Filters

[Swampman1]

Hi I have two 40gal and a 20 gal tanks. My 20 gal has a Fluval 107 filter. The filter output is really strong . That is not a problem. It's about 5 years old. The problem filters are on the two 40gal. Both have Fluval 206 canister filter. The output isn't that good compared tot the 107. I have bought new pipes, impellers and filters cleaned the motor heard for something stuck and I cannot get the output that strong. Both are over 10 years old. When I take apart to clean the filters are dirty and that is good. I also bought new uptake pipe. Is the new 07 series designed better than the old 06? Thinking about changing filter. Possibly an Oase canister with heater installed. 200 series I believe. Has anyone experienced this problem? After 10 plus years of service do you think it is shot?

 

[Jennet47 105]

Is the Oase canister an internal or external filter. If its the internal one, I have that on an 80 litre (20 gallon) aquarium, and yes, it is very powerful. I have no idea about external filters though, other than to ask if you have things like propellers or other moving parts in the motor that you may need to check are moving freely, and are not gunged up?

 

[Swampman1]

The Oase is a canister.

 

[Uberhoust13 3]

How you run the lines on the Fluval 06/07 series is quite critical. If you have a dip in the lines between the canister outlet and the outflow in the tank your performance will not be as good. The same goes for the inlet line.

 

[Papa]

I have five Fluval canisters. Unfortunately I have found that on water changes it is pretty common to have a frustrating time to restart at least one of them. Ironically just this morning I had a 307 I still have not got running. For me it is usually air locks. I have found no difference in how your lines are run. As long as there are no kinks. Frankly I think their pumps are not all that strong. Having said that when they run they do a pretty good job but restarting can be frustrating.

 

[Swampman1]

The lines are straight til it comes to the curve to the tanks.

 

[Uberhoust13 3]

The lines are straight til it comes to the curve to the tanks.

Well damn that would be a simple fix.

Here are some things I would try next (likely you have already tried some):
1. When servicing before you put the power head back on fill the canister with water first. I use tap water because this is done with a water change and the main tank is already treated for chlorine.
2. Once the hoses are removed check for any obstructions in the hoses or in the diverters, spray bars, spray heads.
3. When servicing check that that impeller assembly is clean and assembled correctly. This assembly is somewhat delicate so use caution (I have broken one a few years ago). Additionally you should pull the impeller out, examine it for wear and also examine it for stuck particles, I was using black flourite from seachem and it had ferric particles that attached to the magnet on the impeller, this can wear out the impeller causing it to bind within the drive assembly. (The majority of the water goes through the filter before reaching the impeller but some still can sneak past). Note a number of substrates have magnetic particles in them.
4. This should be number one but after you re-assemble the canister have you checked that the flow valve is fully open. I forget how this is done in the 06 series.
5. When you restart your filter, a. Only restart after the intake section is well submerged. b. Purge the filter of air using the pump on the canister (slow and steady it is a delicate assembly as well), before you start the filter each pump should only be pumping water with no air coming out of the outlet.
6. Check that the filter is not plugged up with gunk. I use a pre-filter and can go 4 to 8 months without a cleaning, but without the prefilter these filters can plug up pretty quickly, especially in the inlet side of the filter but if you have any foam in the tray sections they can slow the flow as well.
7. Check the seal at the top of the canister, apply some more gasket grease to the large o-ring, also check for any water or air leakage in any of the hose joints, particularly in the intake side, because it can create a slight vacuum. Any air leakage will cause continuous issues.

This is more of a feeling than anything else but I have had the best performance if the intake line is the shortest, effectively dropping straight down from the tank directly into the filter, seems like less air issues with that type of configuration.

I haven't had an issue with the power of my filters, but they are very sensitive to air accumulating against the power head, if the impeller cannot bite enough water it will not force the air out, you might try slightly rocking the canister slowly, while it is pumping, to encourage the air to leave the power head after a service. I don't have a smaller canisters anymore, but the smaller ones seemed to me to be more problematic for air issues than the larger ones.

 

[Swampman1]

I never fill the filter tank. I lift the purge rod. The flow valve is closed. I submerge the intake hose, open valve and let the output bubble and such. It is in the tank. I know I should not do that. I pump the purge rod to make sure the bubbles stop. Start filter. It starts right away. Some stuff gets out but not much. The impeller was changed 5 months ago. It did nothing for output water. Maybe I'm thinking too much about this and it is working properly. Would you know how to check that? Funny that both 40 gal tank with same 206 filter flows the same. Thanks

 

[Tomsfish26 25]

The cannisters are built like the HOBs the pump motor for your two sizes are the same and the impellers are the same along with the hose sizes..
With that being realized then it goes to figure the only thing that makes the 206 have greater capacity is it's capacity and not flow.
I will say that both canisters move water at exactly the same rate but the 206 has greater media storage.
Here is where you can see the 106 and 206 have the same parts. They don't offer a replacement motor but if they use the same size impeller [ and they do ] then it is the same motor.
That is how Hagen/Aquaclear/Fluval build.
Hope this helps.

Fluval Parts

Home of quality tropical fish food and pet supplies.

kensfish.com

You are pretty observant and have nothing to worry about besides the physical age of the units.
Late edit;
I screwed up model numbers.
So not the same.
The 107 pumps 175GPH and the 206 pumps 206GPH.
175gph is a lot more flow in a 20g than 206gph is in a 40 and possibly makes it look slower?

 

[MuddyWaters]

I like the FX series. I have 2 FX 4 and 1 FX2. Having said that, I just had to replace the motor on the FX2, so they're not perfect, but they make it way easier to get the flow going after water change & filter cleaning than my 407. It's still not that bad, the hand pump helps, but it's touchier than the FX series. They're expensive, though, and if I was in your shoes I'd probably try all the stuff listed above before buying something else.

 

[gimme301]

I've seen this over the years with canisters. Powerheads and hobs too. Two or more identical units, seemingly different flow rates from one or another. It makes absolutely no sense. I think if they're doing their job then I wouldn't worry about it.

 

[Swampman1]

The cannisters are built like the HOBs the pump motor for your two sizes are the same and the impellers are the same along with the hose sizes..
With that being realized then it goes to figure the only thing that makes the 206 have greater capacity is it's capacity and not flow.
I will say that both canisters move water at exactly the same rate but the 206 has greater media storage.
Here is where you can see the 106 and 206 have the same parts. They don't offer a replacement motor but if they use the same size impeller [ and they do ] then it is the same motor.
That is how Hagen/Aquaclear/Fluval build.
Hope this helps.

Fluval Parts

Home of quality tropical fish food and pet supplies.

kensfish.com

You are pretty observant and have nothing to worry about besides the physical age of the units.
Late edit;
I screwed up model numbers.
So not the same.
The 107 pumps 175GPH and the 206 pumps 206GPH.
175gph is a lot more flow in a 20g than 206gph is in a 40 and possibly makes it look slower?

Very interesting. You are right. I never thought of this. I always thought it was strange that both filters have the same outflow feel when checked. good I don't need to buy new filters. Thanks so much

 

[TwoTankAmin57]

Having owned all of the AC power filters I can tell you that one reason is that the is overlap between the models on some of the parts. I notice that two models may use the same motor but they have different impellers. The difference is not in the magnet part but in the size and number of blades they are different.

I am one who keepers spare parts on the shelf. I had a large Rubbermaid storage box for AC parts. I had uplift tubes and the U tube part on top of the tubes for all sizes. I had motors for them all but the 110 and I also had impellers and impeller shafts as well. When I began to down size, I eliminated a lot of the AC filters. I also sold a number of my spares parts since they were not needed to the extent I had left them. Today I am down to only 12 ACs, but I still have every size they make in use. 2x20, , 2x30, 5x50, 2x70 and 1x110.

Fluval Motor Unit for AC Series AC20/AC30/AC50/AC70. So one motor for 4 models. But those 4 models all have a different impeller size. They may share a similar magnet but not the same blade part.

(edited for typos)

 

[ohhfishhh]

After 10+ years, reduced flow can definitely be from wear in the motor head or impeller housing, even if everything is clean. The newer Fluval 07 series does have some flow and efficiency improvements. If you’ve already replaced the impellers, hoses and intake parts, upgrading the canisters sounds reasonable.