Fluval experience?

Mellie101 wrote:
Hello, I have a Fluval 404 which is about 4 months old. I've read that
eventually the output becomes less and less and the pipes need
cleaning. A few weeks ago I rinsed my pads from the filter and
reconnected it all up. When it started it spat out a small amount of
'matter' no idea what. I've noticed that there doesn't feel as much
pressure coming from the outlet pipe. I'm very worried about cleaning
the pipes, will wait till hubby is off. Has anybody else had a problem
with this? Are the pipes easy to clean, disconnect, reconnect. Really
love the filter, feel like its doing a great job.

Thanks
Mellie


In my experience the biggest cause of decreased flow with my fluvals is
a blocked inlet valve...clean that and everything goes back to
normal....they can get quite gunked up - dead plant matter and
algae...I've learnt from experience that the things pull apart which
makes washing and cleaning easier...I've never had any problems with
flow that isn't related to this valve...You do need to turn off the pump
to clean it and it is a pain to prime it again after...the new Fluval
FX5 is a dream as it self primes...

I get a lot of gunge coming out of the pipes as well when I maintain the
404, 304 and 204 pumps that I have...I try to wash out everything to try
and reduce this and refill the canister with treated water but it
happens anyway...I'm not sure how often this happens with other filters
but rather suspect it is still the case...a few months ago I remember
someone suggesting putting something fine across the outlet pipe to
catch the gunge (like a stocking toe) and I don't recall it was a Fluval
which makes me think that it is a generic issue. I usually let the gunge
settle and then use a plain vac (not a syphon) - Marina Multi Vac...just
to clean up what has come out of the filter...but I'm sure a heel of a
stocking would do just the same...

Gill

On Thu, 06 Apr 2006 00:42:41 +0100, Gill Passman
wrote:

I agree with Gill on this, it is my experience as well.

"Gill Passman" wrote in message
...
Mellie101 wrote:
Hello, I have a Fluval 404 which is about 4 months old. I've read
that
eventually the output becomes less and less and the pipes need
cleaning. A few weeks ago I rinsed my pads from the filter and
reconnected it all up. When it started it spat out a small amount of
'matter' no idea what. I've noticed that there doesn't feel as much
pressure coming from the outlet pipe. I'm very worried about cleaning
the pipes, will wait till hubby is off. Has anybody else had a
problem
with this? Are the pipes easy to clean, disconnect, reconnect.
Really
love the filter, feel like its doing a great job.

Thanks Mellie


In my experience the biggest cause of decreased flow with my fluvals is
a blocked inlet valve...clean that and everything goes back to
normal....they can get quite gunked up - dead plant matter and
algae...I've learnt from experience that the things pull apart which
makes washing and cleaning easier...I've never had any problems with
flow that isn't related to this valve...You do need to turn off the
pump to clean it and it is a pain to prime it again after...the new
Fluval FX5 is a dream as it self primes...

I get a lot of gunge coming out of the pipes as well when I maintain
the 404, 304 and 204 pumps that I have...I try to wash out everything
to try and reduce this and refill the canister with treated water but
it happens anyway...I'm not sure how often this happens with other
filters but rather suspect it is still the case...a few months ago I
remember someone suggesting putting something fine across the outlet
pipe to catch the gunge (like a stocking toe) and I don't recall it was
a Fluval which makes me think that it is a generic issue. I usually let
the gunge settle and then use a plain vac (not a syphon) - Marina Multi
Vac...just to clean up what has come out of the filter...but I'm sure a
heel of a stocking would do just the same...

Gill


Canister filters slowing down from clogged strainers or clogged media is
quite typical. Algae & gunk collecting in the hoses, and getting blown
into the water also happens with all manufacturers. When they use
transparent or tinted hoses, you tend to get more sheet algae blown into
the tank. When they use ribbed (corrugated) hoses (such as the Fluval
X04 series), then is appears to be mulm. Other than cosmetic, it's not
really bad. That stuff was already in your water, just hidden away.

In applications where I can keep the hoses in the dark, I prefer the
smooth hoses (they just get a little algae where the hose goes under the
lights. When there is any light, I prefer the opaque hoses such as the
ones used by Fluval. The amount of mulm blown out really varies by
set-up, and I'm not sure what the variables are. Sometimes, there is a
lot of blow off after a filter cleaning, and in other tanks, I don't see
anything for years.
--
www.NetMax.tk

Here is a trick to start the Fluval without prime it.

Fill the cannister with water (treated of course) all the way up, then
tip it to the side a bit. Top it up again.

Connect the pipes and it starts without any prime. Give it a try next
time Gill. It may save you some pain. :-)


Mellie101 wrote:
Hello, I have a Fluval 404 which is about 4 months old. I've read that
eventually the output becomes less and less and the pipes need
cleaning. A few weeks ago I rinsed my pads from the filter and
reconnected it all up. When it started it spat out a small amount of
'matter' no idea what. I've noticed that there doesn't feel as much
pressure coming from the outlet pipe. I'm very worried about cleaning
the pipes, will wait till hubby is off. Has anybody else had a problem
with this? Are the pipes easy to clean, disconnect, reconnect. Really
love the filter, feel like its doing a great job.

Thanks
Mellie


In my experience the biggest cause of decreased flow with my fluvals is
a blocked inlet valve...clean that and everything goes back to
normal....they can get quite gunked up - dead plant matter and
algae...I've learnt from experience that the things pull apart which
makes washing and cleaning easier...I've never had any problems with
flow that isn't related to this valve...You do need to turn off the pump
to clean it and it is a pain to prime it again after...the new Fluval
FX5 is a dream as it self primes...

I get a lot of gunge coming out of the pipes as well when I maintain the
404, 304 and 204 pumps that I have...I try to wash out everything to try
and reduce this and refill the canister with treated water but it
happens anyway...I'm not sure how often this happens with other filters
but rather suspect it is still the case...a few months ago I remember
someone suggesting putting something fine across the outlet pipe to
catch the gunge (like a stocking toe) and I don't recall it was a Fluval
which makes me think that it is a generic issue. I usually let the gunge
settle and then use a plain vac (not a syphon) - Marina Multi Vac...just
to clean up what has come out of the filter...but I'm sure a heel of a
stocking would do just the same...

Gill

fish lover wrote:
Here is a trick to start the Fluval without prime it.

Fill the cannister with water (treated of course) all the way up, then
tip it to the side a bit. Top it up again.

Connect the pipes and it starts without any prime. Give it a try next
time Gill. It may save you some pain. :-)



I've tried filling it with treated water but didn't top them up more
than once...thanks I'll give it a go