fluval 404 question on new tank

[Franco7]

I got a couple questions about setting up the fluval 404. Well mine came in, i followed the directions perfectly and got it all setup. Well i let it run last night and when i woke up this morning my father said it was making an awfully bad banging noise at like 630am and it wasn't spitting out any water so he shut it off. (Good move before it burnt out )

So my first question is why would it all of a sudden stop spitting out water when the canister is full, i know it has a ball or something loose at the bottom of the intake that sucks up water is that surposed to be there?

Also i have read in the book where the water spits back out into the tank that spout is surposed to be above water, but i seen in some pics that it is sunk below water, whats the deal with that above or below? mine was half and half, but it makes alot of noise when water is coming out of it if its above..

My finial question is everyone raved how you couldn't tell if the thing was on or off meaning the cainster pumping water cause its sooo quite, but mine was making kinda like a grind noise or like a griggling sound every couple of mins as the water is flowing out, is that normal?

 

[gilraen]

I have a fluval 304 that I use on my saltwater tank and the only think I can think of is that there is air trapped in the hoses, you need to keep pumping it manually until is all out. Or you could make sure is all set up correctly, they can be kind of tricky ar first. The water spout in the tank is supposed to be under water, the deeper the better. Mine has really been good and I had it for over a year now. They pretty quiet too I believe. Good luck!

 

[Franco7]

well the book said the spout needs to be above water at first when starting it is that right?

 

[gilraen]

I always had mine underwater, maybe the book wants you to have it on top so it's easier for the air trapped in the hose to get out. Unfortunately I don't have my book anymore so I can't remember what it said...
Maybe you should take it apart again, put it together according to book and see how it goes. If there are problems contact their customer service. Let us know how it goes!

 

[Franco7]

well i did put it togather exactly how the book said, im also wondering because i have an air wall running from one side of my tak to the other and the intake stem is above apart of it i wonder if that made it stop also.....

 

[gilraen]

That could be it, I'm not sure though... if it still not working I would definetly call their customer service, those people could offer you other suggestions, usually they ask you questions about your set up and take it from there, especially if you bought the best of the fluvals.

 

[Franco7]

ya i will give them a shout, but im at work right now so im just trying to get some more ideas of anyone else has had complications you know... I appreciate your time tho and if all else fails there my last resort....

 

[Jchillin]

I just answered your PM Franco.

 

[kamla]

Franco7 – I have a 404 too and using on my planted 72 gal tank.
I cannot tell ii it working unless I put my ear next to it.

As per you problem, my take is.. that because you the air wand under the filter intake, air bubbles get sucked in with the water. This causes all the noise.
I would move the intake where no air bubbles get suck into the intake and then the 404 will be wispier quite.

Keep us posted on ur progress..

 

[Franco7]

wel i think the impeller is in right cause it was working at first, also i figured it out. It's because i have air walls, and the intake shaft is sitting right above the air walls, so the canister was sucking in to much air from the air walls. As sooon as i shut them off the canister is as quite as can be and my tank is already cleared up a hell of alot, so now i just have to figure out how i can use my air walls and use the intake so it doesn't suck up air. I can either try sliding it more over into the corner where i have no air wall, theres about an inch on the end, or what if i cut the tubing up do you think it won't suck so much air in?

kamla your exactly right, figured that out last night

 

[Jchillin]

Franco...this is easy. Rather than making adjustments on the more expensive item, adjust the bubble wall. You can get a smaller bubble wand or, move it further away from the intake.

I also have a wall in my 75 gal. The wall is centered so it is equidistant from both sides and doesn't interfere with the intake or the heaters.

 

[Franco7]

Very true, i have to look at my tank and see. I only have a 55 gal and i bought 2 23" bouble wands, so my boubles flow across the whole back wall expect for an in on either ends. If i had smaller ones i would adjust them but i just bought these and put them in like last week, so i figure maybe i can move the intake onto the very corner of the tank where there is no bubbles. Plus the back wall is going to look real good once i get the background going.

 

[Jchillin]

LOL...the footprint for the 75g is the same as the 55gal. (48"), so I can see what you have accomplished. Not exactly a bad idea but it will cause you trouble down the road.

Moving the intake further toward the corner of the tank IMO will reduce it's effectiveness. Have no specific data about that...just visualizing the intake in the corner doesn't look good.

 

[Franco7]

why will it cause me problems down the road, maybe i should rethink my thought lol.

 

[Jchillin]

This is based on a simple formula. The canister is more beneficial to your tank than the bubbles. It's cheaper to adjust this item rather than adjust the canister.

 

[Franco7]

so your saying bringing the intake shaft that sits in the tank to the back corner of the tank is a bad idea. I mean im only just going to slide the intake shaft where the water gets sucked up into the canister and just repoistion it in the tank. I know you guys are th experts but you really think repoistioning the intake flow and putting it into the corner of the tank out of the wa is a problem huh.... let me know if thats what your getting at, i dont see how it could be, i mean all water is going to flow and get into the canister at somepoin reguardless where the intake tube is poistioned in the tank right?

 

[Jchillin]

The ideal position for an intake valve would be directly in the center of the tank. Since that isn't going to happen, the intakes have been positioned via design to sit a few inches away from the side glass. As I said before, I don't have the specific data but it would make sense that you wouldn't want it in the corner. Your water column/current would be very low in that area and the debris that you want to filter out may not make it with that low current.

Hope this makes sense.

 

[Franco7]

Yes jchillen it does make sense, i apreciate it, i actually could put it in the middle. I could just space out the bubble walls different, i still think it will look cool, what do you think?

 

[Jchillin]

If you can manage that then you've hit a home run!