Noisy Aquaclear

[Pleco1415]

I have a noisy Aquaclear 50 HOB filter and the impeller is making a rattling sound. I have tried putting Vaseline on the impeller but it just wares off after a couple hours.

 

[Pleco1415]

I have noticed the aquaclear is more quiet without the lid does anyone one else notice that?

 

[nathanden]

yes I noticed this as well I just kept it off

 

[Paul1792]

I have noticed the aquaclear is more quiet without the lid does anyone one else notice that?

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Yes. I have to leave the lid off ..... some people tape it down ...... which you may want to do when guests come over
I have the same problem with my FluvalC3.

As for the impeller, my aquaclear50 came out of the box silent. On the other hand, my FluvalC3 made a horrible rattling noise for the first three weeks but it went away by itself and is now completely silent.

I would think these top of the line filters - both made by Hagen - would not suffer from such ridiculous flaws.

Here is my thread when I had the problem:

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forum...alc3-are-enough-best-quiet-filter-276431.html

The advice I got was correct. It will go away .... just be patient !!!!!!!

 

[1998golfer]

*************
Yes. I have to leave the lid off ..... some people tape it down ...... which you may want to do when guests come over
I have the same problem with my FluvalC3.

As for the impeller, my aquaclear50 came out of the box silent. On the other hand, my FluvalC3 made a horrible rattling noise for the first three weeks but it went away by itself and is now completely silent.

I would think these top of the line filters - both made by Hagen - would not suffer from such ridiculous flaws.

Here is my thread when I had the problem:

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forum...alc3-are-enough-best-quiet-filter-276431.html

The advice I got was correct. It will go away .... just be patient !!!!!!!

My fluval c3 is dead silent... With and without the lid on. I cannot tell that it is running except for the water flowing out of it hitting the water in the tank

 

[Antler]

I have noticed the aquaclear is more quiet without the lid does anyone one else notice that?

Agree I thought mine was loud, removed the lid and now it's silent

 

[Pleco1415]

Can someone tell me if there is any special way to make the motor on these silent

 

[Paul1792]

Can someone tell me if there is any special way to make the motor on these silent

It's normally not the motor ..... it's the impeller. It's luck of the draw. Most are silent from day one, a great number you just have to live through the misery of it for up to a month, and a few are simply defective and must be replaced. As I noted in my prior link .... the manufacturing tolerances & standards at the Hagen plants are pathetic. Why make a 20% defective product?

Every one of these that leave the plant (probably in China?), should be tested for sound in water. It would add all of 5 minutes to the assembly process.

If Toyota had this poor quality control on its engines, the Camry would be last on the sales charts instead of first.

 

[Fresh2o]

I had a brand new noisy AC50. Tried all sorts of things but nothing worked. I already had an AC50 running in the tank that was silent so I swapped the impellers. Both are now very quiet. Not dead silent but quiet. Perhaps you can get another impeller. Just a suggestion.

 

[wildroseofky]

I second replacing the impeller. My aquaclear got noisy when the impeller broke a blade. I have a Whisper 40 that was noisy from the first time I turned it on. I finally just replaced the impeller and now it is quiet. Replacing the impeller is the cheapest way to go.

 

[Pleco1415]

I second replacing the impeller. My aquaclear got noisy when the impeller broke a blade. I have a Whisper 40 that was noisy from the first time I turned it on. I finally just replaced the impeller and now it is quiet. Replacing the impeller is the cheapest way to go.

I think I will try replacing the impeller if this carries on for a month. I originally bought the aquaclear 30 and it was extremely loud so I brought it back to the store and they gave me a new aquaclear. I asked if I could get the larger model and just pay the difference and they said it would be ok. I brought the 50 home and tried it and it's still noisy but I have to deal with it because it would kind of be awkward bringing it back again. I know the motor is not broken because when I put Vaseline on the impeller it went quiet but it were off after an hour.

 

[Fresh2o]

If ThatPetPlace allows shipping to your locale, then the impeller is available for under $7 US:

AC50/200 impeller:
http://www.thatpetplace.com/impeller-assembly-aqua-clear-50-200-filter

Shipping Info:
http://www.thatpetplace.com/FAQ/Shipping#!Shipping

You could probably order a few for spare parts.

 

[Pleco1415]

I have an aquaclear 20 that I am currently not using. Are the impellers interchangeable because if they are I don't even have to buy an impeller I can just take the impeller from the one I am not using. Thanks for your help I saw some other things on that website that were interesting.

 

[Fresh2o]

I have an aquaclear 20 that I am currently not using. Are the impellers interchangeable because if they are I don't even have to buy an impeller I can just take the impeller from the one I am not using. Thanks for your help I saw some other things on that website that were interesting.

I don't believe so. You could try it out. The site lists 2 types for the AC 20:
AC 20 - Old AC 201
AC 20 & Mini
Plus 3 other sizes (none for AC 110):
AC 150 (out of stock)
AC 50 & 200
AC 70 & 300

 

[Pleco1415]

I'll try it out I think they are the same but not 100% sure.

 

[BillD]

The thing to check first is the shaft the impeller runs on. being new it shouldn't show any wear. Check the hole through the impeller to se that it is round and in the centre. if either of these aren't right the filter will be noisy . If the shaft isn't in straight that will also make it noisy. I have some that are over 20 years old that are still quiet. If you are using sand, check the inside of the motor cavity and the inside of the impeller. Sometimes the impeller magnet will grab a grain of metal in the sand and hold it. It may be difficult to see, but if there will cause the impeller to run off centre.
All the smaller ACs use the same motor so the impellers can be swapped from one to the other, making the filters even more versatile. The only one that is different is the AC110.

 

[Paul1792]

I'll try it out I think they are the same but not 100% sure.

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If you look at the instructions which also contain a parts sheet, you will find they all share the same motor from AquaClear 20 to 70. However, the part numbers for the impellers are all different. What happens if you put the 20 impeller in a 50 is that it will work but you will get the flow rate of 100 gph instead of 200 gph.

 

[Pleco1415]

**********
If you look at the instructions which also contain a parts sheet, you will find they all share the same motor from AquaClear 20 to 70. However, the part numbers for the impellers are all different. What happens if you put the 20 impeller in a 50 is that it will work but you will get the flow rate of 100 gph instead of 200 gph.

The impellers look the exact same so I'm confused.

 

[Fresh2o]

Did you try it out? How is the flow? And the sound?

 

[ole scratch]

Get the aqueon quite flow 55/75. You will be happier in the long run. They seem to be much more efficient than the A/c's with a lot less water bypass. In fact, if the filter floss is changed when it begins to get nastified, there is no water bypass. There 55/75 is much more quite than the A/c's are. And is just as easily to mod as the a/c's are if u care to think outside the box. I've used both fluval and a/c's and was disappointed to say the least.

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