So I broke my first piece on my 405...

[denwhite16]

While doing some maintenance yesterday, I went to take the impeller cover off and one of the two clips that hold it on broke off. I put the cover back on and it seems to be holding fine, and it's running normally. So my question is, will it be ok with just one clip holding the cover on, or should I just get a new cover to be safe?

 

[jcolon]

Same thing happened to me on my 404 so I'd say get a new one to be safe ... one clip could hold ... albeit it's only a matter of time before the other goes .. IMO. Not as expensive as I first thought ... less than $20 and I just bought my replacement at the first LFS I found it ... sure you can find it much cheaper.
Petco's ... Petsmarts probably got them at a better price.

That's one thing I don't like is how easily the clips can break.

 

[HUKIT]

It won't be the last impeller cover you'll break, I go through one every 9-12 months on my four 405's. I would recommend replacing the cover since you could possible damage the impeller which will be next thing to go. Those are the only pieces on all mine including a older 404 that break. Amazon has the best price for replacement parts and I always keep a couple impellers and covers on hand at all times.

http://www.amazon.com/Fluval-404-3-Impeller-Straight-Blades/dp/B000256E2Q

http://www.amazon.com/Fluval-404-Magnetic-Impeller-Generation/dp/tech-data/B000256E2G