Fluval 404 Leak after filter maintenance

Mulla

Mulla

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May 16, 2003
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Hi All,

I've got a Fluval 404 for around 5+ years and it's been running flawlessly without missing a beat. During the past 3 filter maintenance that I've done I've noticed there's a very slow trickle of water coming out at the bottom corner of one of the slide clamps.

To fix this I would need to open it up and reseat the "head unit" several times before the leak would stop. It's as if it's not seating properly until after several attempts.

I've looked at the o-ring and it still looks like it's in a "healthy" state (sorry didn't know which word to use) :) Tho I haven't vaslined it as I have read some people do as part of their maintenance tasks.

What's the best way for me to ensure leaks doesn't happen next time I do a filter maintenance? Should my first attempt be to try and replace the o-ring and see what happens?

Thanks heaps in advance.
 
It is possible that the o-ring is starting to harden and shrink. First off, since you described that your o-ring is still in good shape, I would try to put a lubricant on the o-ring as that would soften it up and restore its seal. Also, though people use vasoline, vasoline isn't safe for some rubber used in o-rings. To be safe, I use an o-ring lubricant designed for pool filters. But it just might be time to replace that o-ring. Five years is a good amount of time.
 
Thanks for the quick response!!! I might just get a new o-ring and be over and done with, they're not too expensive I gather. I certainly won't complain if I have to replace a giant rubber band once every 5 years or so :)
 
use vegetable oil to lube the O-ring try removing it and the side you cant see may be the problem
 
Thanks everyone for sharing your experience and tips. Leak finally stopped after reseating it twice this time round. I might just leave it as it until the next maintenance to check the o ring properly and lube or replace.

Yer now it's always sits in a bucket with weekly checks to ensure no further leaks. Learned that after the first leak occured resulting in a soggy carpet :(
 
New O-rings are cheep... Over the time you have had yours it may have started shrink or get less round or a variety of other things, I'd just replace it and see if that fixes it. I keep a spare o-ring and spare impeller for my 305/405 just in case.

If you want to salvage yours... any type of oil is not good on it over time... the O-ring is silicon rubber.. and as such the proper lubricant is silicon grease. Because it is in contact with the water in a very minor fashion I use a food grade silicon grease (read 100% silicon with no anti-fungals or anything else added) ... get it mail order or in person at restaurant supply, they use it to lube o-rings in commercial food equipment. LFS might carry some...

Robert
 
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