# Noisy Eheim 2213



## Aqua sobriquet (15 Aug 2019)

I thought I’d start a new thread on this rather than add to any others.

First some background. I’m not new to Aquarium keeping and I had one of these filters back in the 1980’s - 1990’s when they were made in Germany. The 2213 was a good filter and very quiet. My first one lived in a cabinet under the tank that was sat next to our TV in the lounge. Even sat quietly reading you couldn’t hear anything from the filter. I ran that filter for the best part of 10 years before a house move saw me giving it to a friend.

A few months back I decided I’d like another Eheim 2213 or Classic 250 as Eheim call it.
I did a wet test of the unit when I got it just to check it worked and was not impressed with the humming noise coming from the head. Running a filter without media it’s easy to get all the air out so there was no air in it to cause any noise. Not that you can confuse this humming noise with the noise trapped air makes.

When I was ready to set the filter up on the tank I filled it with the supplied media opened the taps and filled the filter with water. I then turned it on and went through the required rocking motions to get the air out. The humming noise persisted even when all the air was expelled and was joined with a rattling noise as well. I turned the filter off and removed the head to check the impeller but nothing obvious presented itself. Both rubber bushes were in place and the impeller moved freely on the shaft.

I emailed the retailer Eheim Aquarium Parts and they asked me to send the head back. It was duly cleaned and carefully packed and sent back. I didn’t here anything for a couple of weeks so I emailed to ask on the progress and they asked me for the order number so they could send it back. They said they had fitted a new impeller and it was now ok. I got the unit back well packed but soaking wet. I set the filter up cycling water through a bucket of water without media and the rattle had gone but the humming or buzzing noise was still there. In spite of this and to give it a fair test I set it up again on the aquarium with the supplied media. As you can guess the noise persisted. The Aquarium is on a side board with the filter in the cabinet beneath, all fairly standard.

I’ve done several internet searches on the topic and you get quite a few hits on “noisy Eheim 2213”.

Not impressed with the retailer I decided to email Eheim in Germany. They replied asking which country I was from then went silent.

I then decided to contact the importers John Allan. I’ve had a couple of emails from them but they too have gone quiet. They did suggest that there is no problem with the 2213’s and any noise is down to trapped air.

Most users that have reported this problem say that you can reduce the noise a little by putting pressure on the top of the head. Some in the US have even resorted to putting heavy weights on it!

I should have just sent the unit back as unfit for purpose but I’m really intrigued to know exactly why the old Eheim 2213 made in Germany were so quiet whilst the new ones produce this irritating humming noise.

One suggestion on the net was to apply silicon grease to the impeller shaft. I tried this and it made no difference. Some have said they get quieter over a period of time as the bio film builds up inside the filter.

One thing I have done it to check the fit of the impeller on the shaft. It’s a bit loose and I’ve measured the shaft at 2.48mm and the bore of the impeller at 2.56mm. I’ve no idea what the design clearance is supposed to be. I’ve informed John Allan of this and I’m awaiting a reply.

I’m currently using a Tetra EX400 on the aquarium and whilst not completely silent it makes a lot less noise than the Eheim.


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## lazybones51 (15 Aug 2019)

I have been running a 2217 for around 18 months and have had a very similar experience. I purchased the 2217 expecting it to run almost silent, but not it has the same distinct hum coming from the head. I think the most frustrating part is that I also run a cheap All Pond Solutions filter on a different tank, which is completely silent and hasn't had a penny spent on it, even though it cost half the price of the Eheim to purchase.


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## rebel (15 Aug 2019)

I have a very old 2213 (probably a decade old) and it doesn't cause any noise beyond that I can hear after the cabinet doors are closed. My tank is in the lounge though but I could measure the noise with my phone if you like?

Is the noise measurable on a decible meter or something so we could kinda standardise the issue?


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## Aqua sobriquet (15 Aug 2019)

The last time I checked it with my iphone it was up to about 56db, with background (filter off) of around 40db. Not sure how accurate you can expect a phone to be though!


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## Aqua sobriquet (15 Aug 2019)

Does the hole in the impeller look oval to you? I’m sure I’ve seen others that look like this somewhere. Remember, this is a new replacement impeller with only a few hours on it.


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## Chris Tinker (19 Aug 2019)

my 15+ year old 2128 is significantly quieter than my brand new eheim pro 4 350 

i hear your pain...


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## Aqua sobriquet (19 Aug 2019)

Well I’ve heard nothing more from John Allan the importers so it looks like if you buy a dodgy Eheim you’re on your own. How hard would it have been for them to have checked a shaft and impeller for themselves to check it met their requirements and then posted it to me?

If anyone stumbles across this thread in the future maybe because you’ve bought a Noisy Eheim filter then my advice is send it back straight away.


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## Keith GH (20 Aug 2019)

Aqua sobriquet

Have you contacted Eheim direct? 

Keith


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## Aqua sobriquet (20 Aug 2019)

Yes Keith, they replied to my first email asking my location but that was it. No reply after telling them I’m in the UK.


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## Chris Tinker (20 Aug 2019)

Aqua sobriquet said:


> Well I’ve heard nothing more from John Allan the importers so it looks like if you buy a dodgy Eheim you’re on your own. How hard would it have been for them to have checked a shaft and impeller for themselves to check it met their requirements and then posted it to me?
> 
> If anyone stumbles across this thread in the future maybe because you’ve bought a Noisy Eheim filter then my advice is send it back straight away.




surprised last month they were really good with me. try calling them? they answered pretty quick for me


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## Aqua sobriquet (2 Sep 2019)

I’ve sent another email to Eheim in Germany but no response.


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## Aqua sobriquet (25 Oct 2019)

I’ve been looking at other external filters for another possible Nano. In the process I’ve noticed whilst looking at parts diagrams etc that many of them have plastic washers top and bottom between the impeller and the rubber bushes that the shaft sits into. The Eheim I bought recently does not have these washers and there is no sign of any in the Eheim parts diagram.

Thinking back I’m pretty sure though that my old Eheim had these washers as well. Can anyone confirm this with an older Eheim model?

As a result of this I’ve just unboxed the Eheim and removed the impeller. There seems like an excessive amount of end float that could be the cause of some of the unwanted noise, especially as the shaft to impeller fit could be better. Luckily I’ve recently bought a box of mixed size O rings and although a little large I’ve fitted a couple of the smallest ones onto the shaft between the impeller and bushes. Part of the reason for the large gap between the end of the impeller and the bush is that the latter it able to sit quite deeply into the plastic support. Luckily there is a hole in the upper support so it’s easy to push the rubber bush out. I’ve liberally coated the bush with silicone grease and fitted it not back into the housing but onto the shaft. The housing was then gently pushed over the bush and rotated to lock it.

I’ve run it dry for a few seconds and it seems quite a bit quieter but there is still some vibration that shouldn’t be there if the impeller to shaft fit was better. If I get a chance tomorrow I’ll run it up wet and see what the verdict is.


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## alto (26 Oct 2019)

Aqua sobriquet said:


> that many of them have plastic washers top and bottom between the impeller and the rubber bushes that the shaft sits into



None of the filters I own have any (visible) washers - I’ve Eheims ranging from old 224 to Professional 4, I no longer have an old Classic, but the ones I bought a couple years back, don’t seem to have any additional washers  
- and run almost silent ... noticeable as I’ve a Sicce Whale filter (which cost rather a lot more than the Classics) that ranges from an audible hum to downright noisy after any maintenance (regardless of shaking etc employed, it takes a few days to return to the “hum” level)

Disclaimer: perhaps I’m not understanding what these “washers” are


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## Aqua sobriquet (26 Oct 2019)

This is from a Sera manual. I’m pretty sure my old 1980’s Ehiem had these as well.


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## Aqua sobriquet (27 Oct 2019)

I’ve now had chance to run it up wet in the shed overnight. It’s not that noisy but still noisier than my Tetra EX400. Whether it is still too noisy to use in a cabinet in the lounge is debatable. I don’t feel like swapping the filters over on a working tank with inhabitants to find out! I have ordered some parts to see if I can reduce the noise even more.

Edit: I’ve now set this up running in the cabinet and it’s still too noisy.


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## jaypeecee (25 Dec 2019)

Aqua sobriquet said:


> I emailed the retailer Eheim Aquarium Parts and they asked me to send the head back. It was duly cleaned and carefully packed and sent back. I didn’t here anything for a couple of weeks so I emailed to ask on the progress and they asked me for the order number so they could send it back. They said they had fitted a new impeller and it was now ok. I got the unit back well packed but soaking wet. I set the filter up cycling water through a bucket of water without media and the rattle had gone but the humming or buzzing noise was still there. In spite of this and to give it a fair test I set it up again on the aquarium with the supplied media. As you can guess the noise persisted. The Aquarium is on a side board with the filter in the cabinet beneath, all fairly standard.
> 
> I’ve done several internet searches on the topic and you get quite a few hits on “noisy Eheim 2213”.
> 
> ...



Hi @Aqua sobriquet 

It's Christmas Day and I have nothing better to do than scour some of the old(er) threads on UKAPS. I discovered yours above. What you have said is my experience entirely with _Eheim_ and _John Allan_. _Eheim_ used to have such a good reputation but I suspect that will not last much longer. It's not just that their Customer Support is poor but some of their products are badly designed. I bought one of their streaming pumps and was it noisy! And I very recently bought an _Eheim_ skim350 surface skimmer, which has no guard to prevent small fish/shrimps being sucked in! Would you believe it? I could go on - but I'll stop there.

JPC


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## Aqua sobriquet (26 Dec 2019)

Eheim must know of the faults in their products by now. They’re just choosing to ignore them. 

As far as I can tell the fault in my case is probably the impeller. Why the Chinese can make good quality impellers for other companies but not Eheim is a mystery. My Tetra Tec external is very quiet. 

John Allan seem very quick to blame the customer instead of admitting the product may be faulty. In my case they should have offered to send out a replacement impeller but they probably knew that wouldn’t have corrected the problem.

It’s a shame as the old German made products were very good.


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## jaypeecee (26 Dec 2019)

Hi @Aqua sobriquet 

Thanks for the feedback.

If I was looking for a new filter or pump at the moment, I'd be looking at Oase for sure and, possibly Sera or Sicce. I have a couple of Sicce products - a very small _Micron_ internal filter and a _Voyager Nano_ streaming pump. Both are excellent. Sicce make the _Tidal_ HOB for Seachem. I certainly would not buy JBL as I have one of their i80 internal filters and it's very noisy. I disassembled it and concluded that the impeller cavity/impeller was badly designed and/or manufactured.

JPC


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## Aqua sobriquet (26 Dec 2019)

I quite like the Tetra filter but the small one seems hard to come by over here. If I set up another tank I’ll probably get the Sera, and fingers crossed it’s not noisy!


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## jaypeecee (26 Dec 2019)

Aqua sobriquet said:


> I quite like the Tetra filter but the small one seems hard to come by over here. If I set up another tank I’ll probably get the Sera, and fingers crossed it’s not noisy!



Hi @Aqua sobriquet 

When you say that the Tetra filter "seems hard to come by over here", does that mean they are easier to obtain elsewhere? Are they made in Germany?

Before I make a purchase of aquatic (and other) equipment, I like to 'get a feel' for the quality (or lack thereof) of a company's technical support. So, with Sera, you could possibly email them with your tails of woe about competitors' products. Perhaps try to get some reassurance about noise level. Unfortunately, asking about dB(A) at, say, 1m is not going to be that helpful but it's a starting point. We shouldn't need to cross our fingers when making these purchases.

Good luck!

JPC


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## Aqua sobriquet (26 Dec 2019)

The last time I checked no one over here had one. I just assumed they may be available elsewhere? They’re made in PRC as far as I know.


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## Sergey (27 Dec 2019)

Well I recently bought Eheim Ecco Pro 130, having had read a lot of reviews how silent it was, to replace rather noisy Hydor Prime 10 in my living room. 
Unfortunately, that Eheim Pro turned out to be not as silent as I expected, hardly a bit quieter than Hydor (but cost twice as much). No rattling sound, but quite audible humming noise. 

I think the quality of Eheim filters is now just a legend.


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## jaypeecee (27 Dec 2019)

Sergey said:


> Well I recently bought Eheim Ecco Pro 130, having had read a lot of reviews how silent it was, to replace rather noisy Hydor Prime 10 in my living room.
> Unfortunately, that Eheim Pro turned out to be not as silent as I expected, hardly a bit quieter than Hydor (but cost twice as much). No rattling sound, but quite audible humming noise.
> 
> I think the quality of Eheim filters is now just a legend.



Hi @Sergey 

It's obviously the luck of the draw as I also have an Eheim Ecco Pro 130 and it is very quiet. But there is also another possible explanation. Have you tried sitting the filter on a spongy layer of foam if that's possible in your setup? This will isolate the filter from the surface on which it sits. There will always be some low-frequency vibration from a filter because of the motor, impeller, etc. This gets coupled to the cabinet in which the filter is being used. And it can then cause resonance. Might be worth a try.

Anon


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## Sergey (28 Dec 2019)

Hey @jaypeecee 



jaypeecee said:


> Hi @Sergey
> 
> It's obviously the luck of the draw as I also have an Eheim Ecco Pro 130 and it is very quiet. But there is also another possible explanation. Have you tried sitting the filter on a spongy layer of foam if that's possible in your setup? This will isolate the filter from the surface on which it sits. There will always be some low-frequency vibration from a filter because of the motor, impeller, etc. This gets coupled to the cabinet in which the filter is being used. And it can then cause resonance. Might be worth a try.



Well I tried lifting the filter with my hands so that it didn't touch anything, readjusted hoses, reassembled the impeller chamber - all to no effect in noise reduction. The noise comes from the filter head itself. Here's the small video I recorded with the iPhone's noise meter app (you can see the noise level at the upper left corner):

.

To an observer, the filter sounds like a desktop computer from nineties. I don't know, maybe it's a normal noise level from a filter, but my expectations were that it was supposed to be virtually silent, as may reviews said, and that was the purpose for spending money on it, hence my frustration.


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## Aqua sobriquet (28 Dec 2019)

I’ve heard of folks hanging the filter from inside the cabinet and adding foam where the hoses go through as well, all to no avail. If you have that humming noise it seems nothing will stop it. Sound proofing the cabinet itself may be a possibility but let’s face it, it shouldn’t be necessary.


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## lazybones51 (28 Dec 2019)

I ended up placing mine on several layers of foam which dampened the hum to an inaudible level with the cabinet door closed.


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## Aqua sobriquet (9 Jan 2021)

I removed the cover from the head of my Classic to have a look inside. I couldn’t help noticing the nice little sound amplifying chamber moulded into the head! Quite what this was originally intended for is a mystery to me. It has a couple of slots inside and two holes at the top that could be used for retaining screws? I’ve packed some high density foam into it and it has reduced the noise a bit. I’ll try a proper wet test with hoses when I get a minute.


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## Aqua sobriquet (8 Feb 2021)

Quick update. It’s been running for a few weeks now and it’s very much quieter than it was. Inside a decent cabinet I doubt you’d hear it at all. It’s an easy fix once you know. If I had any to hand I would have poured RTV rubber into that chamber to set but the high density foam has done the job. It’s only a guess but I can’t help thinking that little chamber was originally designed to hold some kind of circuit board, perhaps for a foreign market? It would be nice to see what the ones for the USA look like under the cover.


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## Gold Fish (7 Jan 2022)

Also a guess: the chamber is for possible heater electronic board?


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## Aqua sobriquet (7 Jan 2022)

Gold Fish said:


> Also a guess: the chamber is for possible heater electronic board?


I’m pretty sure it is.


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