# Fluval 406 Bypass Problem



## Bertie (18 May 2015)

Hi,
Anyone got any experience with the Fluval 406? I have had this for a couple of  months  and I think that it may have a bypass problem. I have had a problem with particulates in the water column ever since I started using this filter, and it is appearing not to go through the filter system. I have been watching and it appears that the return pipe from the filter is actually throwing the stuff out of the filter. I did a water change and filter clean this morning and it is even more obvious that the detritus is coming from the filter return in a small but steady amount. I stripped the filter back down and cannot see any obvious reason for this has anyone any ideas? as this is getting annoying now.


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## Julian (18 May 2015)

Could it be coming from the ribbed pipes? Mine throw out this weird white flakey stuff now and then, usually when I've given the pipes a clean or moved them about a bit.


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## Bertie (18 May 2015)

Thanks Julian,I suppose it could be but have not had experience of ribbed piping.


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## Julian (18 May 2015)

I think stuff builds up in them after a while, then when you move them about or clean them, it breaks up. As soon as I used to turn my filter on, I'd get a huge cloud of the stuff. Might have been limescale now I think about it. Looks similar to what's in the bottom of my kettle.

If you wanted to test your filter, chop up a plant or something and let it get sucked in, see what comes out the other end.


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## Bertie (18 May 2015)

Will do and thanks


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## Rahms (20 May 2015)

Julian said:


> Could it be coming from the ribbed pipes? Mine throw out this weird white flakey stuff now and then, usually when I've given the pipes a clean or moved them about a bit.



I read this thread before you replied and thought "hm thats strange, I wonder how it could bypass the sponges." Only after you mentioned the pipes have I realised I had almost exactly the same problem as Bertie  I'd clean the filter, put it back together, turn it on and WHOOMPH my tank would be covered in what looked like decaying leaves.  Definitely the hoses.  I found that fully removing them from the intake/spraybar/filter and blasting tapwater through them got loads of gunk out.  Also the fluval stop valve itself seems to store a fair bit of dirt (again, running tap through it while opening and closing).


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