2 weeks ago the power filter (20g topfin) started making a grating noise during the night i got out of bed and while half asleep played around with it and lifted the tube up a little and the noise stopped. in the morning i pushed it down and the noise came back so i gave it a good clean with a tooth brush (no not mine!) it was very clean anyway but it didnt help the noise but it still work well while not being pushed in all the way.



trouble is now it's making the same noise no matter how far it's pushed in

i've stripped it down and there isn't any lime or gung build up

can it be fixed or are the filter really cheap? it's 6 months old

It sounds to me like either the impeller or the bearing surfaces it runs on are worn out.

Rick

normal sign of wear and tear..

not really worn actually,, jus that the lubricationg is gone.. especially been used for a while.. it is normal.. bear with it.. u will get used to it..

for mine, it will produce grinding sound everytime I clean up my bio wheels.. it loses the layer of slippery coat thus friction cause the sound.. but it will be gone after a few days.. but performance drops once the layer of slippery coating gets too thick.. so it becomes a normal cycle for me to clean then noisy and quiet after a few days..

dun worry too much.. most importantly, does it still serve your need.. does it still kep the tank as clean as before.. has the performance dropped greatly.. need any parts replacement.. only replace it completely when it is not functioning to your expectation and no parts available..

cheers

When I used to run a whisper filter on one of my tanks it suddenly started making an annoying noise that would go away when I lifted the tube a bit. I solved the problem by putting a piece of material between the tube and where the bend in it rested against the filter box (filter floss or pad material would be excellent for this purpose). I had to play around with it a bit to get it in the right position for the noise to go away, but it did go away. Maybe you can try this. Good luck!

It seems to have settled down a bit, every few days it grinds a bit so i jiggle the tube which sorts it out. I can live with it, just