HELP! Fluval 404 Canister Filter Troubleshoot

B

Bgolfer88

AC Members
Feb 17, 2010
266
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16
Virginia
Just acquired a Fluval 404. At $20 I thought it to be a good deal until after 1 day it started malfunctioning. A clicking sound, kind of like a baseball card on the spokes of a bike, is coming from somewhere in the pump. The output hose also shakes. Water will come out of it in spurts.

I did turn it off and tried repriming it once. When I plugged it back in it worked normally for about as long as it took me to say "seems to be working now" then the same problem occured again.

PLZ HELP MEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

extra information: the output hose is kinda long but I don't think too long, it's on a 100 gallon, it's set up with a course pad, fine pads in the bottom 2 compartments, chemi-pure/activated carbon in the 3rd compartment, and biomax in the top. the filter was previously used on salt water and was (pretty) thoroughly cleaned before use.
 
Alright...I own the 304 and have never had that problem, but here is everything that I can think of off the top of my head.

Check the impeller for any damage, this includes hairline cracks and minute chips.
Check the impeller shaft for any damage or bends.
Try cleaning out the impeller well and the primer area.
Try spreading a small amount of vaseline on the impeller magnet (the round black/gray thing). With the lubricant, you should be able to turn the motor on outside of the filter and not hear any clattering.
Is your media plugged? It should not cause this, but check anyway.

That's about all that I can think of right now, but if I think of anything, I will let you know.
 
Sounds like the whole impeller assembly is worn out (impeller/magnet/shaft clearance) maybe even the impeller cover is damaged (not tight) or very dirty never scrubbed clean.

The ports and hoses may also be narrowed and restricted so you may have to soak them in water-bleach and then use a wire to pull a pipe cleaner though.

I bought two used 404's and one was years older then the other. First I disassembled all the parts and soaked them in a bucket with water-bleach overnight then scrubbed everything clean and ran pipe-cleaners through the hoses, valves and ports. Then reassembled everything with Vaseline where necessary (seals, valve-gates, connectors).

After that they both ran great, but that's all they did until I modified them.
http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=218613
 
my 404 was leaking, blowing air and rattling. i replaced the o-ring, impeller, shaft and impeller cover. now it runs great.

check the o ring is still soft and has not gone hard. mine was a bit hard so it wasnt sealing properly. check the whole impeller assembly. the piece of rubber holding the shaft in place fell out of mine and dissapeared, also my impeller cover was damaged and the impeller itself had worn out a bit.

what head height are you running the pump with?
 
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