Very NOISY Aquaclear all of a sudden - advice on what to do please?

[fis]

Hi-

I have a 70 gallon aquaclear on a 29 gallon tank. 1 8-10 inch goldfish. This is my second aquaclear - having been though other brands before, I settled on this one and was very happy with its performance, ease of cleaning, etc. The motor broke on the first one so I bought a second. Problem with this one though is that I had to break it down a few weeks ago because I hadn't cleaned it in a while and it got really gunky inside. I replaced the carbon but not the white sponge.
All was well until I got it running again, and now it won't stop making noise! I've tried leveling it a bit better, taking it apart and reassembling it, etc. - nothing helps!
I don't know if something's breaking in there? I took the propeller (impeller?) out of the motor and rinsed it, but there was nothing on it to begin with.

I'm considering just getting a canister filter and giving up on this, but maybe there's a cheaper option?

I just want some quiet!!

If anyone does recommend another filter - is a canister or an HOB filter better (as far as efficiency and quiet). I've already had whisper filters and penguin filters and weren't happy with either. But I've never tried a canister...

Thanks for any thoughts

 

[mfdrookie516]

Welcome to AA

AquaClear, IMHO, is the best HOB on the market. Have you checked the motor to make sure nothing is down there causing the impeller to grind? I've never heard any noise out of either of mine, and one is several years old. You could try soaking some vinegar down in the motor and impeller to see if there may be some calcium deposites or something of that nature down in there. How old is the filter? I'm not sure on the warranty, but if it's less than a year old, I'd imagine Hagen would cover it under warranty if something is wrong with it.

 

[fis]

Thanks

That's what I had read about the brand. I shined a flashlight down there, and didn't see anything.
Now that I'm thinking about it, the same thing happened to the first one I had, and then one day the motor just stopped. The person at the aquarium store was very surprised an AquaClear would do that.
As far as the vinegar - I would pour a bit in straight? No dilution? And rinse after? How long should I soak?
I want to say it's 2-3 years old.

 

[mfdrookie516]

Yeah remove it from the tank, keep your media wet while you do this. Just take off the little plastic piece that covers the impeller and pour some vinegar down in it. Let it soak for an hour or two then rinse it very very very very very very good.

 

[fis]

Ok - I'll try this later today and report back.

Thanks for your quick help!

I don't know anyone else that has fish, and I'm so pleased that I found the board

 

[Mr. Limpet]

I've had a noise issue when starting up my AC50 on occasion and found the "grinding" noise was caused by an air bubble in the pick u-tube making the impeller rattle.

The solution I found is, make sure the intake and filter chambers are filled with tank water as running the motor dry will burn it out. If the pickup tube doesn't fill fully with water (which is what causes the noise), turn the flow down to minimum and slowly pour tank water directly into the intake chamber until the noise stops. It should quiet right down.

Sent from my Epic 4G

 

[fis]

I hadn't considered an air bubble...I assumed if it was running and not making any popping sounds (like when there's air trapped) it was ok. I'll try that later when I get home as well-

Thank you!

 

[mfdrookie516]

I'm not sure it is air... If it were, it would sound like they do when you're just turning them on after a water change, kind of an empty churning pulsating noise. An air pocket doesn't cause a grinding noise IMO.

 

[fis]

Yes, ok, thank you for clarifying. I do hear that noise after a water change, as you said, but this is more of a mechanical/grinding - almost like a buzzing.

Perhaps if I just try everything something will work - lol

I'll start with the vinegar and see how it goes from there-

 

[Mr. Limpet]

Yes, ok, thank you for clarifying. I do hear that noise after a water change, as you said, but this is more of a mechanical/grinding - almost like a buzzing.

Perhaps if I just try everything something will work - lol

I'll start with the vinegar and see how it goes from there-

Yep, that's what I get too. The solution I explained clears it right up for me.

Sent from my Epic 4G

 

[fis]

Ok - I tried the water solution before the vinegar. The water isn't working. There's a mechanical buzzing noise coming from the motor area. I don't know if it's starting to stop working or what. I'm hoping the vinegar will help.

What's weird is that it almost seems like something is vibrating the wrong way. I've broken it down completely and put it back together 3x. I don't think I'm missing anything - but if you touch it, or move it a little, sometimes the vibration seems to improve. I'm not sure what that means, or if it is the motor just failing because of gunk in it and/or it's on its way out.

I have to fix this though - or just get a new filter. I can't take the noise anymore!!!

Thanks again-

 

[Mr. Limpet]

Bummer, sorry it didn't work. When the coil (motor) gets gunk in it I use a q-tip to clean out the impeller chamber. But for me anyways, it's more reduced flow than noise when the impeller gets gunked up.

Are you in contact with AC's helpdesk? They stand by their products and may have a better solution.

If you decide to trade brands, check out Fusion power filters. I have one, a 40 (along with the AC50) on my 37 tall and it works great.

Hope you can resolve it and please keep us updated.

Sent from my Epic 4G

 

[fis]

Ah, no worries - it was a try.

I hadn't even thought of the help desk!

I did the vinegar soak yesterday, and got in there and got what gunk there was out, then rinsed and rinsed, put it all back together and...the noise is better. But not gone.

It still seems like something mechanical. I'm going to try the helpdesk tomorrow.

Thank you for the tip on the new filter - for now the noise isn't horrendous, so we'll see how long this one can last without driving us nuts!

Thanks again for the advice-

 

[BigJim]

Check that the pin the impeller rides on is straight. I've got an AC50 that I bought used and the pin was bent just a little and it made noise similar to what you're describing.

 

[Mr. Limpet]

Ah, no worries - it was a try.

I hadn't even thought of the help desk!

I did the vinegar soak yesterday, and got in there and got what gunk there was out, then rinsed and rinsed, put it all back together and...the noise is better. But not gone.

It still seems like something mechanical. I'm going to try the helpdesk tomorrow.

Thank you for the tip on the new filter - for now the noise isn't horrendous, so we'll see how long this one can last without driving us nuts!

Thanks again for the advice-

It's most likely the impeller chattering that you are hearing. Call/email AC and I bet they have an answer.

Good luck!

Sent from my Epic 4G