New Fluval 405 -- rattle after 4 days?

[mattlavallee]

Hi everyone,

I did a bunch of surfing around (especially these forums) when deciding what to get for a filter for my new 60-gal wide aquarium. I'm a beginner, noob, whatever you want to call it... I have not done this before. :)

There seems to be an endless and lively debate between the Eheim, Fluval, and Rena canister filters. Being the middle of the road, I went with the Fluval 405.

I set the tank & filter up on Saturday with about 1/2" of PFS in the bottom (about 2-3" clearance from the intake). The install went smoothly, water flow was great, and I've just left it running while waiting for the decor/habitat stuff to arrive via mail order.

Everything was running fine and near-silent until today, when the 405 started making this god-awful rattle (definitely in the impeller region). I figured it might be an air blockage or something that had worked its way into the system, but shifting, tilting, tipping, etc., made no difference in the noise. I don't have a flowmeter or anything to know whether there's been a change, but the output is still considerable. I opened the filter up and checked around to see if any PFS had made its way in there, but it was clean. There's no weirdness around the impeller, the magnetic contact was fine, and the impeller cover was/is closing firmly.

What the Christmas happened and what should I do?

Thanks,
Matt

[Lady Hobbs]

Sounds like it's picking up air. If you have an air stone near it, move it.

[CassieLEO]

cough...RENA...cough! RENA!! LMAO! Its not too late to return it and get a replacement, no matter what you go for...

[mattlavallee]

Cassie, thanks for the "subtle" recommendation, but I saw enough "ohmygod it's dead!!!" posts about the XP4 that I'll stick with the Fluval for now.

Lady Hobbs -- yeah, that's what I was going for with the tipping/tilting, but there's no air stone (or anything else at all) in the tank. I have water and a small layer of PFS with the filter running all by its happy self.

-Matt

[CassieLEO]

Mine hasnt died yet, but Eheims are good too ;) AC's are also pretty good!!! Im not a fan of Fluval. But seriously, if you are having issues with it, take it back and get another fluval before your warranty expires...

[gm72]

Try to strike the canister on the side with the base of your palm and see if you get air bubbles coming out of the outlet in the tank.

[mattlavallee]

gm72 - striking it did release a few tiny bubbles, but nothing of significance and no real change in the rattle.

It definitely sounds like the impeller is hitting the edge or cover, but short of improvising my own solution, it doesn't seem like there's much I can do.

I just can't believe it'd fail so readily... It's certainly disheartening.

The biggest downside is that I bought the only one they had at my local PetSmart (yes, it was still sealed) and they'd price-matched Amazon (begrudgingly) at $149. Returning it will probably mean having to wait a while for them to restock it. My LFS wanted $299!

Maybe I'll have to consider the Eheim if this is an uphill battle. It was running so well those first couple of days, I really don't get how it would fail (aside from really poor workmanship).

-Matt

[Alasse]

I have a Fluval 405 and it will do the same rattling on start up if there is air in there, can take quite a few rattle/tilts/bangs on the side to get it right sometimes

[CassieLEO]

Hmm... I never had to bang my RENA to make it stop making noise. Just sayin' LOL!!!! :P

[Taurus]

Really? I don't think I've ever read any negatives about the Rena Filters. I've heard nothing but good things about them.

Anyway, yes, it's gotta be air trapped inside the Fluval somewhere. If you turn it off, any trapped air should rise to the top of the canister. If not, you've got a defective filter.

Cassie, thanks for the "subtle" recommendation, but I saw enough "ohmygod it's dead!!!" posts about the XP4 that I'll stick with the Fluval for now.