# Marineland filter keeps breaking



## surferguy001 (Feb 6, 2010)

over the past two years i have had to replace about 6 marineland 400 filters because they just keep burning out somehow. i have a 55 gallon tank with 5 fish in them totaling about 20" of fish. i never overfeed them and never have algae buildup. i dont know why they keep breaking. is this just a bad brand?


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## Aulonocara_Freak (May 19, 2011)

I would recommend get an Aquaclear 70 or even better 2 X aquaclear 50's.


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## Mikecacho (Jul 9, 2011)

Are you trying to run them dry after a WC allowing them to self prime, if so that can ruin the filter.

My best bet since I use an Emperor 400 filter is, make sure the impeller shaft is clean and clear of algae build-up, as well as lime deposit build up in the shaft housing, it will cause the impeller to stop turning and all you might hear is a high pitch humming. If so clean the shaft and try to scrape off the lime deposit inside the impeller housing.


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## surferguy001 (Feb 6, 2010)

Mikecacho said:


> Are you trying to run them dry after a WC allowing them to self prime, if so that can ruin the filter.
> 
> No i never do that. Usually i just come back to my room and notice the filter is running dry and burnt out, randomly. About 6 times so far


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## Mikecacho (Jul 9, 2011)

if it is six seperate filters of the same make and model than i would definitly say its user error. The Emperor 400 filter is a great filter and i have been using one for years with the occasional deposit build up along the drive shaft walls causing it to not spin up once plugged in.


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## Grumblecakes (Feb 20, 2011)

I woke up the other morning and my ac50 was dry. Turns out some one spit sand into it and sized it up. Motor got hot and evaporated alot of the water. Maybe try a prefter?


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## smitty (May 7, 2004)

The only HOB filter I buy are Aquaclear. The only model I but is the 110.


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## PfunMo (Jul 30, 2009)

If it is running dry it would seem the only cause is somewhere in the intake. Possible there is an airstone shooting bubbles up the intake? With the number of Emperor 400 being used, it has to be a problem with the setup or maintenance. Check the intake tube for clogging. I find them to be a nuisance to maintain but very reliable as well. Dig out the manual and make sure you are following what it recommends.


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## surferguy001 (Feb 6, 2010)

no airstones. i have sand substrate but there is a huge rock below the intake so i dont think it sand getting in. the only logical think i can imagine is that the power at my house goes off and on frequently. could that be the cause?


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## PfunMo (Jul 30, 2009)

Maybe we need a bit more info. When you say they burn out, how do you mean? Plastic melting around the magnet hole or the coil burned to that current doesn't pass through? Other ways that they fail??? If there is no sign of over heating with the plastic melted but the coil of wire inside the motor is burned in two, I "mighht" be able to blame low voltage or surges from power outages, but that is really stretching it in my mind. You should have Tv, frig or other things go down far more often from that. When they "burn out" what do you see or find to call it that?


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## surferguy001 (Feb 6, 2010)

PfunMo said:


> Maybe we need a bit more info. When you say they burn out, how do you mean? Plastic melting around the magnet hole or the coil burned to that current doesn't pass through? Other ways that they fail??? If there is no sign of over heating with the plastic melted but the coil of wire inside the motor is burned in two, I "mighht" be able to blame low voltage or surges from power outages, but that is really stretching it in my mind. You should have Tv, frig or other things go down far more often from that. When they "burn out" what do you see or find to call it that?


well, after a power outage sometime the water flows out of the reservoir on the back of the filter and when the power kicks back on it runs dry and eventually just "hums" with nothing flowing through it. i noticed that a few times when the power went out while i was home and caught it in time, but usually the power goes out when im not home to refill the filter before it kicks back on


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## Ensorcelled (Mar 1, 2011)

I've been running 2 Emperor 400s for quite some time now. 1 of them for over 5 years and the other 2 years and I've never experienced this problem _unless_ the impeller has buildup on it from lack of maintenance (was mentioned above).

My other thought could be not a high enough water level in the tank? I know if you let your water drop pretty far down and the power goes out the siphon can break and then it will just sit there and chug and thus the burnout.


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## surferguy001 (Feb 6, 2010)

i do clean the filter/impeller every few water changes. i never let my water level get below the black rim around the top of the tank.

thanks for all the advice/opinions so far everybody


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## Ensorcelled (Mar 1, 2011)

Hmm if that's the case I would definitely go with what Pfunmo said and see if anything is blocking the intake or inside the intake tube?

If It were me I would completely tear everything apart and give it all a good scrub in the sink. 
Be sure to thoroughly clean out the Intake and the Bio Wheel Spray bars because you never know
what could be hiding in there possibly blocking something.


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## Mikecacho (Jul 9, 2011)

I assume you have 110V house power, is your output 220V which is typical for Europe, that would cause your filter to overheat, melt, or even catch fire.

Again, your filter is running dry, that means all the water has to evaporate out (which would take days to happen..., it will not just go empty once the intake is clogged or split above the water line. Now if you are using a power source not rated for the filter such as 220V the motor will definitly get really hot, causing evaporation over several hours.

What is your house output power? Remember some plugs are putting out 220v such as utility plugs (washer, dryer, stove, etc) but those plugs are set up completely different than the standard 110v in most cases, verify the output power of the plug bein used with a multimeter.

And no AC filters are not the fix, nothing against them (yes i use one and like it too), but the problem is not the filter.


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## Aulonocara_Freak (May 19, 2011)

surferguy001 said:


> PfunMo said:
> 
> 
> > Maybe we need a bit more info. When you say they burn out, how do you mean? Plastic melting around the magnet hole or the coil burned to that current doesn't pass through? Other ways that they fail??? If there is no sign of over heating with the plastic melted but the coil of wire inside the motor is burned in two, I "mighht" be able to blame low voltage or surges from power outages, but that is really stretching it in my mind. You should have Tv, frig or other things go down far more often from that. When they "burn out" what do you see or find to call it that?
> ...


If that is the case and the power goes on and off you might want to buy a back-up generator which will kick in when the power goes out. If that's to pricey get a Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS), most people use them for computer's, they are $10-70 and will also work.


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## Ensorcelled (Mar 1, 2011)

Mikecacho said:


> I assume you have 110V house power, is your output 220V which is typical for Europe, that would cause your filter to overheat, melt, or even catch fire.
> 
> Again, your filter is running dry, that means all the water has to evaporate out (which would take days to happen..., it will not just go empty once the intake is clogged or split above the water line. Now if you are using a power source not rated for the filter such as 220V the motor will definitly get really hot, causing evaporation over several hours.
> 
> ...


Excellent advice that I completely didn't think about . I would definitely give this a shot in the
process of elimination.


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## Mikecacho (Jul 9, 2011)

The filter is not burning up because of an occassional power outage, the Emperor 400 will retain plenty of water once it loses power in the two reservoirs to prime itself once the power comes back on; with proper maintnance techniques i can guarantee that. My Emperor 400 always self primes once i unplug it to do a water change, because there is enough water in the two reservoirs for that to happen.



Aulonocara_Freak said:


> surferguy001 said:
> 
> 
> > PfunMo said:
> ...


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## surferguy001 (Feb 6, 2010)

when i clean the filter i take mostly everything apart and use a long cylindrical wire brush to clean the spray bar and the hard to reach areas. the outlet is 110v. i have it on an aquarium power strip with built in timer for the lights and normal plugs for the heater and filter. I ordered the aquaclear 70 but i still want to try to figure out what is wrong so it doesnt happen again. i hve a 29 gallon aquarium next to it that has a HOB filter and have not replaced it in 3+ years. and i have a 129 gallon with a canister in the living room that has not had any problems in over a year either. the other filters that have not needed to be replaced ARE NOT made by marineland


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## PfunMo (Jul 30, 2009)

Definitely sounds like the intake is restricted. When the power is off, the water will only drain down to the lip of the container. That leaves plenty of water for the impeller to restart pulling water from the tank if it is anywhere close to normal tank level. One thing that can happen if the impeller is not kept clean is for it to stick. It can continue to run while spinning but when the power goes off and it sets a while, they sometimes can't start up again if they are not clean. I would take the center unit out of the container and look it over carefully. Wipe off any gunk and clean the tube. Then use a light to look down in the well where the impeller sets and clean it. You may need to use a long sharp stick or such to get down into this little space to really get it clean. With the motor humming, there power is there. Don't worry about the 110/220 question. If you plug a 110 motor into 220, you will know it real quick. If the impeller spins freely and there is water there, it only needs the tube clear to work fine after power failures. After turning the power off, it may gurgle and choke for a while but restart when it sucks enough water from the tank. Best of luck. These are good reliable filters but there is some small item missing here.


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## Mikecacho (Jul 9, 2011)

PfunMo said:


> Definitely sounds like the intake is restricted. When the power is off, the water will only drain down to the lip of the container. That leaves plenty of water for the impeller to restart pulling water from the tank if it is anywhere close to normal tank level. One thing that can happen if the impeller is not kept clean is for it to stick. It can continue to run while spinning but when the power goes off and it sets a while, they sometimes can't start up again if they are not clean. I would take the center unit out of the container and look it over carefully. Wipe off any gunk and clean the tube. Then use a light to look down in the well where the impeller sets and clean it. You may need to use a long sharp stick or such to get down into this little space to really get it clean. With the motor humming, there power is there. Don't worry about the 110/220 question. If you plug a 110 motor into 220, you will know it real quick. If the impeller spins freely and there is water there, it only needs the tube clear to work fine after power failures. After turning the power off, it may gurgle and choke for a while but restart when it sucks enough water from the tank. Best of luck. These are good reliable filters but there is some small item missing here.


Already mentioned info.


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## PfunMo (Jul 30, 2009)

When you say you take mostly everything apart, do you take the impeller cover off and take the impeller out of the well and clean under it? That is a good spot for gunk to collect. It neds cleaned both in the spot where the magnet sets as well as where the blades set. Major complaint with me when I have to drag the whole unit off the back and fully clean it but if I don't, it may not start.


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## Hercules Rockefeller (Jul 18, 2011)

smitty said:


> The only HOB filter I buy are Aquaclear. The only model I but is the 110.


+1, I have an AC 50 and there's no way that little thing can filter a 29g tank on it's own let alone a 50g tank. I'd go with an AC110 or a cheap canister instead of another HOB if I were you. Those bio wheels on the Marineland HOB's are junk anyway.


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