[perineum]

The aquarium I bought (used) came with two aquaclear 110 filters. The guy told me that he had sucked up some sand and that they were a little noisy now. They are more than a little noisy. My question is how loud, if at all, are these things when they are running well? I took the impeller out and cleaned it out in there as best I could. I don't see any loose sand anywhere but they sound awful. Does anyone have any experience taking these apart? Has anyone ever bought and used the aftermarket replacement parts?

 

[archer772]

I have used AC's and they were the quietest hob filter I have used. The sand probably caused problems with the impeller or should I say the magnet so I would try replacing one of them and see if that fixes it.

 

[perineum]

I have one ordered that I picked up from ebay for $65. I guess I can use the spare one to test on to see if I can't get it apart and find the problem.

 

[Mikolas]

You could have bought the impeller, the spinning thingy, separately to see if that was what was wrong.

If you are using sand as your substrate, you should put a sponge over the intake to prevent more sand to get caught into the filter, which will destroy it.

 

[perineum]

I had thought about buying the parts, but I don't see anything wrong with the impeller that is currently in there. I think I will just take more care to turn the filters off anytime I am going to stir up the sand.

 

[flyin-lowe]

I bought a brand new one for a 75 gallon tank and it is basically silent. I then bought 2 brand new ones for my 120g tank and they are quite a bit louder. It's not like they are noisy but I can hear them running when sitting anywhere near the tank. The one on the 75 gallon can't be heard unless the water is low. I think it might just be luck of the draw on some of these.
There are a great filter however.

 

[perineum]

Mine sound a little bit like someone is idling a lawn mower.

 

[shocktrp]

Take the impeller out & look at the metal "pole" in the motor itself - it should be perfectly smooth. If you can see any gouges in it this is your problem.

You can try contacting Hagen to get a replacement motor under warranty (not sure if they'll do it) or you can buy a replacement for about $35.00.

 

[flyin-lowe]

Mine has a slight hum, more like a hummingbird then a lawn mower.

 

[perineum]

Thanks for the tip shocktrp. Any idea about how to go about taking the motor off? I would think that its glued on to make it water tight.

 

[shocktrp]

Thanks for the tip shocktrp. Any idea about how to go about taking the motor off? I would think that its glued on to make it water tight.

The motor twists off from the bottom - turn it 90* & pull it down.

 

[AZDesertRat]

Make sure the rubber tips are on the shaft too or it will wobble and hit the sides of the motor windings.
If you remove the motor, make sure the O-Ring is clean when you reinstall it. A very small dab of vaseline or silicone grease rubbed on the O-Ring helps it go on easier and seal it up too.