Noisy AC Mini

[Aquarius0015]

My new AC Mini is substantially noisier when the lid is on. For right now I am keeping it off to appease the roommate, but I don't want this as a permanent basis because air contaminants (aerosols, Febreze, etc) could enter the tank this way. Plus, when I go home, my cats will have a field day playing with the filter water.

Edit: Duh, I forgot to ask a question- How do I fix this? I've only heard good things about AquaClear.

[blitzen25bm]

is it ratting? it shouldnt be, make sure its seated right and the clip things are on. try putting a mousepad on top of it, that worked to absord all the humming from my filters.

[djdk]

Also, make sure that the intake tube is pushed down as far as it can go. I found that my lid rattled when the intake tube was in contact with the lid.

[Aquarius0015]

The intake tube is down as far as it can go. I tried playing with it to no avail.

I don't know about any clip things, but the filter is positioned correctly on the side of the tank. The mousepad trick didn't work, but then again the filter is too small for my mousepad.

It seems to me the noise is already present, but the lid closes it in, and it has nowhere to go. Does this make sense?

[Aquarius0015]

Also, when the filter is on high, water sort of "backwashes" out of the chamber with impeller and is presumably leaving without being filtered. Is this normal?

[kooter]

I would try cleaning out your propeller chamber. I have an aquaclear 200 for my 33 gallon....I love it! I have had it for approx. 5 yrs. with no trouble. When water starts "backwashing" out where the intake tube is, this means your foam and/or charcoal/ammonia bags need cleaning. The water can't pass through the dirty media, so it backwashes out the other side.
My recommendation would be to take the whole system apart and clean the intake tubes, propeller chamber, and rinse the media really good. I use a Q-tip for the propeller chamber and a wire trumpet valve cleaner for the tubes! :D Also make sure your propeller chamber is seated properly. On my smaller tank, I use to have a rattle as well.....only to find out my airline tube from the airpump was touching the power cord to the water filter! Just something else to think about.:cool:

[Aquarius0015]

I hope it's an cleaning issue. I haven't thought too much about that. But if it's only 3 days old and needs cleaning already maybe something is wrong with my tank.

[bozco]

I had to roll up a bit of paper to make mine quieter. Its wedged beteen the filter and the glass to keep the filter parralel to the tank. Without the paper there my filter tilted backwards and rattled against the glass. I have noticed though that my mini is a little noisier than my 200.