For Christmas, I was given a Penguin 100. I set it up, plugged it in, and it made a loud grinding sound. After about an hour this stopped and everything seemed to be fine. The next day, I unplugged it to do a water change and when I plugged it back in, it just didn't work. Today, I took it back to Petsmart and they replaced it no problem. Once again, I set it up and plugged it in exactly as the instructions told me and once again, it made the same noise for about an hour. This time, it didn't get quieter, it got louder. It has been running for over 3 hours now and the sound hasn't gotten any better. I can hear it over everything including music and the tv. Is this normal? Should I return it yet again? Or is there something I can do to quiet it down?

I have the 200 on my tank. I have to completely fill it for it to start pumping or it cavitates. You may want to check the impeller for any obstructions.

Thanks for replying. :D I think my boyfriend may have fixed it. Something in it was loose. It is still making a bit of a grinding noise, but nowhere near as loud as before. I made sure to fill it completely and it started with no problem. The noise from this thing is just awful though. I can't hear it too much with the fan on now, but is the sound going to go away, or is it just something I need to get used to?

The only sound you should be hearing from the filter is the water coming out of it, unless you are right on top of it. if the motor is making that much noise then more likely than not something is in the impeller housing. What substrate are you using?

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75 Gallon Planted

Ughh. I really hope I didn't get ANOTHER broken filter from Petsmart. I used just plain black gravel. I took the whole thing apart and put it back together. There is definitely nothing stuck in there. Like I said, we were able to quiet it down a lot, but I can still hear it across the room. Is there anything else I can try or should I just return it yet again. If I need to return, I'm definitely going to try an Aquaclear.

You might try hitting it with a hammer while yelling "SHUT UP" at it. If that doesn't work then exchange it for an Aquaclear.

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75 Gallon Planted

Lol. I am seriously to that point. I have never had a filter that annoyed me this much. I'm about to put the piece of junk no name filter that came with my bookshelf aquarium back on it. I will try to put up with the noise for the rest of the day, and if I can't get it to work, it is going straight back.

Get the Aquaclear. I stopped trying to make Penguins quiet.

Two common problems come to mind... grit in the impeller housing or.. (this has happened more than once).. the shank on the impeller is bent. Creates quite a racket... Good luck... I'll take it off your hands if ya want!... Bill in Va.

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12 Tanks, 900 gallons. Discus/Angels/Malawi/Lake Victorias. Just added a 135 & 2 - 29's..

So I went back to Petsmart today and one of the guys working was very helpful. He tried to fix it for me and we thought he had succeeded. Petsmart must have been too loud because when I brought it home, nothing had changed and the same loud grinding sound was coming from it. So back to Petsmart I went.

I do have good news though. After an annoying day of trying to fix the filter, the problem was finally solved. The solution? I went back to Petsmart and got an AquaClear. It is totally silent and seems to be running great. Thanks for all the replies and suggestions. :D