# Is it normal for a canister filter to hum?



## Darkblade48 (Jan 4, 2008)

Canister filters should be dead silent. The humming that you hear is probably still some air that is trapped inside; if some rocking does not dislodge the air, I would give the filter some time to see if it clears up.


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## DarkCobra (Jun 22, 2004)

An impeller is just like drum full of laundry in the washing machine. If it's unbalanced, when it's spinning it will vibrate and make sound. More unbalanced, it will strike the internal limits and make a heck of a ruckus.

New canisters may make noise due to poor manufacturing tolerances in the impeller or housing. They may "wear in" after a while and self-correct. Normal biofilm accumulation can eventually lubricate the impeller, or cushion and muffle sound produced by the impeller contacting the housing. In more severe cases, wrapping a single layer of teflon tape around the impeller magnet can provide additional cushioning.

Occasionally an impeller shaft might be bent in handling, and if it's bad enough to be visible, it can sometimes be carefully bent back.

If the canister is resting on a hard surface, any vibration can be transmitted to it and amplified. Try putting a washcloth or other cushion under it. (Good for noisy air pumps as well.)

And check to make sure there's no debris in the impeller housing, but that usually makes more of a crackling noise as it gets bounced around, rather than a steady hum.

All speaking generally, I have not used this particular canister. But yes, they should be virtually silent.


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## King of Hyrule (Apr 29, 2013)

My Fluval 206 will produce a scary rattle when my system switches to battery backup*, followed by a hum when it switches back to line power. The hum normally works itself out, but something I have to reset the filter (unplugging it; waiting a few seconds and plugging it back in.) Hitting the filter has never helps, but rocking (or shaking) this filter has helped sometimes. Resetting has the highest likelihood of working, but sometimes takes few tries. 

I noticed a hum in my filter when the line voltage was sightly off from expected. The rattle results when the line's phase was off (even slightly). I gleaned this form checking with the another UPS logs (on my AV setup), before setting up am UPS on my aquarium. _I suggest everyone put the largest battery backup on their tanks as they can afford. _

While its most likely air trapped in the system, and also a possibility the hum is caused by a defect in your filter's impeller or impeller shaft. It maybe due to a [power] line issue.

* The power isn't as reliable as you would expect for a major US city. We've had 3 blackout that lasted an hour or more since July (6 months). My UPS track "events". The number of minor events (spikes or drops) was eye opening. I have had my fancy electronics on UPS for years. 

Having all the UPS trip in our home for brownouts is so common it seems normal. Its rather funny to hear all the UPS alarms in our building (and neighborhood) go off at the same time. Sometimes I can hear the alarms pass through the neighborhood in a "wave".


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## sleepswithdafishez (May 23, 2013)

Thank you all.Just got home from work ,opened the filter,checked the impeller - wasn't any lubricant on the magnet.None.How can people comercialise stuff like that?Just imagine buying an un-oiled bicycle.

Anyway ,I used some silicone oil ,lubed the rings ,impeller ,double checked ,reassembled the filter.Prime chamber full ,I run it.......SAME NOISE!! I start tilting it to remove the air ,pick it up ,turn it on one side....IT'S LEAKING!

Out it goes in the thrash.

HYDOR SUCKS!!!!!!


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## Aquatic Delight (Mar 2, 2012)

where is it leaking from? i ran into that problem with a couple of my canisters and found that it was because my hoses were to long, and needed to be trimmed down, it actually caused me two leaks. 

i'm not sure how that canister is set up but i will flush the system in two different ways to make sure all of the air is out. the first way is i will pour lots of water down the intake line far more than is required. then after the line is set up i will us the quick disconnect to help flush the system. open the qd, pull the connections of so the seal is broken, replace and close it again. 

also i found that if i don't allow the syphen to fill the canister it runs very loud.


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## DarkCobra (Jun 22, 2004)

sleepswithdafishez said:


> Just got home from work ,opened the filter,checked the impeller - wasn't any lubricant on the magnet.None.How can people comercialise stuff like that?Just imagine buying an un-oiled bicycle.


I don't recall ever noticing lube on one from the factory. Probably not necessary under normal circumstances.


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## MiSo (Oct 26, 2005)

i've used two brands of canister filters. a jebo and an ehiem. the jebo drove me to ehiems. 
i have a 2215 and a 2078. the 2078 is super massive and super quiet. if you put your hand on the filter, you barely feel any vibrations coming from it. if you want the best, you gotta shell out the $$. in a hobby like fish keeping, i've learned its better to buy the quality stuff because you'll be happier in the long run and you'll replace it less often.


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## PlantedRich (Jul 21, 2010)

I would not expect lube on a well built canister impeller. Shaft bearings should make the impeller ride just a tiny bit off the well sides so that the water to cool is all that is needed. 
But then I now only buy Eheim canisters for some of these reasons. One is the ceramic shaft. It doesn't bend or corrode and any grit seems to take much longer to wear down the shaft to allow it to make noise. One way to judge the precision of a motor is to compare the electricity used to do the same job. 
My 2217 which is now quite old only uses 20 watts and the much newer, bigger 2075 only 16 watts. If you check the label on your filter, you may find you are paying every day for saving money at the start.


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## Korya (Sep 22, 2013)

I my case it wasn't my canister that was humming, it was what they were resting on that was converting the vibration to a low hum. I would pick the canister up and it was silent, I would put it down and there was the humming. I cut squares out of an exercise mat and sat the canisters on those. No humming.


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## PlantedRich (Jul 21, 2010)

Korya said:


> I my case it wasn't my canister that was humming, it was what they were resting on that was converting the vibration to a low hum. I would pick the canister up and it was silent, I would put it down and there was the humming. I cut squares out of an exercise mat and sat the canisters on those. No humming.


Definite fact that it can be other things besides the canister. They all have to vibrate some and that noise can get carried over to other things. Intake/output lines hanging on the tank edge can be buffered with some sticky foam like insulation strips. Little noises can add up to make it sound worse than it really is. 
Canopies or stands made out of too thin plywood is one that can act like a drum.


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## sleepswithdafishez (May 23, 2013)

When I had bought the Eheim Liberty 100 HOB ,first thing I did was check the impeller ,out of curiosity.I can assure you it had plenty of grease on the magnet ,I was actually ready to wipe some off ,I was afraid it might go in the tank.That pump can blow.I decided to continue to use it ,despite people saying it outgasses CO2.I put some ceramic rings on the bottom of the intake chamber ,and stuffed sponges and filter floss in the upper part.At the cascade lip ,where the water should fall and splash in the tank I put another sponge.And yet another sponge on the intake pipe inside the tank.I can run it on higher flow that way ,even if the water raises more inside the filter.No splashing whatsoever yet pretty strong current at the surface ,without disturbing it.

As for my late Hydor filter....no comment......the internet is full of people having all sorts of problems with their products.These days manufacturers no longer have any interest of selling long lasting products ,whatever sort they may be.Just consider the warranty periods of products we used to buy 10 - 20 years ago---much longer than warranties they give nowadays.Warranty for a laptop is between 2 and 5 years ,if you're lucky.After that ,you can expect them to have serious issues.Just giving an example.


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## dana (Dec 12, 2013)

I'm having the same issue with my new eheim ecco, not very loud, but a hum.


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