Magnum 350 Problem - Please Help

[chambers]

I went too long without cleaning my tank and filter, so when I finally got around to it yesterday I was not completely surprised that I encountered some difficulty trying to get it to work normally.

The problem I am having is an intermittent sucking noise coming from, I believe, the outlet. The water level is high enough and even in the past when the water level did dip below optimal level, I have never heard this noise. When I opened the filter back up again last night I noticed that the gasket was torn. I googled my problem and surmised that it may have to do with a poor seal due to the gasket. So I went and bought a replacement gasket today and tried again. Still, I hear the noise.

The only other thing I can think of that may be wrong with it is that when I went to clean the filter the carbon housing was in pretty bad shape. So there's a definite possibility that there is some carbon stuck in the outlet. My question then is how would I best go about cleaning the outlet? I've only had the filter for a few months and it would seem to me to be a bit of a complicated procedure. What is the easiest way? And is that even the problem?

The noise is driving me crazy. I have even replaced the carbon filter with the micron filter, but still no luck. Please tell me what to do.

 

[SpeedEuphoria]

Yeah that seal is was prob your main issue.

While cleaning the hoses would be a good idea, I'm not positive that its your issue. You can clean the hoses with a snake like brush, and I think your hoses are short so you may be able to use a shorter handled brush.

If your hearing a noise still, its normally air in the lines/filter, which is what the bad seal would have done. Some like to lube the seal with something like veggie oil(as its fish safe, dont use regular lube like wd40).

To me it seems you still prob have air trapped in the system which is what makes the chopping/gurgling noise. I would go over all the connections/seals again just to make sure they are sealed/no leaks. Then while its running you can tilt it a little to get the trapped air to pass through. If it clears up and sounds good, then a couple days later it happens again then this would say that you do have a leak in a seal/hose somewhere.

Good luck

 

[chambers]

Well I was able to get the diffuser off of the outlet. But I don't think a clog was the issue.

However, removing the diffuser did help me to diagnose what I think may be wrong. With the diffuser off, I turned the filter on to try to flush the outlet line. When I stuck my hand underneath the tube, though, it sucked on my hand. Now I may not be an expert, but I'm thinking the outlet should probably be flowing out.

I did not touch the hoses, so how would this even be possible? And, more importantly, how do I fix it?

 

[jsoong]

Do you have the quick connects in your hose? It is pretty easy to switch those around & mix up in & out <did that a few times myself!> There are in/out arrows on the top of the Magnum 350, make sure the hoses are connected the right way.

The other thing may be the small up tube inside the filter not lining up with the "out" port on the lid ... I always have to first line that up before closing the lid, or the black tube will be slightly tilted & the pump is not connected to the outlet port. There is also an o-ring at that connection. If it is missing/broken that might be the problem.

 

[chambers]

Thanks for the replies.

I ended up switching the hoses. Apparently, they were somehow on wrong. Must've been like that since I set up the filter months ago. I followed the instructions I had at the time, but either they or I were wrong.

Still don't know why it never made that noise before, though. But it seems to be working properly now.