Just bought a Gex HOF because many said it's a good HOF. I have some questions regarding this filter.
1) Is it suppose to be silent? ie, can you hear any sound coming from the impellar when it's running?...like some kind of intermittent grr...grrr.. sound ...
2) when you trun down the flow rate, is the grr....grr...grr... sound supposed to get louder?
The sound seems to be coming from the impellar, ie, it's not the sound when it's filling up with water.
Advice needed before I bring back for exchange.
If you have air trapped in the impeller's chamber, you will usually get some sound. A little shake will help to release the trapped air, if there's any.
Check whether the impeller shaft is broken or mis-aligned. Likewise check if the impeller has any damage, either to the blades or the magnet itself. If you have a magnet with a chipped edge, it might be causing the sound as well. If all checks are OK, then restart the filter. If the sound persists, you should get a change.
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Mine does this once in awhile, slight shake, and reseat the cover of the unit and it should go away.
I keep my flow rate at almost maximum all the time though, I've been using this unit for almost a year with no issues, quite happy with it,
buy the filter replacement cartridges in 3 packs and the cost of running it is really not too bad.
When you reduce the flow rate gradually, do you get a grrr grrr ...sound that becomes louder and louder until when it's at the minimum, it makes the loudest noise?
I couldn't reduce the flow to the minimum because of the noise.
In addition, when I first on the filter, there is a very loud noise like the impeller hitting a surface until when the water fill up completely then the noise becomes lesser. I still hear some noise from the impeller unless I put the flow at maximum.
I will probably bring back for exchange if the sound still persist.
Last edited by minute_me; 3rd Nov 2009 at 01:51.
Are there suppose to be a small gap allowance between the impeller and the end of the shaft ?Originally Posted by stormhawk
I have an older internal filter which is also making similar noise recently.
Nope there shouldn't be a gap. The shaft is the small rod on which the impeller rotates. Check to see if it's firmly in place, or whether it is broken/bent or tilted. Usually if there's noise it's either trapped air, or a damaged shaft/impeller.
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Actually what I meant by the "gap" is I can move the impeller about 2 to 3 mm along the axis of the shaft. I suspect because of the small gap, when the impeller rotates, it moves along the axis (the 2 to 3 mm gap) which cause the noise (different from that of trapped air). When the flow is reduced, the impeller moves (slower?) thus causing the impeller to move up and down the axis making it come into contact with the surface.
Anyway, thanks, will bring it to the LFS for exchange.
i am using a GEX M HOF filter.
your sound seems abnormal. please check the seating of the impeller.
however, as compared to eden 501 or shiruba types, its is definitely more noisy!
the sound mainly comes from:
1) the cover - very serious vibration when not placed properly, slight humming even if you do so. solution : don't use the cover or put blue tac between cover and the filter.
2) the humming of the motor - I have a mini canister filter shiruba and GEX HOF side by side in my bedroom. once I turn on the aircon and all is quiet, I can only hear the humming of the GEX motor.
3) for M and L models, they come with the air intake. The choking sound of air intake makes even more noise. Best not to use it at all.
I recommend mini canister filter if you can, especially if you place your tank in your bedroom and you are a light sleeper!
minute_me
I not sure of the extent of your sound from the filter. but you need to take note all moving parts make noise. it might not be spoilt.
The sound sounds like a rotating mechanism (ie the impeller) coming in contact with a surface. Definitely not the sound of motor running. It's definitely not normal. I have a $7 Sun Sun mini HOF which doesn't make similar sound. Gex HOF can't be worse than the Sun Sun brand.
It could be like what you said. The gap between the shaft and the impeller's inner part might also be the cause. These HOF do usually make a small sound, usually unnoticeable. If it was too loud then you might have a defective filter.
Understandably, one would think that GEX would make great aquarium products, but I think I've heard the sound from the GEX filters during Aquarama. Between all the small filters, both internal and external I've used so far, the Eden 316 is the quietest.
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I brought the filter back and the shop owner tested it out in his shop. It was much quieter and noiseless at max flow and the noise is lesser when the flow rate turned to the minimum. There was no filter pad or medium inside the filter.
I asked if adding medium (ceramic rings) would cause the noise but he said no.
I exchanged for a new one. I have the same problem when I hook it up to my aquarium when i got home (with additional filter medium).
Do you guys put ceramic rings in front and back of the filter pad supplied? Apparently adding additional medium effectively reduced the flow which is the same as turning down the flow rate of the filter, therefore causing the noise.
For those who add additional medium, when you turn down the flow rate, do you get a grr grr grr noise?
I used to add additional filter media to my HOF, but I stopped doing it when it was severely impacting the filter performance. The noise increased but was tolerable, but the motor got damaged soon after. Maybe that GEX filter motor cannot handle the extra work of pushing the water through the extra media. Maybe you should switch to other media, say another sponge pad, instead of the ceramic rings or just don't add extra stuff altogether. Usually the stuff we get in the filter package is the "optimum" amount of media for the HOF to work.
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I bought the gex filter partly because some people here said that it's a good filter with lots of space for additional media like ceramic rings. Also partly because I need a HOF with higher flow rate even though my current mini sun sun HOF is doing quite well keeping the water clear in my 1 ft.
I prefer hearing sound of water splashing rather then sound of motor running. Will try to reduce the number of ceramic rings to see if the noise level go down. Otherwise I might just sell it away.
I think when it comes to less noise, the Eheim HOFs are a good bet. C328 has one running for one of the tanks with plants, and it's fairly quiet.
Fish.. Simply Irresistable
Back to Killies... slowly.
I have seen quite a few HOFs running in LFS without the noise that I am getting with my GEX HOF. I was told by the seller that it's normal (for the GEX HOF) to have louder noise when you turn down the flow rate and it must be set at certain flow for noise to be minimal. Surely this defeats the purpose of having the flow control. The noise is not the swooshing sound. I have no experience with other brand of HOF exept the sun sun one which does not make that kind of noise even when I turn down the flow to the minimum.
So for those using GEX HOF (and other brands), I would like to know if you get a clunking noise when you turn down the flow to the minimum? Is it worse with additional filter media?
I used some cheap Taiwan or China brand HOF, but never encountered the clunking noise even with a lower flowrate. But I did not stuff the HOF with extra media. Just an extra sponge pad and that was it.
There was once where I had another HOF, brand which I don't remember, but it did have the clunky noise when I changed the flowrate.
Fish.. Simply Irresistable
Back to Killies... slowly.
I'm using 3 eheim 150 currently with additonal media such as ceramic rings and biohomes. Absolutely quiet. All you hear is just water splashing. Highly recommended.
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