My Fluval makes noise :(

[jonny toe tags]

Hi,
I just shut down my Fluval 104 to install my air pump and bubble curtain.
When i turned it back on, it sounded like it had air in it (the occasional 'whoosh' sound).
It normally does that after i do a media change but goes away.
I thought it was the air bubbles from the bubble curtain (which is behind the intake), but the sound was still present after i turned the air pump off.

I don't know if it helps, but if i tilt the pump forward a bit, the whooshing noise stops.
Can i just prop the pump up in the back a couple inches?

 

[tsr770]

Let it run for a while, sometimes when I shut my Fluval down for maintainance it will take a couple hours or more to clear itself out. You may want to check the seal, maybe it is sucking air when not under pressure from it running, not sure if it could, but ya never know.

 

[EddieW]

It is possible that the intake is sucking in some air bubbles from the bubble curtain. When these build up in the impeller well they will make a whooshing sound as they clear. Tilting the unit is probably stopping them from building up enough to cause the whoosh.

I am not sure whether tilting the unit will cause any long term damage. I would recommend moving the intake away from the bubble curtain. In my tanks where I have air stones I always put these at the opposite end from any filter intake.

HTH, Eddie

 

[jonny toe tags]

I shut down the bubble curtain last night....seems the 'whooshing' is almost all gone.

So i guess i have to move my intake since i can't move the bubble curtain.
Only problem is since the bubble curtain goes along the whole back, i have nowhere to move the intake to.
Do you think i could add a couple elbows to the intake to get it away from the back? Or do i have to move the whole intake on the side?

 

[njparton]

So long as you intake is not directly under your outflow, it doesn't matter.

I have mine as far away from each other as possible.

 

[EddieW]

I reckon you should be OK if you get the intake a couple of inches away from the intake, just so that its not sucking in the bubbles. With the fluval hoses you should be able to move it to the side glass and forward a bit. Put one elbow at the top of the intake stem and the other at the back of the tank with a couple of inches of hose inbetween - the hose shoudl be rigid enough to support itself for a few inches.

Cheers, Eddie

 

[jonny toe tags]

Thanks,
I put a small piece or clear tubing over the bubble curtain, just where the intake is.
It has been air-free since last night.

 

[Great Lakes]

Great idea! Another DIY member is born...

GL