Possible dud valve on BiOrb Halo 30

[s0blan]

Hello TropicalFishForums,

A couple weeks back I purchased a BiOrb Halo 30 and it worked just fine for the first few days, but then it started to hum very noisily.
I've narrowed it down a little:

• It probably isn't the Air Stone, as air seems to pass through the same way airstone or not, and it's a pretty new one.
• It's not the actual pump which is causing the humming.
• The sound seems to be coming from somewhere around the base of the aquarium, where I've looked underneath and noticed that the piping as it proceeds out from one of the feet and under the centre of the aquarium, curves downwards and connects to a solid, black plastic joint which appears to be touching the cabinet. So much so, that the joint appears to be ever so slightly bending under the force of the tank. Is this a possible problem, or does this joint usually touch the cabinet top?
• After detaching the piping from the pump and trying to blow through it manually, I found that it is extremely difficult to do so and almost feels like blowing up a lead balloon. Is this a surefire indicator that I've got a dud one-way valve? I don't really want to have to transfer all of my fish again whilst replacing the valve, so if you have any recommendations about how to do this (if this is the problem), that'd be great.

Thanks, and I look forward to your responses

 

[Baker]

You should email the manufacturer and ask for a replacement valve, and yes it's most likely the valve. If it's mechanical, then you shouldn't be able to blow through it at all, they open electrically and when off shouldn't pass air at all. At least this is my experience with most engine valves