Aqua sobriquet
Member
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.
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.