Cheap Power-filters?

[Kilo]

I came home from work after 12:30am Tuesday morning to find my [second] power-filter stopped pumping. There is no more sand floating around—hasn't been for a couple weeks. But it burned out after 3 weeks of use. I know of people, one of them being the night-manager, who has a salt-water aquarium; and so he has sand, and his power-filter is a few years old, not a thing wrong with it, and he says the salt builds up in his pump and never does it stop working. He has the Emporer 400. I've now been through 2 Penguin 350s. The first one burned out about 20 minutes after putting sand in the tank, even though I waited until it all fell to the bottom, but somehow I must have missed seeing a few grains.

I exchanged the second power-filter yesterday for a Rena SmartFilter 55. As soon as I got it in the tank, you could hear the motor, then it made an aweful noise, and then stopped. Then I took the motor out, and tapped on it, and it started working again. There was no way to get to the motor in the Penguin 350, at least not that I could see. Well, the Rena has been running for a whole 30 hours now, and even though the water was (and still is a bit cloudy from a recent water-change) the filter-medias have no dirt on them yet. So I'm now like, "What the heck is going on?" Motors burn up out, and try to not run at all right out of the box, and then no dirt being collected. I'm stumped.

 

[WILDER]

Best not to swtich filters on till the sand has settled as it damage not only the impellor but the filter it's self.
Post in the d.i.y. section will get more help over there.
Good luck.

 

[Kilo]

Best not to swtich filters on till the sand has settled as it damage not only the impellor but the filter it's self.
Post in the d.i.y. section will get more help over there.
Good luck.

The sand has been settled for a couple weeks now. They say it only takes about 2 or 3 days to settle. I took the Powefilter out and checked for any possible sand—there was none found anywhere. I told the manager at work today that my new one (the second Penguin 350) burned out... he laughed. He doesn't understand why the Powerfilters are going out,`cos he never has any problems with his, and many other people don't either with whatever kind or model they run.

I read that we're suppose to regularly clean the motors. I dunno how they expect us to if there's no way to get to them, such as the Penguin models. Anyway, this Rena is still working, but I still don't see the filter media in it getting dirty, and the water is still a bit cloudy. I can't seem to get this tank crystal clear, ever since I've had it—close, but no cigars.

So I dunno if I've asked before or not. I don't wanna sound like a broken record... but who here has what for a filter or think is the best? I wish stores here stocked an Eheim Pro III or an Eheim wet/dry,`cos I don't wanna have to order medias online all the time. The best they sell around here is the Rena Filstar xP4 for $249.

 

[WILDER]

How far is the filter off the sand.
If the water cloudy and you maintain the tank weekly, the tank cycled, the filter not good enough for your size tank.
How many gallon does it turn over an hour.
Is the filter the right size for the tank, always best to over filter a tank then under filter it.

 

[Kilo]

How far is the filter off the sand.
If the water cloudy and you maintain the tank weekly, the tank cycled, the filter not good enough for your size tank.
How many gallon does it turn over an hour.
Is the filter the right size for the tank, always best to over filter a tank then under filter it.

I have a 46G. The filter pumps 55G an hour. The Penguins I had pumped more... 75G per hour. The strainer is over half way up toward the top from the sand, (like 20 inches away). I have the tube as short as any of them will go. As for the filter being the right size, they've all said it doesn't matter how big the filter, that the only bad thing about a filter being way too big for the size tanks we have is just spending mow money. All I could find in the Rena SmartFilters were the 20s, 30s and 55s. I think those are the only sizes they make, so of course I chose the 55.

 

[WILDER]

Post here.
http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showforum=9

 

[duster1971]

the rena smart filter is what i run on my tank as well they can be verry hard to see the dirt in but they are verry good filters and even though you cant see it working it is check it monthly and you will see what im talking about.