# How Loud Should a Fluval 405 Be?



## watercrawl (Sep 24, 2010)

Just curious....we bought a Fluval 405 canister and have it on our 40 gallon. The stand is open, so the canister sits "out" so to speak. At least it is not within a cabinet. I can hear a constant noise from it. Not loud enough to be really bad, but I thought it would be quieter. How loud are these things normally? Should I be able to hear anything at all, or is a constant low running noise normal?

We also have an Emperor 280 HOB too and I cannot hear it running at all if it were not for the falling water sound it makes.


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## davecshrode (Jul 7, 2010)

from my experience cannister filters should be "seen and not heard" if you know what i mean...you said bought...new or used?
I had an open stand a few months back and the only way i heard it was if the house was dead quiet (dont happen that much) or if i was on the floor level...
so in short the noise should be slight hum...unless there is air trapped in cannister, then you will hear swooshing or if impellar is damaged, improperly installed or has sand caught in it...
Hope that helps :wink:


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## KiDD (Aug 20, 2010)

If you have it sitting flat on the wood it might amplify the sound. I used a mouse pad and set my Floval 305 on it I don't hear anything even right up on it. : )


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## watercrawl (Sep 24, 2010)

Thanks guys....I'll shoot Fluval a message and see if they can help.


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## hcubed (Sep 3, 2010)

I just bought a brand new Fluval 405 only because my Fluval 403 had developed a rattle too loud to tolerate. I'm very I have super-human hearing. The setup is 6 feet from my bed and I live in the country with a quiet house most of the time. The filter is enclosed in the stand. I was very frustrated when my brand new Fluval 405 made a hum and a rattle. After 2 or 3 days, though, the rattle went away and left only the low hum. I figure anything with a moving part and rushing water has to make some noise (as much as I hate it). Anyway, the hum isn't bad. I can live with it.

I just wanted to add my two cents worth in case it's helpful.


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## LSBoost (Jan 21, 2010)

The rattling can be fix by plugging and unplugging the filter for a couple of times. I don't think you can fix the humming, I don't own a fluval 405 so I don't know. My other canister filter is quiet with no hum.


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## gmaschke (Aug 23, 2008)

they get air in the canister. The new Fluval FX5 shuts down for 2 minutes every 24 hours and my FX5 is extremely quite. But when I open it up and clean it every 6 mo or so and then turn it back on its a little bit louder for a day or so.

That said unplug it for 2-3 minutes every 12 to 24 hours for a few days see if that helps.

By the way I had a couple 405's and mine were quite quiet.


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## cgmark (Aug 18, 2010)

I can only hear mine if I put my head near it. I did modify it just a bit though.


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## hcubed (Sep 3, 2010)

cgmark:


> I did modify it just a bit though.


Please elaborate. You have my curiosity up.


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## cgmark (Aug 18, 2010)

hcubed said:


> cgmark:
> 
> 
> > I did modify it just a bit though.
> ...


The fluval 405/305/205 have what I consider to be a design flaw. The space between the intake for the pump to return water and the top of the filter media trays is about 1/4" too much. That means water coming in to be filtered can go right back out to the tank bypassing the filter media and it will. 
Some people pull up the sponge filters higher in an attempt to eliminate it but it doesn't because the water will force the sponge back down.

The solution is to make a washer to go on top of the filter meda tray where it meets the top pump intake. It needs to be rubber or foam and just thick enough to make up the space difference. You can tell if it is too thick because the top will be hard to press down. I use foam rubber sold for crafts. It compresses easily and forms a nice seal.

After doing this the filters ability to keep the tank clean improved a bunch. This really doesn't have anything to do with noise though, but mine is totally silent.

edit: It could be lowering the noise level , with the washer in place the air that enters cannot get to the output because it stays in the top of the canister and can't get out. The only way the air can get to the output is to go through the filter media and in something like a canister it doesn't have enough force to push air out, it is basically going to sit at the top of the canister because the washer is blocking its path.


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## hcubed (Sep 3, 2010)

@cgmark:
That's just the kind of knowledge that, once I'm aware of it, bugs me until I do something about it. If you have a chance to write up a little "How-To" for other 405 users like me, including a couple snapshots the next time you have your filter apart, that'd be helpful. If you don't have the time for an actual how-to, a couple snapshots of the product you use (if you still have it or the box) or the exact name of of the product could be helpful. I can't quite picture it in my mind.

Thanks for the info so far.

HCubed


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## Glaneon (Sep 27, 2010)

My 305 is really quiet.
My 404 is pretty darn quiet (not as quiet as the 305).

The FX5 has a low noise level, it's under cabinet and I really need to be close to hear it and know what I'm listening for.

I consider myself really anal when it comes to noise. I went through 4 air pumps from a local store cause I could hear it.. my wife was like, "I don't hear anything".


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## dianity27 (Oct 22, 2014)

Just had to share! I just discovered a quick and easy fix to make my Fluval 406 silent, just like how it was when I bought it. This past week, my filter was making loud whirring noises. It was like the motor was off kilter, or the impeller was vibrating too much. I've read about the teflon tape, and saw the video about adding o-rings. I didn't have any teflon tape, nor an o-ring, but I did have some moleskin tape! I just cut off a tiny thin strip to wrap around the tiny white rod that points up, so that it made better contact with the impeller cover. Voila! The vibration and loud noises stopped, and it's back to silent. Now, as I was putting it on, and plugging it in before replacing it on the canister (just to see if it reduced the sound), it was pretty loud and rattly. But as soon as I put it back on the canister, and plugged it in, it was silent.


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