Magnum 350 issues!!

[MGiroux88]

So I bought the 350 for my 44 gallon tank. It does a fantastic job (when it works) but within a month after I clean out the unit, the water flow slowly starts to decrease pressure and ends up with no output at all. The last time i cleaned it there was not hardly enough debris in it to cause this (I thought) i have carbon and the filter sleeve on it. Any ideas or recommendations? Im ready to go back to the classic side mounted filter.

Thanks.

 

[meegosh]

Moved to General Hardware/Equipment Discussion. You will get more answers here!

 

[neilanh]

Welcome to AA!

Something has to be clogging it up to cause the flow to reduce. You might not be able to see it in the filter as lots of debris is quite small, but something has to be clogging it.

 

[WhiteDevil]

clean the intake tube inside the unit itself, the one that sits on the impeller and connects the lid to the media.
that piece has small outlets at the bottom with a 1/2" inlet at top. Every 2-3 cleanings of my mag350 require about 30 minutes of frustration to get it to work right again. its a nice filter when it works but other then that id only use it for a gravel vac or water polisher.

 

[jsoong]

Yes, I have a Magnum 350 & it is a PITA to get working right ....

In addition to checking for clogs in the tubes, both inlet & outlet, (disassemble the whole thing & run a flexible brush through all the tubes), also check:
1. Any debris in the "sump" thing where the impeller sits. I had some sand in there once & that gummed up the impeller so there was no flow .... Also check for hard water deposits in the impeller magnet or the housing. <I had to soak the whole area with CLR every few months or the impeller will gum up.>
2. Is the impeller broken?
3. Is the output tube (inside the canister) lined up with the outlet hole in the lid? Is the o-ring worn? A missing or worn o-ring at that connection will drop the flow to nothing.
4. If you are running the water polishing cartridge, you need to clean that out every few days .... I can never get the Magnum to run for more than 2 or 3 days using the water polisher ....
5. Also check for airlock in the system ... the filter needs to be manually primed (my manual said to burp the canister to get rid of air ....) Also, loose o-rings may cause airlock & decrease the flow.

Anyways, the Magnum is so high maintenance that my sump is simplicity in comparison ...