help me sleep tonight... bio wheel 350 noise

Fresh250

Fresh250

Fishaholic
May 5, 2009
314
0
0
Massachusetts, USA
For the last few days my bio-wheel 350 has been making this awful noise... i dont know what the heck it is but it gets better/worse as i move the impeller assembly up or down... the worst when its down... i have cleaned the whole thing and its still making this noise... the other one that i have on the opposite side of the tank is so quiet i can barely hear it when my head is right next to it but the other i can hear across the room... almost like when you rub a wet finger against glass how it makes that noise... but amplified... any ideas on what i should try next?
 
Also try lifting up or down on the siphon tube a tad. Also make sure the bio wheel cover is on correctly and not rattling against something else. make sure it all level and make sure you didn't get any debris in the Impeller housing like a piece of carbon that fell out of the filter insert. Sand can also get sucked up inside especially if you recently put in new sand that was suspended and which if not cleaned out the first couple of weeks after new sand can damage the impeller on any filter.

When I put in my new sand it took a month before the sand was saturated enough to keep from being picked up from currents. After that period the sand stayed put but I was cleaning sand out of my impeller housings off and on during that period.
 
Well...seems to me the only things that COULD squeak are the biowheel and the impeller.

I'm assuming you've already cleaned the impeller well (hole) with a toothbrush or bottle brush and it's not just rubbing. Also assuming it's not the bio wheel squeaking. Easy enough to check, just remove the wheel or stop it from rotating.

Also make sure the intake seals well, as previously suggested.

How about a good inspect/clean of the impeller?

Remove the impeller from the filter. Hold it in front of you and note which way it is pointing. Pull ONE endcap off and slide the impeller off the shaft. Burnish/polish the shaft with a scotchbrite pad (or generic equivalent). You might be surprised what comes off. If the shaft is really rough some 600 or even 400 wet/dry sandpaper may be in order...but try the pad first.

Reassemble the impeller OPPOSITE the direction you took it apart...that way the bearing surfaces will be in new territory. The impeller should spin freely and easily (and quietly!) on the shaft. If not, try again or get a new impeller.

Since you have another of the same filter you could try swapping impellers too.

I highly recommend a sponge prefilter on your intake tube. It will help your impeller last longer.


...for one night you could just unplug the noisy filter and deal with it tomorrow...
 
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well i have already cleaned the whole thing... bottle brush on hard to reach places... and cleaned the impeller quite well... the only thing that anyone has mentioned that made a difference was moving the intake tube up/down... does this mean that the intake tube is not making a good seal around the impeller tube... if so... how should i make the fit tighter?
 
There ain't much to it....only 2 moving parts.

Did you try stopping the biowheel in case THAT was squeaking?

Did you disassemble the impeller...or just brush it? corrosion or crud on the shaft can interfere with the rotation of the impeller.

If it's definitely not the biowheel, you could swap impellers and/or intake tubes between the two boxes to isolate the problem.
 
Well when I bought my Penguin 350 it made a funny noise and after inspecting the impeller shaft I discovered it was slightly bend by rolling it one the table, had a slight wobble. Called Marineland and after 2 phone calls that it was on its way and 3 emails up the chain of command becasue it never showed, I finally got them to send me the part 60 days later becasue I think they were skeptical that such a thing could happen. Ironically by the time I had received the new impeller the old impeller was broken in slight wobble and all and dead silent and haven't had a peep out of it since. The new part is in storage.
 
Hi Everyone! My First post.
My penguin 350 seized up today! It's 19 mo old. 29 gal saltwater, liverock/fish. After disassembly ,cleaning reassembly, I found the impeller will not turn if there is any pressure applied to it. Tried w/ water then disassembled and tried dry...impeller turns(noisily and wbbly!) until I touch it- stops. Seems the motor has no power..or is it the impeller? There was alot of sand in the bottom of the casing...have a damsel that likes to move sand around his house!!!! Is the 3 yr warranty shot( i don't have the receipt) I think this is just wishful thinking...
 
sand could have chewed up your impellor and caused damage id call marineland and see if they will send a new impellor or just buy one online. no reciept almost always means they wont honor warranty some companies will but most wont in my experience.
i bought a small plastic box with a lid i throw all reciepts in for aquarium items so when i need some warranty work i got everything in the box and its no hassle.
 
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