[LauraB]

Hey everyone i am new here:)

I have just got a 5ft aquarium and it came with a second hand external (newbie to externals)Fluval 405 canister filter. The filter itself has to sit in front of the cabinet as i did not realise it was too tall for inside the cabinet and there is not any room behind it. Doh. So i had to order some new hosing to go around the side of the aquarium and across the back for the outlet pipe. so the hose is about 5ft long. .

I turned the filter on after priming for many many minutes, and it did its gurglinf for a few minutes and then went very quiet:) but every 10-15 minutes it seems to get air from somewhere and pump it out, making odd noises as it does so. I do not know where the air is coming from. I wondered if it was because my outlet hosing is too long? How long should the hosing be? the only problem is i cannot reduce the length of it very much more than it already is, the hosing also sags in the middle? could that be causing the random air every 15 minutes? or would the air be coming in somehow from the out take pipe?

I tried the filter in the garden in a bucket before i used it and it worked perfectly.

I am realy nervous about using externals as the eheim that i was also given and treid first nearly flooded my living room, so i am a bit nervous of these things.

Any advice would be greatful, as i have a big fish waiting to be moved in:) Thank you Laura B

[nelly]

<hi and welcome>5 foot of hosing wow, that does not sound to healthy, sorry.....not to sound funny, you said filters second hand which came with tank, did they have filter in the cuboard before?i had similar problem with my external buying the fluval fx5<now thats huge, had to cut a hole in the cubaord base to sit filter in<cuboard was home made.....

[nelly]

is this same as your filter?


if yes then try to purge with thing in diagram 1.....see what that does

[LauraB]

Hi and thank you for your responses

Yes that is my filter. I have tried to purge it with the priming thing, but it still gives out air every 20 minutes now:S

The cupboard is not tall enough to put the filter in at all:S the only holes are in the cupboard corners, How long do you think the hosing should be? It might be possible to try and make a hole through the shelves in the middle as it is flimsy board at the back. If so that would shorten it by a foot but will look awful in the house.

How close could the out take pipe be to the intake pipe? could i put it next to it? that would shorten the hosing considerably.

Thank you guys.

LauraB

[nelly]

one thing is iam not a diy person,hehe
um usually best to have intake and out pipes seperate,however someone i know also has that filter<second hand>on there tank,person before had cut the piping to length, so they have the intake in corner of tank and output nearly in centre, as far as piping would reach, not sure of the shelves you on about but would you be able to lift out that shelf?prob justs lifts up and out if its the centre shelf,

also have you tried tilting the filter?

[LauraB]

Thank you again Nelly

Yes the shelf lifts out but is still too short to put the filter in lol,

I Just tried tilting the filter but it is still creating air, but it is like air is created in the filter. you hear it gurgle and then 2 seconds later bubbles come out of the out take pipe.


I was wondering, this aquarium is complicated it has a glass shelf inside it and only one big hole on the right hand side where the intake pipe is in the glass shelf and a smaller hole in the glass on the left hand corner. forgetting the left hand hole. Do you think if i put the out take pipe next to the intake pipe in the right hand hole but secured the out take pipe with suction cups across the tank to half way inside the aquarium(the current would be going left and the water would be sucked up to the right)that that would work? If that makes any sense:S

I do have a spray bar kit with an elbow clip to make the pipe go horizontal with the water line so i would just pull it out across the water further and secure it to get it away from the intake pipe. Does it matter which way the current flows?

Laura B

[nelly]

no it does not matter which way it flows, um as to bubbles, yes sounds like trapped air, took me 15mins to get rid of that for the other person before, tilt filter and bubbles come out then keep in same postition,it should then work normal,then start to head to upright position,it will bubble agai,keep repeating process until filter upright again, slowly but surley

[LauraB]

oh ok yes that process makes sense

i think i will shorten the pipe like i said and then run it and if still bubbles i will do the tilting process:) and get back to you with the results.

Thank you so much for your time you have been very helpful.

Laura B

Oh can i turn off the water flow if the filter is not plugged in, or should i plug it back in and then turn off the valve? or does it not matter?

[nelly]

haha time your welcome with, helpful dought it, but thats whats worked for me before, im bodge job king

[LauraB]

Well thank you bodge job king!

[LauraB]

Well update...

I shortened the hosing and tilted the filter and eventualy like you said the air bubbles stopped. I left in running happy it was working:D

but when i came back 40 minutes later it was making a humming noise almost like a single note dial tone. Is this normal?

It was quite high pitched like tinitus

I turned it off incase it was something bad:S

I checked if it was up against a surface but it isnt, it is in a bucket but i dont think that could make the noise.

Do you think it is dying? or broken? or is this normal for a fluval 405?

[nelly]

um again, all filters make a slight humming noise even the most quite, but not sure about your situation, is the filter pumping water through correctly now? are all clips shut and locked correctly, have you checked the impeller at any time and cleaned the gunk which usually builds up?

[LauraB]

i washed the impellor yesterday, and the clips are both on and the canister clips are on and look secure

I assume it has been working correctly, though i have never had one of these before.It did not make this noise when i tested it in the garden or on previous attempts, but this was the longest the filter has been run for.

do you think i should take it apart and have a look inside?

Laura B starting to go crazy

[nelly]

laura B going crazy

It can get fustrating, did you actually see the filter working prior to purchasing it?

Iam unsure as to what the noise could be, can you put up with it or is it a high pitched whyne?

try tilting again and see what happens.....also try turning off the flow to the filter and open again..

[LauraB]

yes i am going crazy.

yes it is a whyne, that makes me a bit nervous, i will turn it back on and try what you suggested

No i did not see it working before i bought it, she was using a different one, she seemed to think this one worked though, but she could have lied

The other one is an eheim that leaked everywhere and i think maybe it is broken as one of the valves is not working and the lock is also broken. And the water came out of the seams it was so scary

anyway, if it was an electrical fault or something, would it be dangerous to keep it turned on, or would it just konk out when it had had enough?

I wish you could get internal filters to go with sand and 5ft aquariums they are less scary.

Laura B

[nelly]

how big is your tank? 5foot/ ? / ? /

for example mine is 5foot / two foot / two foot ...

i Have a fluval fx5 external filter<best filter ever imo> and a internal tetratec 1000....

you could look at getting a Fluval U4 Internal Filter,For aquariums from 130 L to 240 L (34 to 65 U.S. Gal.) getting two one in each side of the tank

[shelaghfishface]

i used to be terrified of externals my self laura.. but funnily enough i have just bought a 5ft too and it came with a XP3 (rena) filter... didnt look very reliable compared to any ive had in the past, but its been there 2 days and not a grumble out of it... tho there`ll be plenty out of me if it does decide to empty 450l of water all over my floor
if its making more noise than it should.. its possibly because its got some air trapped.... i just sold one of those but didnt have any issues with it at all and it was 2 yrs old... if it gets too rattley just turn it off and on or try pumping the pull leaver again.. but of course put a towel underneath first

Dont worry... those Rug Doctors are only 30odd quid a day to rent

[LauraB]

Hey again Nelly Yes sorry my tank is 5ft length/1.5ft width/ just under 2ft height. I am not sure how many litres it is yet. I think i may think about getting an internal to accompany the external, that is a good idea

Hey Shelaghfishface i am glad i am not the only one scared of these things. It is the emptying of the tank that is the most scary thing. espeacialy if the fish are in it and it is at night
Thank you for your advice i think i will try and stick with the external for a bit and see if i can get it to work and try what you said as well as Nelly's.

Thank you both for your help. I am going to turn it on in the morning tomorrow, so it gives me 12 hours to get used to it before i go to sleep
I will update you tomorrow.

Laura B

[LauraB]

Update 2 -

The filter has been on for some hours now and is working:)though it is still rattling.

The whyning noise i have worked out is coming from inside the aquarium, it is either the spray bar or the heater. I noticed just now when the heater light went off the whyning stopped but the light has just come back on and the whyning is still not there, so i do not know what it is


Is there any magic way to fill an external without trapping air, like filling the canister before you connect it after a clean etc ?

tilting it to stop the rattling has not worked.

LauraB