Fluval 405 producing bubbles

[Jereli]

I have a fluval 405 that is fairly new about few months old that occasionally blasts alot of bubbles. It can be running fine with no bubbles coming out and out of no where it will blast many bubbles into my display tank.any ideas why?

 

[reflex1]

Sounds like not fully primed or is sucking air from some place - not sealed properly or slit in hose. I have three and they are all working great!

 

[Jereli]

Hmmm...i will have to inspect it then.. What you mean fully primed? Because it will run fine for hours or even days with out making bubbles..it might be sucking in air then from some where

 

[reflex1]

Primed - as in ALLL the air pumped out before plugging it in - check your seals (grease them with a small amount of vaseline) and softly run your hands along your lines - if you feel any wetness then your are leaking there - and or drawing air.

 

[DragonFish71]

One of our's starting doing that a while back. It's an older 404 model. It turned out to be that plastic cover that closes over the impeller housing had cracked and wasn't sealing. Try checking that too.

 

[mfdrookie516]

Mine does that if I dont shake and tilt it after a water change. Try tilting it forward so that any air that is in it will be forced back in to the tank. After doing this a few times, mine never has that issue

 

[Jereli]

Thanks for all the replies I will try those tips..

 

[CorporateGranola]

There's a couple things that could be causing this problem.

Priming
With regard to priming, Reflex1 hit the nail on the head... the 405 needs to be filled up with 2gal [IIRC] of water before reattaching your intake and output hoses. The seal is also very important, if it is letting any air in, you'll have experience symptoms you're seeing.

A member of the forum on cichlid-forums.com suggests this:

Whenever you fill or refill your 405 you should rock it and purposefully bump it on the bottom to dislodge air. Doing this 4 or 5 times in the first hour will expel 99% of the air. It will come out in clouds of bubbles. If you don't you will get a few bubbles once in a while for days after.

Power
Every time the Fluval 405 loses power (even momentarily) it will go through its start-up cycle. What happens during this start-up cycle is the 405 starts pumping for 1 minutes - stops - then pumps any remaining air out.

I'm wondering if you might be having some power issues. An el-cheapo UPS from BestBuy would probably fix (or prevent any future) blips in your power.

Hosing
Double check all your hoses and check for any hairline cracks and/or small leaks. Pay special attention to the fittings. Replace anything that is cracked, don't just silicone and hope for the best.

Further questions
Did this start after a scheduled maintenance?
If so, be sure to confirm that all seals and attachments are in good condition, firmly seated, properly lubricated (where applicable).

Were there any lightning storms, power surges, or power outages in your area recently?
If so, this event may have damaged the electrical components of your pump and may need to be replaced.

Have you ever used vaseline on the seals?
If so, I would look for a product that does not contain petroleum. I know from other hobbies that petroleum can cause rubber to degrade and no longer achieve a proper seal.

Hope this helps, let us know what you find out.

-=CG=-