Expected trouble with Eheim canister filter

[adam_ottawa]

So this weekend, I got one step closer to finally putting fish in my tank.

I was adding some rock work to my tank and had to drain about half the water.  I then had move around a bunch of the aragonite sand to accommodate the rocks.

When I filled the tank back up, the water was sort of cloudy due to the extra fine sand.

After waiting for a bit then starting up the filter, everything proceeded smoothly.  After about a half hour, I noticed a humming sound coming from the motor of the canister filter.  I also noticed a tiny, but perceptable vibration in the out-take hose.  I did take apart the filter twice this weekend to make sure the sponges were rinsed out and free from sand.

Could this humming be the start of impeller motor burn out?  This filter is only a couple months old and I would hate to see it crap out so soon.  This filter has been running for a couple months and I've never noticed it sound like this - before it was totally silent.

What should I do to prepare for it to burn out?  I don't really want to go through the hassle of breaking down the filter and returning it to the store for exchange (if they will even entertain that - I bought it from BA Innes).  Not to mention that my tank is in the middle of cycling.  Can I order a new motor for this thing?  How much does it usually cost?

Oh yeah, it's an Eheim 2213.

Any ideas out there?

Thanks!

[artw]

the water was sort of cloudy due to the extra fine sand.

there is your answer right there, take it apart right away and look at the impeller assembly and see if the sand did any damage.  I had aragonite in my tank once and it did a number on my aquaclear impellers.    I realize the Eheim impellers occur after the water goes through the media but "extra fine sand" will go through sponges.   When you reassemble the filter put a layer of filter floss on top of the sponges so it will prevent sand from hitting the magnet.

[adam_ottawa]

If there any damage to the impeller, would it be noticable to the untrained eye?

The instruction manual for eheims leave a lot to be desired.  Although it does have a broken down diagram, it doesn't give any instructions for this type of maintenance.

Can parts for these filters be ordered by the LFS or am I better off ordering directly from the manufacturer?

[artw]

well take a close look at it, it may just need to be cleaned, but if there are grooves taken out of the magnet and/or stator assembly it may just run loudly until it gets a nice coat of bioslime on it (lubricant) in about a week or 2.   if you can't live with the sound you'll need to get new parts.

If, when you take it apart, everything appears intact you may just need to clean it.

Sand is murder on filters.  I cringe whenever I see anyone using playsand or aragonite.  I was iffy on using Flourite and I used a Magnum 350 for the first 2 weeks because of this fact.

[BigDaddy]

If the impellor is noisy, and you haven't had the unit for more than a year... as long as there is no physical damage, it will be covered under warranty.

Try just taking the impellor out, giving it a cleaning, and re-seating it.  If there are no grooves or scratches in the impellor assembly and its still noisy, let Big Al's know

[Toss]

Eheim is pretty good brand. I have 2013 running for a year with broken ceramic shaft. I got this one used, so god knows how long it had been broken for. It hardly make any noise, just a little hum. Finally I decided that it deserve a new ceramic shaft. Right now I can not tell if it on or not by just listening to it. So it might be just not sitting properly or broken shaft or sand around the magnet. Good luck.

[artw]

so whats the verdict Adam?  did you look at the filter etc?

[adam_ottawa]

I took the filter apart yesterday and cleaned out the impeller assembly.  There actually wasn't much sand in there at all, with no visible damage.

Once I hooked it up and got it running again, the sound was still there.

It actually sounds like the motor inside the housing is making the noise.  It's like an electrical humming noise.

Short of monitoring the filter, I'm not sure what to do at this point.  My fear is stocking the tank then coming home from work to find the filter broken down.

Like I said, I don't really want to take the whole filter and hose system apart to bring back to the shop for warranty work.  At this point, perhaps the best thing to do is to talk to the staff at BA to see if they can provide some sort of assistance.