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HELP aquael ultra 2000 problem

Can't remember where the original Aquael Ultramax filter thread was. Mine has started to leak. Contacted aquael to find out where I can buy replacement o-rings.

Can anyone check the gap of the plastic at the rear of the head. Mine has a slight gap as pictured but I can't remember if it was like that originally. I've had it for 3 years and 1 month.
 

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I am experiencing massively reduced flow and very significant problems restarting the filter after cleaning. It's a v1 Ultramax 2000. I wondered if anyone found any solutions to these problems?
 
I don't know this unit unfortunately, but on this thread, there seems to be a discussion about having to make sure it is full (even with priming) and impeller issues.
Hufsa said:
First issue was continual purging of air bubbles, then they sent me a new rotor (not the 6 fin one), then I had continous soft clicking noises, then it stalled trying start itself one day after maintenance despite me priming it and letting it fill with water, and it took me a good hour of fiddling and babying it to get it to run again. Now it struggles to run every now and then after maintenance, totally random. I shake and tilt it to no avail and there seems to be an impossible amount of air sloshing around in there. It's been purging bubbles again for two days now. It finally stopped when I was mumbling about throwing it out the window and getting an Eheim again.

It really struggles with air this filter, thats the achilles heel. I will try completely filling it with water after next maintenance, but it is ridiculous if it needs it when it has a priming function, and it weighs a metric ton when full so im not thrilled about schlepping it around.
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That's not very helpful I know. But if you cannot get it working (and it's very clean, primed and has good gravity flow) then something might need a service or to be replaced.
 
I have found that the primer on this is worse than useless. I have found that if you undo the prefilter compartment and fill the filter that way with water from the tank it works. once it starts pumping give the filter a gentle shake.
 
Maybe a bit off topic, I was thinking of getting the ultramax 2000 over the biomaster 600 since it has better flow and a bit cheaper, but after hearing alot of problems (like this one) I have second thoughts...
 
AquaJoe69 said:
Maybe a bit off topic, I was thinking of getting the ultramax 2000 over the biomaster 600 since it has better flow and a bit cheaper, but after hearing alot of problems (like this one) I have second thoughts...
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Give me a shout if you want a balanced view of the Biomasters. I have lived with its positive and negative points for nine months! Happy to help.
 
Andy Taylor said:
I have found that the primer on this is worse than useless. I have found that if you undo the prefilter compartment and fill the filter that way with water from the tank it works. once it starts pumping give the filter a gentle shake.
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Apparently you are supposed to prime it by pulling out the plunger and tilting the filter from side to side to get the siphon flow going.
 
It's running but the flow isn't great. In the end I siphoned water through until all the air was removed (this involved a great deal of shaking and tilting) and replaced the gaskets. When I have time I will check out if the impeller is broken and perhaps remove some filter floss.. Thank you for all the advice.
 
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Checking back in to this thread with some more info, my filter paused the air issues for some time after I had threatened to throw it out the window, I can only assume it had overheard me.
The issues started back up again later, it mostly re-primed okay-ish after servicing but would continually build up bubbles that it purged on regular intervals.
This issue persisted for a long time. After a lot of trial and error I have found that it was time to replace the main gaskets.
A band-aid solution (or to check to see if this is your issue) would be to slather and reseat all the gaskets in a thick layer of silicone grease (not vaseline / petroleum jelly as apparently it can damage some types of rubber over time). If the silicone grease helps the air issues short term then a new set of gaskets should help out in the long run.
This might be useful advice for anyone who bought their filter around the same time as me, given that the gaskets will be around the same age.

I still dont recommend any Aquael canister filters based on my track record with this highly problematic filter line and the almost total lack of customer service support.
In my opinion the Ultramax 2000 seems to struggle especially and I think the design itself is responsible for some of the faults.
The motor appears to be too powerful for the hose dimensions used in the design, and therefore the filter body is prone to sucking air in from places or building up air when the motor doesnt get the water supply that it needs.
My theory could seem to be supported by the revision that they did to the Ultramax 2000's, where they went from 16/22 mm hoses to 19/25 mm.
 
The USP for this filter is that when working as intended it is silent and is highly effective. My understanding is that other filers do create some vibration or noise.

It is such a shame that older versions seem to be so problematic.
 
Mine broke and I never received any response to my emails regarding spare parts so I would not recommend them either based on the design from 2020 (when I bought it?).

I agree that when it worked properly, you couldn’t hear it which was the main selling point for me.
 
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