# Just set up a Fluval 306 - EXTREMELY noisy



## Harvoification

Hi everyone,

I haven't used canister filters before... are they meant to be this noisy? I bought this for my rio 125 as I heard it was quiet (the tank is in my bedroom) but I can hear it from standing outside the door of my room! Honestly feel like I wasted £125 as I cannot sleep with this thing in the room. Do canisters filters have to 'break in' and slowly get quieter? I've noticed the output is constantly blowing air bubbles out of it, which is exacerbated when I move the filter from side to side. I thought maybe it could be a trapped bit of air but it doesn't stop

EDIT: I've changed to a brand new Eheim 2217... exact same problem/noise.


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## Madhav

Hi There,
external canister filters are meant to be dead silent in operation. you might have done something wrong some where.
open it up and re-assemble, make sure all the seals are in place. check for any water leakage.
if you do it right, you will not feel its presence.  

you notice air bubbles means, air is entering the canister some how and you need to stop it.


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## PARAGUAY

There sounds like something not quite right it's picking up air somewhere,I would check it over slowly switched off,in my case it was once the baskets not fully seated and the impeller was not correctly in position.If it's still noisy check your models problem solve article or email the manafactuer for a answer.All to easy to claim silent running so you can expect it to do that or a refund,hope it doesn't come to that for you though


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## Harvoification

Okay this morning i took it apart and and put it back together, making sure everything was correct each step of the way. No dice. I took it back to the store, they examined it, and said nothing is wrong with it, so I can't return it. Am I going crazy here? When people say 'dead silent' do they mean they can't hear it? I can here it the other end of my bedroom and it is in the cabinet. 

Looks like I'm stuck with this piece of junk


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## shrimpy1

some info here http://www.hagen.com/uk/aquatic/answer.cfm?CAT=1&SUBCAT=107&FAQ=80

ensure that all of the connections in tank are beneath water level
don't overfill baskets - hagen recommend no more than half full
ensure you have a good syphon by gently rocking the pipework

Initially you have to get all of the air out of the media by gently rocking the unit when it is running, turning it off for a few seconds to allow the air to get to the impellor.

It is usually air in the impellor housing or lack of flow causing back pressure which causes noise. 
Occasionally I will start to hear one or another of my fluvals - this is invariably caused by plant debris in the strainer ball unit obstructing the water.

If all else fails call customer services using the number on the leaflet in the box.


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## Harvoification

Thanks for your help. I've tried doing all of that, every time I shake the filter a lots of bubbles come out the output, but they continue to do so even after I've done it a few time...

I'm downstairs right now. I can hear it in my bedroom on the floor above. A loud hum and constant rattling like there's something wrong with the impeller.

Somehow, it's even louder when the flow rate is set to zero?


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## shrimpy1

Sounds like insufficient water flow. It will should be preferably run at full flow.

OK - silly question time, please don't take offence.

Is the filter well below the tank - won't work too well if side by side
are the inlet /outlets as straight as you can get them - no kinks
is there a good flow coming from the outlet
are the white connectors below the water surface
what media are you using - you could try to run it without media to see if this is constricting the flow

Getting the air out initially does take a bit of time as there could be lots of it trapped in the media.

finally, these are quality units and it will run silently so don't give up. On various forums there are lots of experiences that you have had (including myself) they invariable seem to get it sorted.


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## BarryH

I know it doesn't help with your problem but I have an Eden Gravel Cleaner that's the most basic of canister filters. When it starts up, it's extremely noisy with the sounds that you describe but that's because there's air in it, you can see the bubbles coming out in the stream of return water. Once it settles down and the air clears, it is extremely quiet. You can only just hear the faintest of hums if you get really close to it.


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## PARAGUAY

Harvoification said:


> Okay this morning i took it apart and and put it back together, making sure everything was correct each step of the way. No dice. I took it back to the store, they examined it, and said nothing is wrong with it, so I can't return it. Am I going crazy here? When people say 'dead silent' do they mean they can't hear it? I can here it the other end of my bedroom and it is in the cabinet.
> 
> Looks like I'm stuck with this piece of junk


You could remind the retailer that if its saying its silent and its not it falls into the "not fit for purpose new consumer laws which say it has to be as described fit for purpose for 6 years and the seller has the resonsibility of your replacement/refund not the manafacturer in the first instance,this despite  guaratees or warranties.If the response is negative you escalate it.It wont harm to email the  manafacturer with a complaint either,good luck


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## Harvoification

Thank you for all of your help everyone - I really appreciate it. To my (inexperienced) ear it sounds like a mechanical problem with the impeller, but then again this is my first canister so I'm not experienced in this. I really don't want to sour my relationship with this store as they are one of the only stores that are close to me so I may just leave it. The trouble is, they set it up and it sounded quiet in the store - but this is because it's drowned out by the ambient noise of the store and their own filtration that they are running for all of their tanks. 



shrimpy1 said:


> Is the filter well below the tank - won't work too well if side by side



It's directly below



shrimpy1 said:


> are the inlet /outlets as straight as you can get them - no kinks



I cut them as tight as I can, so there's very little kink in the tubing. If anything, I cut them a bit too short as they're a pain to work with!



shrimpy1 said:


> is there a good flow coming from the outlet



There's a good, healthy amount of flow coming from the outlet so it seems to be working correctly - just noisily. 



shrimpy1 said:


> are the white connectors below the water surface



Can you elaborate by what you mean by this? To you mean the connectors in the tank connecting the inlet/outlet to the tubing? If so, they're both below the water level. 



shrimpy1 said:


> what media are you using - you could try to run it without media to see if this is constricting the flow



I'm running mechanical at the bottom, bio-media in the middle (which I bought more of this morning when they inspected the filter), and in the top there's only the fine filter sponges, no carbon or anything, so I doubt it's a flow problem. The problem was there before I bought the extra media aswell, so as I was not using the carbon I was using less media than the recommended amount. I've got some purigen on order that I plan to place in the top when it arrives. 

I've emailed Fluval on the off chance they will be able to help. Until then, I've wrapped the filter in a couple of blankets (is this safe? Will it overheat?). This seems to have dampened the noise by quite a lot so I'm no longer bothered by it... although it's not really a permanent solution.


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## shrimpy1

As far as I know it will not overheat as it is being cooled by the water flow and doesn't need to be air cooled. 

When I purchased my last one there was a slip of paper in the box giving a number to ring if you were having set up/noise issues. It said something like "before returning the unit to the retailer please ring this number'  Did you have this in the box? if not find the customer service number of the web site and give them a call, I haven't used them myself but have heard from others that they are good - they will talk you through this and if necessary will authorise the LFS to replace the impellor unit.


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## Harvoification

shrimpy1 said:


> When I purchased my last one there was a slip of paper in the box giving a number to ring if you were having set up/noise issues. It said something like "before returning the unit to the retailer please ring this number' Did you have this in the box? if not find the customer service number of the web site and give them a call, I haven't used them myself but have heard from others that they are good - they will talk you through this and if necessary will authorise the LFS to replace the impellor unit.



Just found it thanks mate. I'll give them a call friday morning. Hope to get this sorted soon, because I love everything else about the filter.


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## Madhav

Easier way fix the issue is to bring it the bath room that has an electrical outlet. Fill a pail with water and leave it on the camode. Remove all the baskets from the canister and try to run the filter and see if it is still noisy. If this doesnt fix, remove the head from canister and hold the head in the pail of water such that impeller housing is in the water, if it runs silent, nothing wrong with impeller.

If LFS said everything with it is alright, I assume impeller shaft is not broken.

I need to touch and feel the filter to make sure its working as my tank is covered and I cant really see the flow below water surface. My eheims are that silent. Yours should be too once you figure out the issue.

Keep us updated...


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## Harvoification

Honestly want to put my head through a wall. It's gotten louder. Are Fluval meant to be good filters?

I will try your suggestion later today or tomorrow morning. I have no electrical outlet in my bathroom, can it be anywehre else?


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## Iain mlaren

Silly question but you haven't got a rubber foot missing on the bottom have you? Had this happen on 1 of mine (not fluval) caused it to vibrate more. Just a suggestion  dunno if fluval have rubber feet.


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## Harvoification

It does have rubber feet, but none of them are missing. It sounds like the noise is coming from the top of the filter.

To give everyone an idea of what I'm talking about, I took a video: 

That's happening all day... and night


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## Iain mlaren

That defo sounds like impeller to me. I recently set up a friend of mines fluval and it made the same noise. Have you taken out the impeller and checked there isn't anything in there? Check that the 2 rubber parts are on the ends of shafts.  They can go sometimes or get lost accidently as there tiny and often clear


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## Parablennius

Sounds to me like it's "pulling" air, you can here it rushing through when you lift the lever. Anywhere between the intake and the impeller will create a vacuum whilst running and a slight leak, at a connection for example, will pull air into the system. Check the output under water to check if any bubbles are leaving the system. Even if not, it could still be air trapped in the impeller housing rattling around. Even normal, standalone powerheads will do this, albeit briefly, on a dry startup.


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## shrimpy1

ok - firstly, you should not run the filter with the white lever all the way up as this shuts off all flow. I think it says in the manual to restrict it to halfway.

However, this is nothing to do with the noise. It sounds as if the impellor is not mounted correctly or is damaged. 
Its very difficult to help with this as we can only ask questions - its a bit frustrating when you can't get your hands on the thing!
If the rubber bushes are correctly seated at each end of the ceramic shaft, the ceramic shaft is not broken and the impellor cover is correctly snapped in place  with the ceramic shaft seated the only reason can be a damaged impellor which is readily replaced.

Phone them


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## Harvoification

I don't recall there being any rubber parts? i just took it apart to show you, here's some pictures:


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## Iain mlaren

There's normally 2 rubber bushes on each end of the shafts. Not 100% on these models tho so don't hold me to that. They aren't inside either end of the housing are they?


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## Harvoification

Looks like there one in the impeller, and one stuck at the bottom of the place which the impeller sits


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## Harvoification

I removed the one from the bottom, but as soon as I put it back on the shaft it got wedged down there again so I don't think it is that


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## Iain mlaren

Yeah just been looking at the manual for these and that looks correct. And you have water flow from the output? Continuously? Do you get bubbling from output like gargle as it's spits out air?


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## Harvoification

Yes, occasionally, although after a while this stops but the noise persists


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## Iain mlaren

Did the fluval come with grease when you purchased it? Could try greasing the shafts up a bit. Doubt it with help but worth a try lol


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## Harvoification

To be fair even right now the impeller and shaft are greasy and lubricated. What I don't understand is why reducing the flow on the aqua stop valve makes it louder?


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## Iain mlaren

Not sure. I know my mate got his and I set it up for him it made that noise but that was dry start. Once I got it primed up properly it went silent. I closed the valve filled the inlet pipe put back under water. Turned on the unit then opened the valve asap. The noise then stopped and ran silent.


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## Madhav

Harvoification said:


> Honestly want to put my head through a wall. It's gotten louder. Are Fluval meant to be good filters?
> 
> I will try your suggestion later today or tomorrow morning. I have no electrical outlet in my bathroom, can it be anywehre else?



anywhere thats convenient for you to access the filter without any obstacles, I suggested bathroom just to take care any water spillages.
just keep the pail elevated and the filter on the floor.

the noise that loud is not acceptable, a shame on Fluval QA to pass this unit. If all your efforts fail you are entitled for a replacement.
bring it back to the shop where you bought and ask them to demonstrate and demand an explanation based on what criteria they said everything is fine? 
presence of all mechanical components in good order?? not professional. show them the video. they cant sell a defective product and run away from responsibility to resolve the issue.



Harvoification said:


> What I don't understand is why reducing the flow on the aqua stop valve makes it louder?



the impeller is already stressed to work under normal conditions, reducing the flow makes it even worse, to overcome the resistance it should work harder that justifies increased noise levels.
not let it work at reduced flow for prolonged period until you fix the issue.


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## Harvoification

I'm taking it back to the store (again) tomorrow. I'll show them the video and I've also asked Fluval to email me back with permission directly from them to get a replacement unit. Kind of just wish I just got an Eheim 2217 now! These filters, when they're working, what's the noise level like? Are they quiet?


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## Madhav

Eheims, I used almost all models and I can guarantee you those are extremely silent. Believe me you wont feel like you have a filter with a motor running in your  room. Classics are the most silent in eheims range of filters. I have a  tank in both of my kids  rooms. 

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## Harvoification

My wallet hates me for it but I now have an Eheim on order for tommorrow. I guess once I get the 306 fixed I'll just sell it. The Eheim I've ordered only comes with mechanical filter sponges - would the Fluval biomax I bought to use with my 306 be okay as the biological filtration? The Eheim bio media looks expensive and I won't be able to get some until mid next week.


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## Madhav

Eheim 2217? Good luck with it. Eheim classics wont disappoint you in any aspect except $$$. Your wallet will hate you even more for double taps. Those are not bundled with the filter here, we need to buy separately.

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## ChrisP

Harvoification said:


> I'm taking it back to the store (again) tomorrow. I'll show them the video and I've also asked Fluval to email me back with permission directly from them to get a replacement unit. Kind of just wish I just got an Eheim 2217 now! These filters, when they're working, what's the noise level like? Are they quiet?



I have the Fluval 106. I had pretty much the same problem and bought it because I read it was quiet which was important because the tank is in my living room and didn't want to hear it near the TV. When first installed it kept glugging and pushing air out the system. It was driving me mad. The thing to check is that the head is seated perfectly and nice and tight. Otherwise is draws air in which gets pushed around the filter media and down the outlet causing noise on the way. 

All I did was re-seat mine a few times until I was happy and then left the filter running, after a few days it was completely silent. I can only hear it if I put my ear to it now and its been running or about a year. You can tip it side to side to help get some of the air out. 

Its a good filter and if you leave it for a few days running I'm sure it will be fine. They're probably not as good as Eheims but they are a fair bit cheaper. I'm more than happy with mine now but I think if I was to buy again I would cough up the extra few quid and go with an Eheim themo or something like that.


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## Harvoification

Okay, I think I'm cursed. Is set up my Eheim and it's making a very similar noise  Sounds like the impeller again. i hope it's air and while quiet down... it's definitely _not _silent.


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## John S

Try rocking it backwards and forwards while its running. That should expel any air.


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## ChrisP

Harvoification said:


> Okay, I think I'm cursed. Is set up my Eheim and it's making a very similar noise  Sounds like the impeller again. i hope it's air and while quiet down... it's definitely _not _silent.




That just sounds like air in the system hitting the impeller. It will probably quieten down in a few days.


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## Harvoification

I've rocked it back and forth a lot to no avail. I'll give it a few days, hopefully it'll quite down. I have 500g of Fluval bio media in there, is that enough for biological filtration? Should I buy the eheim stuff?


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## John S

Harvoification said:


> I've rocked it back and forth a lot to no avail. I'll give it a few days, hopefully it'll quite down. I have 500g of Fluval bio media in there, is that enough for biological filtration? Should I buy the eheim stuff?



No. You should be able to run any media you want. Does any air come out when you rock or tilt it?


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## Harvoification

John S said:


> No. You should be able to run any media you want. Does any air come out when you rock or tilt it?



I can't see any coming out of the spray bar anymore, but it does still sort of make a grinding noise when I rock it now


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## KipperSarnie

A thought, could the noise be cavitation as with a ships propeller?
If so it is not an air problem but a vacuum problem where the blades of the impeller create a vacuum & the noise is caused by the sound of the water rushing in to fill the void.

Perhaps just removing the sharpness from the trailing edge of the impeller blades might reduce the void / vacuum.


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## KipperSarnie

I've just googled cavitation & one snippet I found is cavitation noise could be caused by damaged or a nicked a blade.


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## Harvoification

It's still making the annoying noise... has anyone had this problem before? I bought one of these because I heard they were silent. I seem to be having the worst luck lately


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## John S

Is the flow OK from it?


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## Harvoification

Yeah, the flow is fine so I don't know what's wrong. I'm hoping it'll quiet down over the next few days


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## Madhav

You do not need few days to get rid of that noise, its a few min business. Is the return pointed to inlet in the tank? I know a dumb question but take no chances...
And make sure intake tubing is firmly fixed and not sucking any air. I hope you are using their own piping and plumbing not the same for both filters. 

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## Harvoification

I'm using eheim tubing, no other brand. the outlet is the spray bar pointed towards the front of the tank. I don't think the inlet is sucking air


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## KipperSarnie

Do you have an air stone near the filter intake?


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## Harvoification

Nope, no air stone in the aquarium. The only thing could be my Juwel internal filter which is still running - but the outlet is pointing the opposite direction to the spray bar


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## ben3588

Harvoification said:


> Thanks for your help. I've tried doing all of that, every time I shake the filter a lots of bubbles come out the output, but they continue to do so even after I've done it a few time...
> 
> I'm downstairs right now. I can hear it in my bedroom on the floor above. A loud hum and constant rattling like there's something wrong with the impeller.
> 
> Somehow, it's even louder when the flow rate is set to zero?



Howdy, I can confirm that this is just trapped air. If you shake the filter and bubbles still come out that's all it is. Lift the pull pump bar when the filter is on this also realeases some. 

I have the same filter and it's much better now but when I first bought this it took 4 days to clear. It will go don't worry and then it is silent 


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## ben3588

Harvoification said:


> It does have rubber feet, but none of them are missing. It sounds like the noise is coming from the top of the filter.
> 
> To give everyone an idea of what I'm talking about, I took a video:
> 
> That's happening all day... and night




Leave that lever down and lift up the toggle next to it tell me if you see loads of bubbles coming out when you do


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## Madhav

ben3588 said:


> Howdy, I can confirm that this is just trapped air. If you shake the filter and bubbles still come out that's all it is. Lift the pull pump bar when the filter is on this also realeases some.
> 
> I have the same filter and it's much better now but when I first bought this it took 4 days to clear. It will go don't worry and then it is silent
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


Every maintenance, 4 days? It is not acceptable. It should clear in 4 min max.

I dont think you are so lucky to have two defective filters from worlds top 2 manufacturers, with the same defect.

Regarding your eheim, tighten the inlet joint near the bottom of the tank gently until you feel some resistance. Over tightening might break the filter and void any warranty. So be careful.
Let the inlet be in any awkward direction except facing down.

Remove media and try with empty filter with a pail of water.

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## Madhav

I am referring to this.... it need not necessarily be pointing up as shown.

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## Harvoification

The jointis pretty much as tight as it can go without risk of breaking it I feel - always has been


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## kadoxu

With my classic Eheim, I found that there were 3 main reasons for it to become noisy:

Air in the filter (which becomes better if you shake the filter while it's running, unless you have badly fitted tubing)
Restricted flow in the tubing (i.e. by slightly closing a tap on the quick release connectors)
Hardware defect (like the one mentioned earlier by @KipperSarnie )
I noticed that, in the picture of your impeller, one of the blades (the one in bottom) seems to have a dark-ish corner... could it be from grazing against something?


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## Harvoification

That impeller was actually from the Fluval 306 I had which had the same problem...  Unfortunately the eheim has shown no signs of quietening down so I'm going to purchase a new impeller and impeller shaft on friday.


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## discusdan

Are you using the fluval ribbed hoses to test both the eheim and fluval filters???

If so my guess is you have a pin hole leak in one of the hoses which is pulling in air.

Its a common problem with the ribbed hoses.

Test with some new hose would be my first step.


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## Harvoification

Nope, I'm using the stock green Eheim hosing


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## ben3588

Harvoification said:


> Nope, I'm using the stock green Eheim hosing



Is the noise still there? I am pretty sure it's just trapped air. Mine was the same to begin with. I would really shake it and tilt it on each side etc. While it is on. 

Have you tried lifting the primer when it's on and see a huge release of bubbles?

It will run silent it's just air. I would maybe drain and plug back in again and prime longer. 


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## Madhav

Harvoification said:


> That impeller was actually from the Fluval 306 I had which had the same problem...  Unfortunately the eheim has shown no signs of quietening down so I'm going to purchase a new impeller and impeller shaft on friday.


Before you invest any further, 
Remove the head and dip it in pail of water upto throat just as the way it will be when it is fitted on to the canister and see if the impeller still make that loud noise.

Yes means something wrong with impeller. You are entitled for replacement.

No means something wrong somewhere else. You need to address that issue if not same issue will be there with new impeller.

I will upload a video tonight what/how to do

Stop purchasing anything first.

Such a shame your LFS that sold you these filters is coming forward to resolve the issue for you. 

Did you buy online?

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## Harvoification

ben3588 said:


> Is the noise still there? I am pretty sure it's just trapped air. Mine was the same to begin with. I would really shake it and tilt it on each side etc. While it is on.
> 
> Have you tried lifting the primer when it's on and see a huge release of bubbles?
> 
> It will run silent it's just air. I would maybe drain and plug back in again and prime longer.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk



I must have emptied, shook and re-primed it so many times now. I've also just left it for a while in hopes it would improve but no such luck. 



Madhav said:


> Before you invest any further,
> Remove the head and dip it in pail of water upto throat just as the way it will be when it is fitted on to the canister and see if the impeller still make that loud noise.
> 
> Yes means something wrong with impeller. You are entitled for replacement.
> 
> No means something wrong somewhere else. You need to address that issue if not same issue will be there with new impeller.
> 
> I will upload a video tonight what/how to do
> 
> Stop purchasing anything first.
> 
> Such a shame your LFS that sold you these filters is coming forward to resolve the issue for you.
> 
> Did you buy online?
> 
> Sent from my HUAWEI GRA-UL00 using Tapatalk



I bought the Fluval in store and the Eheim online... just a shame as I'm not having much luck with these external filters haha


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## Madhav

Harvoification said:


> I must have emptied, shook and re-primed it so many times now. I've also just left it for a while in hopes it would improve but no such luck.
> 
> 
> 
> I bought the Fluval in store and the Eheim online... just a shame as I'm not having much luck with these external filters haha


Just try this with your head before you invest any further.



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## Harvoification

Okay mate, will do. Thanks for your help, I'll have to do it tonight or tomorrow. If it's not the impeller or impeller shaft I'm at a loss for what the noise could be. I remember noticing the impeller shafts doesn't sit at a perfectly straight angle. I've removed it and put it back in but it still sits leaning slightly one way. Wonder if that could be causing any issues...


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## John S

Have you checked that the black bushes are fitted correctly?


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## Harvoification

Yep - they look okay to me


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## Madhav

They seem slanted due to impeller magnet attracted to sides but when you closed the end cover, it sits straight dont worry about it. 

If it doesnt sit properly you wont be able to close it. Misaligned forced fit shaft wont last long.

If you notice the video, as long as the impeller in the water it is dead silent, I had to pull the outlet up to see whether it is pumping water or not.

When it is tilted upwards to the surface to allow the air to reach impeller, the noise is fairly loud and the flow reduced with air bubbles in the outlet.

The moment I let it sit properly, within few sec all the air expelled and silent again.


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## rubadudbdub

I agree it's very unlikely that you have two faulty filters.  The most likely reason is air getting in somewhere.  Something else that might be worth considering is that the noise could be the filter vibrating against something in the cabinet which resonates when the door is shut.  The latter should be easy to eliminate, just make sure nothing is touching the cabinet and if there aren't any rubber feet on the filter try putting something underneath it like a scrap of carpet or material.

If i were you I'd take the filter off and run it in a bucket to try and work out what's going on. With it off the tank it's easier to check things and shake the filter to get air out.
First check that all the pipework is comfortably onto the plastic intake pipe, minimum a centimetre.  If not hairline gaps may suck in air by Venturi efffect when the filter is running.  It can be stiff pushing the pipes on so dip the end of the rubber eheim tube in hot water for a few seconds and it'll go softer and make it easier to push onto the rigid pipe.

At the other end make sure the pipe is similarly pushed all the way onto the little elbow intake at the bottom of the filter.  Then close the locking collar by hand until it's tight.  Don't use tools to get it very tight as it's plastic and may get damaged.  The intake elbow (pictured in a post above) screws into the body of the filter so potentially may leak, although I've never seen it and have used several eheim classic over the past 20 years.  The other poster is correct that you can undo it and wrap ptfe tape but you risk cross threading it or creating a leak that wasn't there before by doing this.  I would leave it alone unless you're sure it's letting in air after you've checked everything else before dismantling parts eheim have screwed together.

Then check the rubber o ring on the pump head.  The old versions you had to push it onto the outer edge of the pump head and it could get twisted as it rolled onto the pump head. A twisted o ring is narrower at the twisted part and can leak.  However I'd expect it to leak rather than suck in air.  If memory serves newer versions have it already installed in a groove on the pump head.  Make sure the impeller is sat centrally on the ceramic shaft.  Make sure all pipes are not kinked and taps fully open and screwed together correctly, if you have taps on the pipework.

Put the filter together, and run it empty in the bucket.  After a few seconds it should go quiet, now lift it and shake it a little to clear the air.  It will run noisy again for a few seconds then run with just a slight hum.  I don't find them silent but you have to be close by to hear the hum.  If it's still noisy look carefully in the hoses and pump body for air bubbles and trace backwards to work out where they're getting in.  If there's no visible air getting in you can try running the pump head in the bucket of water like someone else suggested and if it's quiet at least you know it's not the pump that's the problem.

By doing it systematically you should be able to work out what's making it noisy.


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## Harvoification

Ok guys, I was going to do the ol' filter head in a bucket trick but I'd received my new impeller and impeller shaft (although the new impeller has a dent in it towards the base...) I think it's slightly better? It's more of a steady hum now then a rattle. I don't know... I can still hear it from any point in the room although it is a bedroom. When people say "silent", do they actually mean _silent_? Because it's definitely not that but seems to have improved with the new impeller. Here's a YouTube video, I guess you guys can be the judge:

Here it is with the original impeller:



Here it is with the new impeller I installed today:



Here's a third video with better lighting, showing my inlet/outlet in aquarium and piping on the filter - does it all look set up correctly? 



Thoughts?


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## Iain mlaren

Still sounds noisy to me unless you have a very good microphone lol


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## John S

It certainly sounds better but to me it still sounds noisy. That said, I've just taken video of a 2324 and a 2078 and the video audio sounds far noisier than what it does when listening 'live'. I'd still do the bucket rest if I were you.


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## Harvoification

Just using my phone lol... I'll do the bucket test tomorrow. Am I expecting it to be silent? Also how do I stop water from spraying everywhere from the outlet? haha. At least it sounds... better. I'll take any victory I can at the minute... was debating quitting the hobby this week because I've just been hit with such a string of bad luck. Pretty much all at once all of this filter business happened (so 2 loud filters), my bubble counter broke, the threading on my replacement JBL cylinder was worn, and the O ring in my regulator broke. Hopefully I'll have co2 up and running again tomorrow when the new o ring gets here.

Thank you for all your help and sticking by me while I sort this. Could anyone post a video of their 2217 and the noise it makes?


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## Madhav

As far as eheims are concerned, they are dead silent meaning you cant hear even if you place your ear near the pump. All you will hear is mild humming noise. Any thing more than a feet away you dont hear any thing...

I bet you will be surprised when you do this bucket test....

In my son bedroom, the tank is behind the head rest. Eheim is in the cabinet and will be a couple of feet away when he sleeps.

I strongly believe air is entering the filter some how....

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## John S

One more thing, which you probably have checked, is the filter level in the cabinet?


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## Harvoification

Yep, the filter is level. Here's me doing the bucket test:


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## Madhav

Same with fluval?

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## Harvoification

I don't have the fluval anymore, but this eheim is still loud


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## Madhav

Hmm... you have a valid reason fo develop hatred towards external canisters. Plain bad luck, I would say. Can you request for RMA from the online store you bought it?

Send them this video and demand for a replacement...

Too bad I cant extend any help to resolve the issue.




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## Harvoification

At this point, the rattling has started again even with the new impeller. It's frustrating to see how many people have silent ones lol. I bought it from amazon... not sure what there return policy is


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## KipperSarnie

Where are you situated?
As you have had this problem for some time it might be worth putting the kettle on & have someone else have look with a new set of eyes, ears & thoughts.


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## imak

Yeah, all the canisters I've had made similar noise in the first 2 or 3 weeks, then they start going silent.  They need to develop a bit of mulm around the impeller


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## Madhav

imak said:


> Yeah, all the canisters I've had made similar noise in the first 2 or 3 weeks, then they start going silent.  They need to develop a bit of mulm around the impeller


Thats a great insult to eheim and fluval. They will be silent right from the begining. But there are some exceptions incase of bad quality products released to the market, like yours and OP.

Any fellow hobbyist can help here? 

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## devo

There should be 2 little rubber "nipples" that fit over each end of the impeller shaft. They either weren't in the pack with the impeller, or you didn't notice them. Without them the filter will be very noisy and won't work properly. Should be relatively easy to replace. A LFS will probably have a few lying around.


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## Harvoification

The impeller has the brushes on. In fact, I replaced them at the same time I replaced the impeller in hopes it'd help. No such luck. I really don't know where to go from here, maybe I'll just have to learn to live with it.


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## Madhav

KipperSarnie said:


> Where are you situated?
> As you have had this problem for some time it might be worth putting the kettle on & have someone else have look with a new set of eyes, ears & thoughts.


As Kipper suggested, its better have another experienced pair of eyes and ears from your locality. 

You are not supposed to bear the inconvenience caused from a bad quality product. It is definitely not working as it should. You are entitled for a replacement from the seller, contact them for an RMA.


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## GHNelson

Hi
This is how the impellor should sit in the impellor chamber! (Picture below) with 2 rubber bushes at each end.
If there is excess noise there is air getting into the filter....either the O ring is damaged or not finished properly!
Or the connections to the Out/In pipes are not on properly!
Take the pump head off and remove the large O ring check its smooth with no defects!
If it has residual material on the ring use decorators smooth finishing paper to remove!
Use Vaseline liberally around the ring to make a good airtight seal!
If your  using a Eheim installation set these can let air occasionally if the water level drops too low!




hoggie


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## Madhav

hogan53 said:


> Hi
> This is how the impellor should sit in the impellor chamber! (Picture below) with 2 rubber bushes at each end.
> If there is excess noise there is air getting into the filter....either the O ring is damaged or not finished properly!
> Or the connections to the out in pipes are not on properly!
> Take the pump head off and remove the large O ring check its smooth with no defects!
> If it has residual material on the ring use decorators smooth finishing paper to remove!
> Use Vaseline liberally around the ring to make a good airtight seal!
> If your  using a Eheim installation set these can let air occasionally if the water level drops too low!
> View attachment 104534
> hoggie


OP did the bucket test so leaking o-ring or any issues with canister and o-ring were ruled out. Problem is inside the head, hope some one can extend some expertise by visiting this buddy.

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## GHNelson

What Eheim model is this filter!
Have you greased the impellor shaft with Vaseline?
If its not air getting into filter...it could be a priming issue!
Seems strange you have had the same problem with 2 different makes of filter!

hoggie


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## alto

Harvoification said:


> I really don't know where to go from here, maybe I'll just have to learn to live with it.



Return products & get a refund, anything done through PayPal has a customer satisfaction guarantee - sometimes it's simplest just to go this route.

Modern filters are just plug & play, if they don't work out of the box, insist on a replacement 
It's not your responsibility to find the problem or tinker a solution 

If you've a local shop go in & request a filter lesson...
BUT also act like a client & purchase something commensurate with the time shop invests in you


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## Harvoification

Hi guys, this weekend I have a look at the O ring and maybe lubricate it, plus looks at the connections of the tubing (although they all seem fine). Honestly, it sounds like it could be the motor. Maybe I'll look into getting a replacement/refund... but it'll be a bit of a pain as I'll have to send it off in the post as it is amazon (that's if they'll give me a refund in the first place)

I'm also not using the default eheim bio media set up as it's so expensive. Instead I have lots of course sponge that came with the filter plus some fluval bio media - could this be affecting the noise?

Anyone know if there's a way i can contact Eheim directly?


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## Madhav

Go through the manuals came with eheim, they will indicate eheims contact details..

There is a possibility when you stuff the filter with too much media until it restrict the inflow, in this case you will not have any flow. Any way in your case its not canister related issues. 

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## alto

Contact info (phone, fax & email) is on Eheim website


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## John S

Contact these:
http://www.johnallanaquariums.com/

I've always had great service from them.


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## Harvoification

Thanks, I'll email them. They're the customer service for the UK aren't they? I've been holding off until now but I might aswell. I actually recorded how much sound the filter is making - it's 59 decibels. Is that typical? Am I overeacting?


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## imak

Have you put the riser in the bottom with the little feets pointing down?


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## Harvoification

Do you mean the impeller bushes on either end of the impeller shaft? A quick note: ever since I added this external filter I can see my internal Juwel filter spitting out air bubbles pretty regularly - could this be something to do with the noise coming from the Ehem? Could they both be interfering with each other? The juwel output pipe is the opposite end of the Eheim input tube.


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## imak

No 



The green part at the bottom of the image. Once I've bought pretty cheap a noisy and with low flow 2211, the only problem it had was the pieces were upside down. If the bottom one is restricting the flow, maybe the filter isn't able to purge the air.  Well, sorry for my English, not sure if I'm explaining properly.


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