Eheim 2213 low flow rate

[v_nod]

Hi guys,

Im running a 2 ft tank with an eheim 2213 for about 1.5 years. I did its first cleaning about 3 months back. Before that cleaning, the flow rate was good . After the cleaning, it was still good. About 3 weeks ago, I noticed that the flow rate had suddenly dropped to a trickle. I''ve cleaned out the pipes as much as possible, rinsed the medium and primed it proper. The flow rate is still miserable. One thing I noticed when I cleaned it today, was that the strength of the water coming from the outlet isn't as powerful as before (my pipe came loose and water pouring out of it). Any suggestions as to why the flow rate is low? Thanks in advance!

[Mystikboy]

Check the impeller?

[v_nod]

Check the impeller?

The impeller looked pretty clean when i checked. Now, I can feel the motor running but the water isn't moving at all; it's just stuck

[limz_777]

run a backwash , see how's the water flow out .

[Urban Aquaria]

Is the impeller moving? If there is no water movement it means the impeller could be stuck, either due to the impeller shaft or the top and bottom rubber grommets being mis-aligned, or maybe even the impeller covers not closed or secured properly.

Check it again and test run it dry (only run for a few seconds though, never longer). The impeller should spin freely, it may rattle abit, but should not jumping about in the housing or not moving at all.

[BFG]

Did you change the filter location?

[v_nod]

Did you change the filter location?

Hi BFG, nope, the location is the same location, directly under the tank

Is the impeller moving? If there is no water movement it means the impeller could be stuck, either due to the impeller shaft or the top and bottom rubber grommets being mis-aligned, or maybe even the impeller covers not closed or secured properly.

Check it again and test run it dry (only run for a few seconds though, never longer). The impeller should spin freely, it may rattle abit, but should not jumping about in the housing or not moving at all.

Hi Urban, I'll check the impeller again today, and do the dry test. If it's jumping around, does the impeller or the shaft have to be changed?

run a backwash , see how's the water flow out .

Hi Limz, how do you perform a backwash?

An update: For some reason, the water started to flow out in short bursts last night. And now it's dropping a drop a second.

[Urban Aquaria]

Hi Urban, I'll check the impeller again today, and do the dry test. If it's jumping around, does the impeller or the shaft have to be changed?

Yeah, sometimes if the impeller shaft or rubber grommets are somehow worn out or broken, the impeller will not be supported properly and either start spinning erratically or get stuck. If that's the case then have to change the faulty parts.

Btw, make sure the 2 rubber grommets are place one at the top and one at the bottom of the impeller shaft to secure it... don't just place 2 of them at the top as that will jam up the whole thing.

[v_nod]

Update: Yesterday, took out the impeller and gave it a thorough cleaning. Gave it a dry run, and it works well. I made sure that the tanks were as straight as possible and actually sucked water through the outlet pipe to prime (Urgh fish taste ). The water came started to flow out at a constant and slow flow (a big improvement) and the filter was quiet. About 24 hours later, the water is back to dripping. So frustrating! Could a change in media and pipes be necessary?

Yeah, sometimes if the impeller shaft or rubber grommets are somehow worn out or broken, the impeller will not be supported properly and either start spinning erratically or get stuck. If that's the case then have to change the faulty parts.

Btw, make sure the 2 rubber grommets are place one at the top and one at the bottom of the impeller shaft to secure it... don't just place 2 of them at the top as that will jam up the whole thing.

Thanks Urban for the advice, made sure that the rubber grommets are placed properly.

[Suzerolt]

Did you put the 2 plastic grates (top & bottom?).
If not, filter wool may get into the interior inlet/outlet causing it to choke.

[limz_777]

i usually run a backwash to remove bottom gunk , which is basically off the motor, just remove the bottom double tap which is the inlet pipe , then just drain water from there , the water flowing out should be smooth , if its ok and not block by any debris/gunk then most likely your motor problem

[BFG]

Update: Yesterday, took out the impeller and gave it a thorough cleaning. Gave it a dry run, and it works well. I made sure that the tanks were as straight as possible and actually sucked water through the outlet pipe to prime (Urgh fish taste ). The water came started to flow out at a constant and slow flow (a big improvement) and the filter was quiet. About 24 hours later, the water is back to dripping. So frustrating! Could a change in media and pipes be necessary?

Yucks..........if you decide to replace the hose, add an Eheim Installation Set at the input side of the hose to ease of adding in water to prime the canister filter. A bit pricey at $30++ but no more sucking and breathing of aquarium hose.

[v_nod]

Did you put the 2 plastic grates (top & bottom?).
If not, filter wool may get into the interior inlet/outlet causing it to choke.

Hi Suzerolt, yup, the top plastic grate is in place. I didn't know there's a bottom grate. I might change the cotton filter just to cancel out the possibility of it breaking down

i usually run a backwash to remove bottom gunk , which is basically off the motor, just remove the bottom double tap which is the inlet pipe , then just drain water from there , the water flowing out should be smooth , if its ok and not block by any debris/gunk then most likely your motor problem

Hi Limz, the last time I empty the filter, the water flowed out from the bottom tap quite smoothly but it had alot of stuff in it. Could it be a gunked-up media then?

Yucks..........if you decide to replace the hose, add an Eheim Installation Set at the input side of the hose to ease of adding in water to prime the canister filter. A bit pricey at $30++ but no more sucking and breathing of aquarium hose.

I've never heard of the Installation set, BFG. Is this found at Qian Hu? I'm guessing it's found in places that sell Eheim stuff exclusively

[v_nod]

Update: The filter is running weirdly, sometime today I saw the water had stopped moving again ( Urgh!! ). An hour later, without any intervention, it's running smooth-but-slow again (Eh? ). I'm thinking of taking proper steps to figure this out:

1) Observe the movement of water without the media basket (to eliminate motor problems)
2) Change out filter floss and charcoal bag and rinse out the other media to eliminate blocked media
3) Change pipes to remove pipe problems

I'm hoping this will work

[BFG]

V nod, most lfs do sell the Installation set. Check your hose size for compatibility. Petmart, Qian hu, Nature, C328 and others do sell this item. You need to look around. Google for the pictures.

[Forsalmon]

BFG, you talking about this? lhttp://www.eheim.asia/prod_e_acc_inst.html

[BFG]

Yes, that's the one I'm talking about. There are 2 types available, inlet & outlet.

[v_nod]

Update: I've finally had the time to give it another go and changed out the cotton media and carbon(suspect that it was breaking down and clogging) and changed the pipes. The flow rate is still slow, so I suspect it should be the pump head. Should I try changing the impeller, sending it for repairs (anyone knows where?) or buy a new pump head?

[Urban Aquaria]

You can get a replacement impeller from C328 and see if it fixes the issue, they have ready stock of eheim spare parts (and can also order most other parts if required).

If you need to repair it, then send to Qian Hu, they are the distributor for eheim products and will be able to check and quote you on repair costs.

Otherwise, if the repair costs end up too much, then it might be more cost effective to just buy a used (but working) 2213 instead.

[v_nod]

Problem Resolved!! It was an impeller problem after all. Didn't realise that the impeller unit isn't supposed to slide up and down the shaft. The impeller was worn out and got replaced. Now the filter is working wonderfully.

For those who may have the same problem (low flow rate from canister filter), I learnt that there are normally 2 problems that cause it:

1) A clogged up canister: make sure that your pipes are clean. Fuzz or slime could be blocking the flow of water. Also check your media basket. Cotton media and carbon break down easily and can clog it up as well. Make sure that the basket is not too full. And loosen up the ceramic rings if you are using them.

2) Impeller problem: clean up the impeller unit as well. Check that the shaft is not broken and the rubber grommets are in place. The main impeller unit (the magnet ring and the blades) is not supposed to move up and down the shaft. Do a dry run to make sure that the impeller is not jumping in the housing. If all else fails, trying changing out the impeller unit.

Hope this helps anyone else who finds this thread while seeking a solution. Thanks to all who have helped me with this long problem!