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Thinking of getting a Fluval G6 (media questions...)

Ady34 said:
Hi Gary,
you would hope that there are measures in place to overcome this type of issue and that a replacement filter be issued whilst yours is beeing looked at. This way you can add your existing mature media to a new unit without any upset to the tank.
I suppose its just a case of contacting them to see what the policy is on this, with it being an expensive item you would hope that seapets or infact hagen would be trying their utmost to help you out, fingers crossed, it must be very frustrating.
Cheerio,
Ady.
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Yes you are right I will contact them and see what they say about it, as you say these are not cheap units and they should really offer the customer some sort of swap around service.

Thanks for your advice and help on this mate :thumbup:
 
Ady34 said:
Antipofish said:
I didnt actually replace mine, sorry if it read like that. I swapped them round end to end. I dont know if they are the same item, or one is meant to go one end and the other at the other, but thats what i did. Course, it could have been a case of the whole impeller not being seated just right. Impellors in general seem to be damn finnicky things. Not just fluval but Calzone seems to be having issues with his Eheim too.
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I meant in Garys case the whole filter may need replacing as hes changed the 'thrust bearing' and tried everything else he can think of.
Ady.
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I imagine they will change the Head unit rather than the lower casing and media/trays/pipes etc. You probably meant that anyway. Given this is (hopefully) the case, I think you may need to INSIST that the replacement is sent and then the current one returned. Any manufacturer worth their salts OUGHT to do this, given the purpose of the filter is primarily to keep fish alive.

Gary, have a word with your LFS though, as they may loan you a filter if worst comes to worst. Or even someone on here may lend you a spare as lots of people seem to have backups. You would have to pay the postage to get it back and forth, but this should cost no more than a tenner each way, or someone local to you would be even better.

Good luck
 
Well today I phoned Seapets where I purchased my G6 from seven weeks ago to tell them my troubles and all of the things I have tried, pointing out very strongly that this is a very clean and well looked after unit and that I know what I'm doing. I was then told they could not do anything and to bring the filter in and they would take a look, great seeing as I live 160miles from them and I'd already told them it was an online order. They then told me to call another of their numbers, which I did, again explaining the problem - they then said sorry we cant exchange or do anything and promptly gave me the number for Hagen and told me to try them, at this point I was getting very frustrated!

I spoke to a helpful guy at Hagen and went onto tell me that G6's do not like anything inline on the pipes and asked if I felt that my flow was feeling like half power as the indicator was showing, to which I said yes. He told me it was an impeller problem and to remove the impeller, dry it off and rub the magnetic part with a dry scouring pad till it showed signs of grey coming off. Then the dry out where the impeller goes and fill it with vinegar and leave it for an hour - basically telling me it was a build up of lime scale that was causing the issue. After an hour and my other half not looking to chuffed as more time on my tank, I put the filter back on the tank and fired it up.... To yes you guessed it a display showing HALF flow still!!!! :twisted:

My filter still sounds louder then when I first bought it, my flow is half and my pockets £350 lighter! I've now spotted algae starting to appear due to low flow I suspect, great stuff!!! I'm now seriously thinking of packing this lark in as enough is enough.

Not the best start to a new week :thumbdown:
 
Hi Gary,
really sorry and dissappointed to hear of your experiences today. As a buyer you would expect more from your point of sale and i would encourage you to contact both seapets and Hagen again with reference to this. At least Hagen offered some help, but no matter what, your unit is only 7 weeks old and hagen should be able to help you out further if you contact them again.
Gary Nelson said:
My filter still sounds louder then when I first bought it, my flow is half and my pockets £350 lighter! I've now spotted algae starting to appear due to low flow I suspect, great stuff!!! I'm now seriously thinking of packing this lark in as enough is enough.
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It must be entirely frustrating at the moment, and after your experience today i can empathise with this feeling, however tomorrow is a new day, algae can be overcome and im sure you will get something sorted with hagen at least. The hobby is generally great and there is more satisfaction gained than frustrations should dampen.
Id say be firm and suggest a replacement be sent as you cannot be without filtration, the unit is after all still under warranty.
I hope you get it sorted Gary, but dont pack it in.
Cheerio,
Ady.
 
Hey Gary. G6's not liking anything inline is utter rubbish (in my experience so far and based on what I know others are doing). GF runs his UP inline diffuser on his with no problem. I am running an UP inline on the inlet and a ETH300 heater on the outlet ! And I am bl**dy sure others are doing the same. (Guys, you know who you are who own a G6, feel free to corroborate this theory or if you have had issues, please let us know too).

Try to stay calm when dealing with Hagens. I hope you do not get the problems getting things sorted with them that I did, although mine was second hand, though unused, and I had no receipt (long story). Unfortunately I will admit I lost my rag with them a bit and it seems that was that ! But you are a bona fide consumer. You are in possession of a receipt. You have more rights than I did as I was not the original purchaser, and you clearly have an issue that they are most likely legally obligated to address.

Do not under any circumstances give up. This is your hobby an you cannot let a filter beat you mate. Buy a cheapo EX1200 off Ebay, or any other filter come to that. Borrow one off a friend if you can. Put a message up on here for a WANTED LOAN FILTER. Do whatever works for you. Maybe an LFS has a spare or second hand one they can loan you. You can transfer the filter media easy enough. This might be what you have to do in order to get this sorted. I have felt like you on several occasions with the issues I had with my G6 to start with.

Worst comes to worst, get the filter fixed while you are using a borrowed or cheap second hand one. Then when you get a replacement or repair done to yours or new part, whatever the solution you will have two options. Keep the filter or sell it. They go for enough money for you to move into a decent Eheim. I can help you source one at a good price either from a European site or from my friendly LFS guy.

I still believe in the G6. I have had a few flow issues myself where it dropped down 40%. It was related to the impellor. Have you had yours out for maintenance at all ? Replacing it seems to be a delicate affair.

I basically did a total strip down. Cleaned the pipes and the overtank connectors. Cleaned the aquastop and also the holes it slots into. Cleaned the inside of the impellor chamber. Made sure there was proper flow through the primer head and took the primer head apart to make sure the rubber was holding the white gates in place properly. Put it all back together again. 40% reduced flow !!! Took the impellor back out, took it apart and put it back together again and this time let it "drop" into the chamber by magnetic force rather than placing it in by hand. Did up the impellor holder (dont know what its called), emptied the whole filter of water, lifted the spraybar above the waterline, primed the filter and started it up and WHOOT 100% flow. WTF was that all about ! But its working fine now and I aint touching that impellor again unless I have to.

Best of luck mate. If you find you are beating your head against a brick wall send me a PM and I will give you my number. You are welcome to call and chat things through if you want to. BUT DONT LET A POXY FILTER PUT YOU OUT OF THE HOBBY !
 
Thank you Ady & Chris for your excellent advice - I am going to call Seapets again this afternoon and hopefully get somewhere as regards to at least a new impeller unit, then try again. I dont want to drop my hobby as when its going ok its great and the nice comments I get when people come into our lounge and see the aquarium makes it all worth while.

I will let you know what happens next... thanks again :thumbup:
 
Re: Thinking of getting a Fluval G6 - Impeller Cleaning?

Going back to March, I was sent a new impeller and everything was perfect 100% flow. It has been perfect ever since. I did notice today that it seemed slightly noisier and the flow had dropped slightly. I thought as it was such a nice day that I would give it a clean. Once again after it had been cleaned and the impeller replaced correctly, I was horrified to see that the flow had dropped again to approx 50%. I looked at it several times and I know it has been put back together correctly.
I feel so disappointed'!!!! Can I just ask has anyone else had this problem and out of interest how often do you clean the impeller?
 
Re: Thinking of getting a Fluval G6 - Impeller Cleaning?

Gary Nelson said:
Going back to March, I was sent a new impeller and everything was perfect 100% flow. It has been perfect ever since. I did notice today that it seemed slightly noisier and the flow had dropped slightly. I thought as it was such a nice day that I would give it a clean. Once again after it had been cleaned and the impeller replaced correctly, I was horrified to see that the flow had dropped again to approx 50%. I looked at it several times and I know it has been put back together correctly.
I feel so disappointed'!!!! Can I just ask has anyone else had this problem and out of interest how often do you clean the impeller?
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I would send it back mate. So sorry to hear about the problem though. But I did have this issue and it took three attempts at removing and replacing the impellor to get it going with proper flow. Rolls Royce of the filter world ? More like Skoda if you ask me. But thats not nice for people to hear who have coughed up a lot of money for it.

People still like them though, but if I was you I would sell it for a couple of hundy on Ebay and buy yourself an Eheim 2078 from zooplus.de With the euro like it is, you will spend about that for a new filter delivered. I have not looked back since changing mine.

Either way though, good luck sorting your flow out.
 
It's not those daft little black rings in the impellor causing the problem is it? I had great fun getting them to go back together properly the first time I cleaned the impellor!!
 
No I've changed that for the spare one - I rang Hagen this morning and spoke to the same chap as last time about 2 months back he just said he would send me a replacement impeller straight out... No questions asked.

I also asked if there was a problem as I said that I did not want this happening each time I give it a clean (every 2months) he said no issues, so I'm not sure what the problem is. Last time I fitted the new one in it was perfect.
 
Shame you are having these issues. :( I regulary dismantle the impellor assembly and perform maintenance with no problems at all. Last Thursday was the most recent!

From memory I only have the 1 steel washer in my assembly and that is housed in the top rubber bush. I fail to see the importance of having it located at the top, or the bottom but I have read elsewhere that this has caused issues. :?:
I run my UP inline and use carbon in the Chemical cartridge, the only time I see a reduction in flow is if I have negleted maintenance on the Mechanical Pre filter and it has become clogged. But this drop is minimal and is rectified by a quick clean. Do you use the fine variety of Pre-filter, or the standard white one. It`s a mare that you are having these problems I love my G6 and couldn`t imagine life without it! :)
 
Gary Nelson said:
No I've changed that for the spare one - I rang Hagen this morning and spoke to the same chap as last time about 2 months back he just said he would send me a replacement impeller straight out... No questions asked.

I also asked if there was a problem as I said that I did not want this happening each time I give it a clean (every 2months) he said no issues, so I'm not sure what the problem is. Last time I fitted the new one in it was perfect.
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LOL, I doubt they would ever admit to any issues. They wont even admit that the display screen corruption when not illuminated is an issue ! A £350 filter and its perfectly normal apparently !! At least they are sending you another impellor. I hope it works :thumbup:
 
Well, i received my replacement impeller from Hagen yesterday and fitted it in and switched on to see a maximum flow of still 50%! which i was not very happy about. :thumbdown:

After again trying numerous things I contacted Hagen again and was talked through various things to try of which most of them i've already done. This morning Hagen have said thety would like to have the filter back to test, but I have to go through Seapets of where i purchased it from online 4 months back. I have to say the 'tech' guy at Hagen has been very helpful though.

I then rang Seapets and they said they will have it back but not send out a replacement till they have received mine and tested it! i asked about a replacement telling them its was a 'very nice planted tank' with some 50 fish in' and that I simply could not go without a filter for days on end - the guy from Seapets just said do regular water changes! talk about being told how to suck eggs! he then went on to tell me that if I needed a filter to buy another one from them!? infuriating or what! :twisted:

I have now told them that if this does not get resolved quickly I will be sending it back for a full refund - I'm not at all impressed with this or to be honest my first time with Fluval after moving over from Eheim.

I'll now have to wait to hear back from Seapets - to behonest if they won't send out a replacement head and I end up sending it back im feeling that im quite prepared to take the drive to them and quick a right stink up in store till i've got a full refund.
 
Hey Gary, seems youve been really unlucky with your G6 mate, while i had teething problems with mine none were mechanical related. Dont know if its of any help but i have a pro 2 that you can borrow for as long as you want mate? The primer leaks for a day if you use it but works perfectly otherwise.
Iain
 
Hi Gary,
this is awful mate and highlights the issues of having to send a filter back. At £350 fixed price you'd expect hagen themselves to be sending out a replacement filter for use until the fault has been diagnosed/repaired. As for seapets, change more water is a ridiculous 'compromise' and they need to give their heads a shake, especially given that the filter is a lifeline fot the tanks inhabitants! I know Chris is very down on the G6, and you have had an unsatisfactory experience but mine has been faultless thus far.
I really hope you get this resolved mate, but im sure it will leave a nasty tast whatever the outcome.
Ady.
 
Surely under warranty sea pets should just change the filter outright anyway if it's only 4 months old. There should be no need for them to test.
I had a terrible problem with them when the supporting rim of a tank started splitting and they did everything to avoid replacing it

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
easerthegeezer said:
Hey Gary, seems youve been really unlucky with your G6 mate, while i had teething problems with mine none were mechanical related. Dont know if its of any help but i have a pro 2 that you can borrow for as long as you want mate? The primer leaks for a day if you use it but works perfectly otherwise.
Iain
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Cheers for that offer Iain, very kind of you :thumbup:

Seapets agreed to change this in the end and sent me out a new one, I just swapped over my media and fired it up and bingo 100% flow! :thumbup:
I've also noticed a massive difference in just how quite it is, so my original one must have been a bad un... All in all I'm a happy chappy again.

I would just like to say thank you to everyone for support and advice :thumbup:
 
Gary Nelson said:
easerthegeezer said:
Hey Gary, seems youve been really unlucky with your G6 mate, while i had teething problems with mine none were mechanical related. Dont know if its of any help but i have a pro 2 that you can borrow for as long as you want mate? The primer leaks for a day if you use it but works perfectly otherwise.
Iain
Click to expand...

Cheers for that offer Iain, very kind of you :thumbup:

Seapets agreed to change this in the end and sent me out a new one, I just swapped over my media and fired it up and bingo 100% flow! :thumbup:
I've also noticed a massive difference in just how quite it is, so my original one must have been a bad un... All in all I'm a happy chappy again.

I would just like to say thank you to everyone for support and advice :thumbup:
Click to expand...

Glad you got it sorted. :thumbup:
 
Just to stick up for the G6 a bit here, I LOVE mine. It seems that in all cases its the customer service thats at fault here. With everything there can be faults and it should be about how its dealt with. Mine has been faultless and a pleasure to use. The display screen to me is irrelevant as i dont look at it when its not illuminated...whats the point, and when it is illuminated you cant see it anyway. The G6 is the easiest filter for weekly maintenance no question, its short stature makes getting into it under tanks in a cabinet a doddle. I havnt replaced my pre filter yet, and its 8 months old, so even though quite pricey initially, they last long enough to warrant it for how effective they are. The charcoal/chemical filter can be opened to add anything you want so you dont need to buy the expensive replacements and you have some versatility. Ive only opened the main filter once in all the time its been running to clean the bio section, another bonus in minimising filter maintenance. Some people suffer flow reduction from adding things inline, my inline c02 diffuser on the filter outlet shows no reduction of flow, any flow reduction is probably more due to the inline equipment and the tube diameter reduction on the hosetails. Any filter will suffer the same drop off, and its only due to the G6 flow monitor that you can see just how much! £350 is a lot for a filter but i feel its been worth every penny as i wanted a simple to clean and efficient filter and thats what ive got :thumbup:
 
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