Trapped Air In Fluval External Filter Making A Noise

[mystic.bertie]

i have a fluval 304 thats making a lot of noise and it sounds like the air trapped inside, i keep shaking it to try and remove the trapped air but its still rattling like mad, i would have though fluval would have sorted this problem by now as i used to have this issue with the older external filters years ago and i used to bang them and shake them till all the air was released.

any magic suggestions on making this filter quiet, i have cleaned it out and cleaned the impeller etc.

 

[england]

does it have theself primer?

if no, i would cap the pipes to the off posistion, fill it right to the brim, then put lid back on, turn the intake pipe on first then the out take pipe on,,,then turn the filter on, if its still funny then tilt it at an angle and slowly work it back to the upright posistion, as in very very slowly

 

[mystic.bertie]

does it have theself primer?

if no, i would cap the pipes to the off posistion, fill it right to the brim, then put lid back on, turn the intake pipe on first then the out take pipe on,,,then turn the filter on, if its still funny then tilt it at an angle and slowly work it back to the upright posistion, as in very very slowly

i have switched it off its driving me totally nuts, it does have the self primer, is there a method to filling and installing this filter so its quiet ?

 

[england]

ok turn the intake then out take pipe to of posistion, then turn off filter in the wall,
remove the carton and fill it full full of water, put it back together, then connect the intake then outtake pipe and turn to on posistion in first then out, then plug filter back in the wall, if it gurgles then do as i say angle the filter to a 45deg angle and slowly work it upright,wait for it to purge and sound to go quite

if its still funny,,,pump pump pump the primer, is manual hard quick pumping

 

[mystic.bertie]

ok turn the intake then out take pipe to of posistion, then turn off filter in the wall,
remove the carton and fill it full full of water, put it back together, then connect the intake then outtake pipe and turn to on posistion in first then out, then plug filter back in the wall, if it gurgles then do as i say angle the filter to a 45deg angle and slowly work it upright,wait for it to purge and sound to go quite

thanks , however it has the 1 handle that opens and shuts both valves at the same time so i am unable to open the inlet and then the outlet, ill try filling with water and holding it at an angle to see if it helps but i have been shaking it and titling it but no joy.

 

[england]

ahh that fluval.ok there is a peice that lifts so you can fully fill it, so try that,turn on and if its funny then prime with the manual primer, its hard work but pump pump pump

 

[rabbut]

Want to make it quite? Switch it off, open up, remove the media and bin it (the filter, not the media) and replace with any decent fliter, like a Tetratec or Eheim....

On a more serious note, as Fluvals get old, they get noisy and then loose flow, usualy in that order. After this they then tend to start leaking If it is air, it will self purge within a few hours if just left. Is it like a trickling or a propper grinding clicking sound? There is also the possibility of one of the seals having partially failed... If this is the case, leaving the filter to stand switched off will make the offending seal seap water, making the issue obvious.

If it is age, replace the impeller, bearing, impeller cover and motor head. The cost will be as much as a replacement filter, so if age and resulting wear and tear is the fault, just replace the unit, preferably with the afore montioned decent brands above A single Eheim from the Pro or classic range will last as long as literaly six Fluvals from the 04 series, and indications from customers at my place of work surgest that the 05 series may be just as bad... You will get 30 years from an Eheim before upgrading it, dieing or loosing interest in the hobby... Count yourself lucky if your Fluval does 5 years...

I have had the 304's bigger sister, the 404, shock me due to voltage leaking from the motor unit into the tank. A mate of mine has had one dump 50l onto the floor in about 2 mins, the time for him to run from the dining table to the tank across the room and shut the cut-off valves off to stem the flow of water

My personal method of priming the 404 was to syphen a bucket of water through the unit before re-attaching the outlet and starting it up. In the likely event of an impeller jam, I applied a hard kick, to where the MSF badge is...

All the best
Rabbut

 

[england]

just to say ive always used fluval and never ever had a problem with them, i have a 403 / fluval fx5 / my sister has a 405 my 403 ive had around 8years

 

[rabbut]

Well, bought my 404 second hand, so don't know the exact age, but it lasted 3 months after purchace before developing a fault, failing completely at 6 months... Work has three Fluval 04 series filters. All of them have had full seal replacemets after leaks and the impellers are on their way out on all of them. Bearings are literaly falling appart in one, so we try not to touch it wherever possible to squeeze the last bit of life out of it. We don't carry spares, so if any of the ailing parts fail, we gorra mutilate a new 05 for parts... Only this week did one of them leak again in the middle of a busy weekend... Used Fluval at work for two years, and had a 6 month stint with one at home. All four I have used have been nothing but trouble. I don't know why I bought one for home, and I deffinately won't make that mistake again

The FX5 is supposed to be good, but hasn't been about long enough to judge long-term reliability. The 03 series were solid as a rock apparently, but the 04's and 05's...Well, different story

 

[SharonCC]

I have the 305, and have had no problems. Thanks guys...now I'll be up all night worrying about leaks!!!

 

[mystic.bertie]

its finally quieter, after topping it up a few times and then shaking it its reasonably quiet now however it does have a slight leak round where the head fits onto the canister, i assume it will be the big seal needing replacing then ?

also what does them ball things do at the intake strainer ? can it restrict flow in anyway ?

 

[rabbut]

The ball things are part of the self primer. It stops water going out the inlet when you pump the priming handle. I have never known them limit flow, but some mebers have found that they can.

Water seaping from anywhere is a bad sign Have a look at the main seal ring. Take it off, and run it through your fingers to feel for any lumps or bumps. There shoud be none. If you find any, you will need to order a new seal. Don't forget to apply Vasaline to the seal everytime you dismantle the filter... Sometimes just re-seating the pump head fixes the leak, because of how poorly the seals are designed to seat into the ring cavity. Any twist on the ring will caurse seapage... Place it on like a rubber band. Seat two corners and pull back and arround the motor head to re-seat the seal

All the best
Rabbut

 

[mystic.bertie]

The ball things are part of the self primer. It stops water going out the inlet when you pump the priming handle. I have never known them limit flow, but some mebers have found that they can.

Water seaping from anywhere is a bad sign Have a look at the main seal ring. Take it off, and run it through your fingers to feel for any lumps or bumps. There shoud be none. If you find any, you will need to order a new seal. Don't forget to apply Vasaline to the seal everytime you dismantle the filter... Sometimes just re-seating the pump head fixes the leak, because of how poorly the seals are designed to seat into the ring cavity. Any twist on the ring will caurse seapage... Place it on like a rubber band. Seat two corners and pull back and arround the motor head to re-seat the seal

All the best
Rabbut

well i may measure the water flow with and without the ball and see if i notice any difference. would i be right in thinking the self priming feature will njo0 longer work if i remove the ball ?

i did not use vaseline ill get some tonight and try it round the seal, , i did check the seal and it seemed fine.

the filter is quieter tonight so all the trapped air must have removed itself, in future when i clean the filters i will attach the head and fill the holes till water is at the top and move it about to get the air out before i reconnect it, this shouls minimisd the trapped air.

many thanks

 

[rabbut]

Aye, removing the ball will stop the primer working... I'd let it fill itself with water, under syphen once re-connected, and purge itself once switched on. Less faffing and easier way to do it IME

All the best
Rabbut