reason I would like to hear what it was good luck,

Regards onebto

Not certain but if there are I think it has to be from where the head joins to the body. Which leads me to think it can only be the o-ring. Yet the o-ring appears to be spot-on :

 

[jim_uk_2006]

Just clutching at straws as it sounds like your certain there is no air leaks.

you can get small bubbles from cavitation but how you would verify that is a little tricky and would more than likely happen in the impeller area.

I have heard someone a long while back saying you can get ware on parts of the impeller and adjoining parts but I cannot remember what make of filter it was.

If you do discover the reason I would like to hear what it was good luck,

Regards onebto

Not certain but if there are I think it has to be from where the head joins to the body. Which leads me to think it can only be the o-ring. Yet the o-ring appears to be spot-on :

just thought i would say that vasoline is petrolium based so it will rot rubber eventually, that will be why they tell you not to use it

 

[tafet]

Just clutching at straws as it sounds like your certain there is no air leaks.

you can get small bubbles from cavitation but how you would verify that is a little tricky and would more than likely happen in the impeller area.

I have heard someone a long while back saying you can get ware on parts of the impeller and adjoining parts but I cannot remember what make of filter it was.

If you do discover the reason I would like to hear what it was good luck,

Regards onebto

Not certain but if there are I think it has to be from where the head joins to the body. Which leads me to think it can only be the o-ring. Yet the o-ring appears to be spot-on :

just thought i would say that vasoline is petrolium based so it will rot rubber eventually, that will be why they tell you not to use it

After 2 years the O-ring has probably lost some of it's flexability. This happens to both rubber and synthetic O-rings. The lost flexability can cause the o-ring to not seal properly. I've seen this alot in during overhaul of hydraulic components. The o-ring isn't expensive and changing it should be easy. it's worth a try over having to get a new filter.

 

[doresy]

If the air bubbles are continuous and there are no signs of leaks in the filter body (ie. if air is getting in then water will get out) then check the pipes. A good place to check is where the pipes bend over the top of the tank?

 

[Mark Z.]

I was thinking along the same line as dorsey. If you don't see water drips around the filter body, maybe the leak is on the tube somewhere where the water would drip back into the tank, thus not being noticed.

 

[OldMan47]

My own thoughts on air come from my own difficulties. I would suggest that you check all hose connections to make sure they are sealing right. I had a filter that I thought had a leak when it was shut off. I maintained that thought for over a year until one day I chanced to have a hose fall off. When I looked closer, I discovered that the particular hose joint had been poorly attached for quite some time. What I was blaming on a bad shutoff valve turned out to be a case of me not making sure that all hoses were properly seated on their connections. Since I reseated that connection, the filter's performance has been faultless. It takes an almost imperceptible air leak to create one heck of a racket in a filter.

 

[Jamepsss]

Thanks for all your suggestions. I thought about replacing the components one by one until the issue was resolved but prices for spare parts are pretty extortionate. In the end I decided to get a new filter with the All Pond Solutions discount code. Very happy with this and the turnover is rated at 2000 LPH so I've also increased my filtration considerably.