EXTREMLY deminished flow from HOB filter

[William]

Its not the filter media itself, since I tried running it for a bit without any media in it, its not the flow restriction valve since I have it 100% open.

so I don't know whats wrong with my HOB, its reduced from its generous flow to a little trickle...



Does anyone have any ideas?

Could it be my water level? Probably not, since the intake for the filter is all the way at the bottom of the tank and theres only about 4 inches of freespace between the water surface and the impeller [ snails needed room. ]


I'm just really concerned because my waters getting rather dark, altho my Ammo, PH, Nitrites are fine.. [ 0, 7.2, barely registers ]

[grimlock3000]

What kind of filter is it? Also, do you have the same problem when the water is level in the tank? The filter could have a worn impeller, or simply be too much for the filter to pull up.

[William]

The water has been lower then this before and it has run good..

Its a Top Fin 40 thats messing up.


and its praticly brand new.. I think its around 4 or 5 months.. if that much.. [ I'm bad with time.. ]

[Allivymar]

Have you cleaned the intake tubes? I'm wondering if they're clogged up. Or, as grimmy said, something may be wrong with the impeller. Is it seated properly?

[Sati]

I have a Top Fin 40 and it's a horribly frustrating piece of junk. Every time I do a water change in my tank I have to fiddle with the impeller for 1-5 mintues to get the thing to work without clanging against the plastic, and then coming to an abrupt stop. It's so frustrating. I'm guessing you're having the same problem...

[William]

No, cause my filter has been working flawlessly up until now.


yes the impeller is seated, no its not clogged up anywhere.

the impeller blades are also in pristine condition.

[Scottw68TN]

Its either the mag motor or the impeller if theres no clogs in the media or tubing. remove the impeller and check for it spinning on its axis easily and observe it spinning if you can. (in the sink. just a little water in the unit, use a flashlight)

[madasafish]

Yeah, I was going to say impeller sounds like the problem. Empty the filter and, without exposing your bacteria for too long to the air, turn on the motor. Check to see how fast the impeller is moving. You shouldn't be able to tell one blade from the next, as they whirl too quickly. If the impeller seems sluggish or irregular change something--the impeller, the filter. Personally, I'd just get a new filter. I swear by the biowheel line of Marineland filters--the Penguins and Emperors. I use Penguin 330s. On bigalsonline.com, you can get all the Penguin range for under $25!! The Penguin 330 is $23! Do yourself a favor and switch to what I believe are the best HOB filters.

If you're not willing to buy something new, try cleaning out the intake tube and removing the impeller (if it comes out). There's really little else that goes on with these filters.

*Oh, one last idea.* The outflow in filters often dwindles if the filter is not completely level. Check that the filter is level, that the main casing is not sloping away from the tank. If it is sloping, add a or some small piece(s) of card or cardboard to the space between the casing and the tank. This might help.

Good luck.

[William]

Yeah, I was pricing 40/50gal emperor Bio-Wheels today.

I was just hoping it could have been something simple that I may have missed *sigh*


I just dropped 30 bucks on this filter not that long ago :\

[dralarms]

When my wisper started that they said it was the impeller and sent me a new one for free.

[madasafish]

Well, William. Look at it this way.

New Penguin 330: $55 at LFS/Petco
Total: $55

You old filter: $30 at Um... I dunno where.
Your brand spankin' new awesome Penguin 330: $23 at Bigals.
Total: $53 (plus shipping....)

Hey, not so bad in perspective.

[Sati]

The Penguin 330 is $25.99 at Petco, and $24.99 at PetSmart :P

http://www.petco.com/product_info.as...3&dept_id=%2D2
http://www.petsmart.com/products/product_776.shtml

[ferret]

Both chains sell things cheaper on their webpages than in the store, Sati. Generally, it'll be $10-15 more at the store.

[Sati]

Then it's actually cheaper because you can get free shipping with those chains.

[madasafish]

Yeah, that's certainly the case at Petco.com. I know from personal experience that the 330s at Petco (the tangible one) are $55. SOOO overpriced. Makes me so mad that there can be such price discrepancy. Guess that's the difference rent makes.