20 replies to this topic

[tastyfish1980]

I have just purchased a 1200 Aqua One, aquis 1200, second hand and it`s operation is quite noisy. Considering it has never had much use, evident by the lack of dirt, wear and tear, all bits and pieces, manual etc supplied, it has a fair amount of motor noise/rattle. We are having to turn it off when watching tele, as it`s positioned only a few metres away from us. It`s around 5 years old, proven with receipt and as mentioned, very clean and unmarked. I went through the operating manual (supplied) and re-checked everything was in order and even took off the spray bar, to make sure that it had the least amount of restriction, but it has remained the same. There is no air drawn in. Pity, as it has a very good flow rate. Just wondering if these are noisy, compared to Eheim`s and Fluval`s, which are all I have ever owned and have always been extremely quite. Even when they are many years old. Perhaps the impeller well has too much clearance or the impeller is just a dud! The impeller is also in very good condition, clean and no sign of any wear. What are your thoughts?

Edited by tastyfish1980, 07 November 2012 - 11:29 PM.

[Bowdy]

I have had a couple and they have been very quiet. If its motor noise your hearing I would check the impeller is installed correctly and the rubber grommets which hold the impeller shaft are in good condition also. Cheers

[sandgroper]

Also check the impeller for defects (wear and tear) as this can cause a wobble resulting in noise.

[tastyfish1980]

Hello friend. I inspected the overhaul condition of the impeller, grommets etc and they appear fine, nothing out of the ordinary. Smeared vasoline on the grommets as well. It is definitely motor head noise, not an air block. Unless, somehow air is trapped in the head unit. I screwed out the primer cap on the top and water came out of the top. I think it will be far too noisy to persist with. Will have to try another, new impeller. Failing that, "tough titties" I guess. Cheers.

[tastyfish1980]

I went through the filter assembly again including the impeller and I have cut the noise down considerably. I think the impeller housing locking plate was not tightened up enough. I`m always cautious about plastics and over tightening it. So I put a bit more kilopascals on it and it has improved a lot. Funny thing though. When I re-started the pump, it was a bit noisy still for a few seconds and then just seemed to settle down with the release of all air in the system. well, anyways, i`m just happy that we don`t have to turn the thing off when watching tele. Thanks all. Murray.

[bigjohnnofish]

your impeller is magnet driven so you wont have any motor noise... 99% sure it will be impeller orientated... i have a few aqua one cannisters and they only get noisy when grit or plant matter etc get into the chamber where the impeller sits in.... take the impeller out and clean regularly or when you hear slight noise appearing.... use paper towel to clean inside the impeller chamber... and blow out any crap....

hope that fixes the prob...

[tastyfish1980]

Thanks Johnno. I have been over the impeller and chamber and they are in very good a very good clean state. It is behaving itself reasonably well now after I re-tightened, with more pressure, the impeller cover. The well and impeller are perfectly clean, so I would say, this is the best it gets. It`s not too bad, but definitely noisier than my Eheims and (very) old Fluval. Thanks again folks. Murray.

[tastyfish1980]

Up-date with my noisy 1200 aqua One. It got so bad again, that I purchased a new impeller and.................ssshhhhhh. To look at, there is no difference between the old and the new one. Now for the, real noisy, little Hagen Elite 20. Have a new impeller coming for that as well. I couldn't `t believe a new impeller could make such a "huge" difference to the noise levels. I hope I haven`t jinxed it by saying this before the Hagen`s is replaced, but what else can it be,........as bigjohhno said.

[choombies]

Great to hear mate!
Sure was getting noisy when I was over.

[Mattymak]

glad to hear haha i hate noisy equipment !!

[AXIS]

my cheap chinese knockoff sun suns are pretty noisy.

I was having a look at the impellers the other day when I had them out and there's little chips and stuff all around it.


I'm thinking of replacing them if I can find some impellers, as I think that's the source of the noise given what you've said here

[tastyfish1980]

It will be the source of your noise axis. Frankly, if I hadn`t got the aqua One as a package deal (second hand; cheap) with tank etc, I would be still investing in Eheim or Fluval. By the time you add up costs of parts for these other brands and the extra power that they are rated at, compared to Eheim`s and Fluval`s, you are better off sourcing the higher priced one`s in the first place. Having said that, I think Aqua One have come along in leaps and bounds over the last few years and spare parts availability aren`t an issue. It still concerns me somewhat that these (others) can be rated at a fair amount higher in wattage.

[Juls]

You would be very silly to think you will be any less likely to have noise issues if you buy a eheim.

There is plenty of threads about that, impellers in those also go wack or arrive crap more often than you think. And 4-5 times more expensive to fix as well.

Filters have problems periodically regardless of cost. These days quality isn't what it once was.

Juls

[AXIS]

I'm trying to see what impellers I can buy for the sunsun 404a I have, and so far I'm not coming up with what I need. but surely they must be out there.

Anyone else better at googling than me?

[Bowdy]

Sunsun and cheap enough to just buy a whole new filter. Or Ditch them for an astro. Much better option

[Westie]

I'm trying to see what impellers I can buy for the sunsun 404a I have, and so far I'm not coming up with what I need. but surely they must be out there.

Anyone else better at googling than me?

Age of aquariums used to stock parts for sunsun, but as bowdy said can't go wrong with the astro

Try guppys online for sunsun parts

[tastyfish1980]

Update.......update! I got my new impeller ex east today, for the small Hagen (Fluval) external canister filter. Wunderbah! Amazing. The dining room is so quite now I can hear the food hitting the floor....lol. So once again, as bigjohhno said, "the only moving part is the impeller". I spotted a model of these Hagen Elite external filters on line. The shop is called Aquaticaddict, based in NSW and are selling their items on Ebay. It cost me $26.95, including postage. I contacted them and paid for the impeller Monday and it arrived by Aust Post today. So to those wanting possibly harder to locate parts for their filters, ask these peeps. Oh it`s soooo quite.

[AXIS]

My two new impellers arrived today as well. Finally managed to find a place that sold 404 sunsun impellers, (thanks for the guppy idea Jason, eventually got it from them)

(note emaling sunsun themselves was fricken useless, their advice was to "go to store")

first inspection the magnets are in MUCH better condition compared to the ones running now. Hopefully they will be quieter.


Is there anything else I should do when installing them? I dunno, lube em up or something?

Edited by AXIS, 21 November 2012 - 03:40 PM.

[Westie]

how does the old impellar come out? is it just magnetised?

[sandgroper]

Yes some are fairly strong , if you can't pull it out with your fingers use some pliers.