Eheim 2213 Low Flow

[Charliesdad]

Hi all.

I have read a lot of forum posts on this subject but I'm still puzzled. Maybe someone can enlighten me?

The filter had a strong flow, it could splash from back to front of the tank.

The filter is approx 3 to 4 years old.

All the pipes are clean and there are very few bends. The inlet is a crook. The top of the pump sits some 30cm below the tank.

Flow is very poor. It is a dribble.

For some reason there was a lot of air trapped in the head after my last media clean through. However the flow was slow before that which is why I did the clean.

The seal for the head is good. The impeller was noisy, but I think that was due to the air as it is quiet now the air has been expelled.

I have removed the media completely and the flow is the same, so it's not the media.

I want to restock the tank but not sure whether to until I've solved this. The suction is must be poor too, so there is a lot of debris sitting on the bottom. Very different to the crystal clear water I' had for the first few years. I am led to believe that these filters should last longer than 3-4 years.

Any other suggestions welcome

Thanks

 

[Ch4rlie]

Have you cleaned the impeller and impeller housing?
 
Sometimes that get filled with gunk and slows the impeller down therefore reducing flow.

 

[DrRob]

Also worth checking the impeller itself. They can be fragile and get broken, so care when cleaning it is in order as well.
 
I have a pot of cotton buds lying around for cleaning impeller housings and the gunk you get out is amazing, but have recently lost a 2213 to low flow and noisy working. I'm trying to work out whether it's better to get another or try replacing the impeller.

 

[shoulders]

have you cleaned the inlet /outlet tubes they might be gunked up

 

[Stimo]

when cleaning air can become slightly trapped.
 
try giving a gentle shake when up and running again doing this gently a few times helps.
also make sure you are priming the canister correctly before switching unit back on.

 

[Charliesdad]

Thanks for your replies. I had tried them all.

However, I have solved it.

The rubber bushes at the ends of the impeller axle do not look or feel worn, the axle is held tightly. But I found that the axle had a little lateral movement. So I took two of the round plastic tubes on the end of some plastic plants (I do have real plants as well!), inserted them over the axle and it worked.

Thanks for your attention and maybe this will help someone else.

Next will probably be - why do my plants keep dying! (Real ones not the plastic)

 

[Ch4rlie]

Glad you found and sorted the cause. 

 

[coolie]

Millions of topics on plants mate - where to start?

 

[Charliesdad]

Hmmm. I had fixed it but it turned out to be temporary.

What I hadn't realised was that the magnet and the plastic shaft it sits on, should be one part. Mine had come apart and although I had lined up the splines and jammed them together, they kept splitting. I now have a new impeller.

The good news is that the flow is back to full strength. The bad is that there is a clackety racket coming from the filter. Having had this filter for many years, I have been used to the odd cavitation noise where air is trapped and usually it either needs a gentle rock to release air or it sorts itself out. However it has now made noise for 20 hours and is slowly driving me insane!

Filter was primed and all air eliminated. All tubes are gunk and kink free. There is nothing near the inlet that produces air. I've considered air being sucked in somewhere but rocking and tipping the filter shows that there is no air stuck in the Head

Any other theories?


Thanks

 

[Charliesdad]

Well, for anyone who might read this with similar problems

The new impeller was faulty. If you view the magnet from the end, you will see the hole that the axle is inserted into. On my replacement impeller, that hole was elongated on one point, so the impeller could move side to side on the axle. The part was exchanged, and we now have silent bliss with full strength flow.

Thanks