Fluval Plus 3 Filter

[Aquaman2009]

Hi all, I know this might sound stupid but I should ask anyway, I've just changed the black media in my fluval plus 3 filter and did everything by the book, I did a small water change and plugged everything back in, I just put my hand against the blue pump on the filter to check if it was working and it doesn't seem to be pumping water out into the tank like it was during the week? It does seem to be sucking it in though...is it supposed to suck in the water or pump it out into the tank? I haven't had my set up long so I'm really just checking these things now so apologies if this sounds silly, also...the green button on the filter is in the "straight down position" showing red, during the week it was upright (the green thingy was all the way up) I've never really checked to see if an underwater filter was actually supposed to suck in the water and filter out through the sides or vice versa so hopefully somebody can put me straight on this

Thanks for your patience!

 

[arobinson1984]

Open the top part of the filter and check that the impeller isnt clogged (the impeller is like a little white propellor fan that pulls out to be cleaned. It is magnetised so pull it out and clean it in old tank water to get off any gunk that may be stopping it from spinning)

Also the black media you replaced, was it carbon? You dont need to run carbon in your filter all the time, its only used for removing medications from the water and is basically useless after about 3/4 days.

Andy

 

[OldMan47]

The green thing is a flow measuring indicator so it is telling you what you know from your hand, you have poor flow. If your 3+ is built like my 4+, there is a lever under the pumping head that can move back and forth to increase or decrease the flow from the impeller. The impeller is the weak link as ARobinson said, so it is well worth checking to make sure it is clean and the impeller shaft is properly seated in the bearings. I find that impeller bearings are the mostly fiddly thing that I need to deal with when cleaning a filter. Once the impeller is back into the housing, use a finger tip and make sure that the impeller turns very easily. You need to recognize that the impeller has a magnetic coupling to the motor around it so it may feel like it has some resistance but it should not drag on the sides of the well it sits in. The most frequent problem I have, other than getting the impeller shaft properly aligned with the bearings is making sure the magnet on the impeller has nothing on it and is spotless along with making sure the well the impeller magnet sits in is spotless. I use a small bottle brush to clean the well thoroughly and don't worry about destroying the bacterial film in that area. Without flow, all of the bacteria in my media will die anyway, so get that part very clean.

 

[MewMew42]

i have had many a problem with my 3+, im beginning to think that it is a fault with that type of filter!.....but usually it is the propeller after a bit of cleaning it usually does the trick, as old man said you need to make sure its sits correctly aswell!