Filter dying? Emergency?

[cJw]

Heyas!

My wife called me omw into work this morning, to tell me that my filter is 'making noise like when you start it after a water change and it doesn't have enough water in it'... that's as much diagnostic info as I have atm, and was fairly sure the tank would be fine if I had her unplug the filter for the day.

I thought I'd ask 'the experts', though.

So 8 hours w/out filtration won't be a problem, right?

Any guesses as to why a filter would be acting this way?


tia - and happy monday (halloween!)

 

[Fishyfanatic]

Is the filter full of water? Could it have run dry? There could possibly be something lodged in the impeller. If you do turn off the filter, make sure there is an airstone in the tank.

 

[cJw]

I do have an airstone (two) in the tank, and she said the filter was filled with water...

 

[Jchillin]

The airstone should be enough to keep the water oxygenated. Be prepared for any spikes in your parameters...though they shouldn't be that high. It sounds like the impeller may have come loose. What type of filter is it?

*Happy Halloween to you too.

 

[cJw]

Emporer 280...

I'm hoping to go home, open it up and fix it right up... so perhaps it's just a loose impeller, or maybe Nemo got some gravel up in there again.

 

[TankGirl]

It sounds like what Jchillin suggests - the impeller is probably loose or it has a bit of debris clogged in it. That is what my HOB sounds like if a catfish stirs up the sand under it and a piece of grit gets in there. It just needs to be cleaned out and then it works like a champ. Hopefully that is what it is, but as you obviously know, it should be turned off until it can be dealt with.

 

[tazcrash69]

If the filter has been off for more than an hour, make sure to drain, and re-fill before plugging it in. The water will go anaerobic, and you don't want to put that back in your tank.

 

[severum mama]

My Emperor 280 started making that noise a while back, and no matter how many times I've taken it apart and cleaned it, the noise never stops. I don't think you need to turn it off, as mine has been running fine (albeit, noisily) for over 6 months now. If you find a way to keep yours quiet, I would love to know!

 

[cJw]

Well, that's certainly not good news, severum mama. 8O

 

[fprintf]

This happened to me last week. So for $18 plus shipping from BigAls the piece of mind was worth getting a new AquaClear 50 for my tank (20 gal long) rather than purchasing a new impeller or worrying that one day my Penguin 170 would just quit on me. The filter bumped along noisily for the week it took the new filter to arrive and seemed like it would keep going that way for quite some time.

The LFS wanted $45 for that filter, so a quick run down to the store for a replacement was going to cost me dearly if the filter eventually died.

 

[jrp1588]

I've unplugged my filter while feeding the fish before and forgot to plug it back in overnight. I felt terrible...and the water was a touch cloudy...but it cleared right up. But then, my plants may have saved me there.

 

[caudelfin]

That is why I have a triple corner filter in each tank (29 gal & 90 gal), one of these is supposed to provide biological conversion, chemical and mechanical filtration for a 100 gal tank, and it does provide plenty of oxygen for the tank as a plus.

Downside is that you have to take them out and clean them, replacing some of the bio material along with the chemical filteration ( I use activated carbon) and adding a little new floss while keeping most of the old each month or two.
caudelfin

 

[cJw]

Update:

Filter's fine! hew!:

I took it apart, cleaned it out/off, refilled it with tank water and started it back up. It sounds normal again, thankfully.

In other news, I lost a yoyo. :| I suspect it wasn't competing for food, as it hasn't ever gotten any bigger than when I got it.

My other yoyo has grown quite a bit and seems to be doing fine and I don't see any other fish acting unusual.

 

[TankGirl]

Sorry about your yoyo (I think your suspicions are correct - I have heard of this with cats and loaches) but I am glad to hear the filter is fixed.

 

[severum mama]

Sorry about the loach, but glad to hear about the filter. I wish I knew what the heck to do with mine, other than replace it with a canister! BTW, maybe if you look for another loach that is very similar in size to your survivor then it won't get outcompeted for food. My 2 yo yo's have not had that problem, but I'm glad you shared that because it does make me think about not adding tiny loaches with mine.