I'm throwing it out the window

[msmortis]

I bought a Marineland Penguin 100B filter today. Installed around noon, almost twelve hours later and I want to throw it out the window. This filter is SUPER noisy. It's a mechanical noise that is so loud it is heard over television, or everyday conversation including phone calls. I've taken apart the filter, the impeller, everything. Nothing makes a difference. Did I get a defective filter system? Are these filters normal this loud? How can I make it stop?

Thanks in advance everyone,
Aly

 

[Lawngnome]

Try to exchange it and see if its just defective. If not go with a different brand.

 

[msmortis]

I can't exchange until tomorrow. Do you think it'll be alright without a filter overnight? I'm a fish newbie. I've got two goldfish in a 10gal aquarium.

 

[Kurt_Nelson]

I've got the same filter on my main tank, and a quarantine tank. Quiet as quiet can be. Can you describe the noise you're hearing, and where it's coming from. Picture of the setup, maybe? Maybe we can help. Granted... there's always defective units, but I can't think of anything on this thing that would make it loud if it wasn't working right. It either pumps water, or it doesn't. Is it pumping water and is the biowheel spinning?

 

[OhNeil1969]

I bought a Marineland Penguin 100B filter today. Installed around noon, almost twelve hours later and I want to throw it out the window. This filter is SUPER noisy. It's a mechanical noise that is so loud it is heard over television, or everyday conversation including phone calls. I've taken apart the filter, the impeller, everything. Nothing makes a difference. Did I get a defective filter system? Are these filters normal this loud? How can I make it stop?

Thanks in advance everyone,
Aly

I've got 3 Penguin Bio-wheel filters (a 200B and 2 350B's). They're not that loud to me at all. In fact, I like to sit in the room with my tanks and listen to music with no problems at all. The only thing I can think of is that your bio-wheel might not be installed correctly. Also, they move a lot of water, especially compared to some of the cheaper filters. If you have a low water level, the splashing they create will cause more noise.

 

[Tim Wheatley]

These filters always run great for me too, until you send sand through their system and then they become **** on earth, just like any other filter.

 

[msmortis]

It's pumping water, the biowheel is spinning. The noise is loud, mechanical (sounds like a whirring/vibrating noise).

 

[Lawngnome]

The turbine thing at the bottom of the intake tube that sucks the water in is probably bent just a little bit. You can try to bend it back into place if that's it but be careful.

 

[msmortis]

My boyfriend and I just took the whole thing apart again and nothing LOOKS wrong. No parts are bent. And everything looks like the diagram

 

[OhNeil1969]

I think that may be the price you pay for a good filter. Just like a car with a lot of horsepower is loud, so is a pump that is moving a lot of water. I don't know if you'll find a good filter (at least one that is good for the tank and fish) that will be completely noise free. I also have a TopFin Power 30 filter that I can't hear at all. But it's probably the worst filter I own. Compared side to side, it's easy to see that the Penguin is much better at moving water than the TopFin. And, when all is said and done, that's what you want your filter to do - move water.

 

[msmortis]

I agree, but this noise level is absurd. I want it to move water and move water well, but this is a new level of annoyance.

Ultimately, it sounds broken. It's making the kind of sound that a Whisper filter (the only other kind I'm acquainted with) does when it isn't primed... except louder.

 

[msmortis]

PS: Will my fish be okay if I shut it off while I sleep?

 

[Lawngnome]

They should be fine for the night but that only my opinion.

 

[OhNeil1969]

If the noise is that loud then you may indeed have a defective filter. I don't know where your tank is situated, but I'm not fond of turning a filter off for any extended period of time. I know goldfish are hardy, but to me cutting off a filter is the same as slowly suffocating someone. Although I can definitely sympathize; if you can, try and let the filter run.

 

[Tim Wheatley]

I wouldn't shut it off.

 

[msmortis]

I didn't shut it off. We're returning it to the store this morning. Thanks for your help everyone!

 

[McLumpy]

First off, at your thread title! I've been to that point a few times w/ my filter too.

I have a canister filter that makes that noise every time I take it out to rinse it off. When I first set it up, I thought it was defective, (it came w/ my tank that I bought off of craigslist). This may not matter now that you're returning it, but did you try unplugging it, plugging it back, and repeating this step a couple of times?

You obviously know about priming, (and not running the filter unless there's water in the compartments), but sometimes the filters have a heck of a time getting the water to cycle and it makes the annoying noise that makes us shriek. Plugging it in and unplugging it a couple of times helps give it a "boost".

Maybe you already tried this method or maybe you didn't? Just thought it was worth mentioning.