# ridiculously noisy penguin 350



## Timon (Apr 10, 2012)

hello,

I have a penguin 350 (6 month old) that recently started to make an ridiculously loud rattling noise. I first thought that there was some sand around the impeller so I cleaned the whole filter (which was not dirty), cleaned the impeller, the magnet and the shaft and tried to adjust the impeller gently as possible but the noise is still there...
Does anyone know what i can do?

Thanks 
tim


----------



## kenko (Jan 19, 2012)

Get a new impeller?

The thing is even with visual inspection of the components could lead you to believe everything is fine, but if sand or an abrasive made its way to the impeller well at some point, you run the risk of small gouges on the magnet both inside and outside - and those small gouges could be enough to skew the balance of the magnet.

Aside from that, there isn't a whole lot else moving around in there... Maybe an audio capture, or video so people can hear the actual noise?


----------



## Timon (Apr 10, 2012)

Thanks for your quick answer!
I'm going to see with my local dealer to see if we can work something out to get a new impeller. this is such a pain...
I will see if i can get an audio recording of it.
I'm seriously considering getting an new filter. I have an AC50 (on another tank) that is very quiet and I'm considering getting an AC 70 or 110 (I have a 40l with malawi guys). 
What do you guys think?
thanks


----------



## kenko (Jan 19, 2012)

I'm not biased, ok well maybe a bit, but I've recently migrated most of my hang on filters from old-school Whispers to AC's - which includes 8 AC70s, 2 AC50s, 1 AC110 and a AC30.  
Clean up is a snap, don't have to worry about rebuying filter media (such as the razor selling business model), and the oldest ones I have seemingly have very little issues aside from the occasional sand grains. I also like the openness of the filter tray, as you can customize with your specific needs. Good stuff, especially when my LFS has their annual crazy cheap sale. :thumb:


----------



## JimA (Nov 7, 2009)

I totally gave up on HOBs as this is a never ending ongoing event with these things. Best thing I ever did was get a canister and rigged up my own spraybar.


----------



## Timon (Apr 10, 2012)

thanks you both for your replies.
I like HOBs because they are relatively inexpensive compared to canisters with same gph abilities.


----------



## JimA (Nov 7, 2009)

Timon said:


> thanks you both for your replies.
> I like HOBs because they are relatively inexpensive compared to canisters with same gph abilities.


 Would agree with that but after going through quite a few HOBs for that very reason a canister just made sense.


----------



## kenko (Jan 19, 2012)

Yes, and makes sense with a tank or two, but in my case, the costs would've been outrageous. So, I do use 3 canisters on my more showier tanks... And that's why I like ACs in my fishroom, as you get a bit of both worlds without paying those on-going costs - like previously mentioned razor business model - and I can quickly and efficiently clean them. Plus, the wattage draw is reasonable and if I need to move or add extra filtration, it is very modular for me. So sure, it all depends on ones budget and needs.


----------



## 13razorbackfan (Sep 28, 2011)

You can pull up on the housing that the impeller sits in and drop back in gently not forcing it down. That helps sometimes. What I have done is pull the impeller...lube the magnet and the shaft(what I can actually get to as the bushings do not come off) and then while it is still out in your hand run the magnet back and forth getting the vasoline do go up into the shaft. You can also use silicone grease.

If that doesn't work...get a new impeller.

On a side note...make sure when doing water changes that the filter is completely full of water before turning it back on. It needs to be full. I also never clean my impellers unless they are jammed or have something stuck down in there. The slime that builds up keeps the shaft lubricated and the slime buildup on the magnet keeps it moving smoothly inside the chamber it sits in.

HTH


----------



## Timon (Apr 10, 2012)

thanks for the advises guys.


----------



## frosty1 (Mar 6, 2010)

Call customer service number. I have an Emperor 400 that had similar issues and a new impellar, housing and cover was promply sent out and problem solved.

 l bet they will do the same for you.


----------



## AfricanLove (Jan 2, 2012)

Do you by any change have like pillow stuffing raped around the impeller to stop sand from being sucked up


----------



## vann59 (Jun 20, 2011)

Also, if you have fine sand, it's a killer of impellers in any filter where the filtration is downstream from the impeller.


----------



## Timon (Apr 10, 2012)

thanks a lot for all the inputs!!
i went to my local dealer which is fantastic by the way and they needed the filter to have it sent to the furnisher and since it is my only filter for this tank (just realized that it was a mistake) i couldn't have no filtration so i solved the problem by getting 1 AC70 and 1 AC50 which are more performant in terms of GPH (total of 500gph) and energy consumption (12W) instead of 350gph and ~20W for the marine land!
I have to say that both ACs together are WAY more quiet then the penguin!!

Thanks a LOT everyone!!


----------



## 13razorbackfan (Sep 28, 2011)

vann59 said:


> Also, if you have fine sand, it's a killer of impellers in any filter where the filtration is downstream from the impeller.


Yep...redid my tank today with new sand and some got in my impeller. It was super loud. I pulled up on the impeller housing till it went away. Going to take it apart tomorrow and clean. Can't wait to get new canister filter....


----------



## vann59 (Jun 20, 2011)

Timon said:


> thanks a lot for all the inputs!!
> i went to my local dealer which is fantastic by the way and they needed the filter to have it sent to the furnisher and since it is my only filter for this tank (just realized that it was a mistake) i couldn't have no filtration so i solved the problem by getting 1 AC70 and 1 AC50 which are more performant in terms of GPH (total of 500gph) and energy consumption (12W) instead of 350gph and ~20W for the marine land!
> I have to say that both ACs together are WAY more quiet then the penguin!!
> 
> Thanks a LOT everyone!!


I hope you didn't just swap it out for another filter. If you put on a new filter which isn't cycled, your fish will die unless you cycle it again. Your bio media on the penguin is on the biowheel.


----------



## Timon (Apr 10, 2012)

i put the biowheel under the ceramic beads of the AC filter for the beads to be colonized!
thanks for the heads up though


----------

