# Eheim Classic 2217 (600) Noise



## Fabio Carvalho (Jun 28, 2018)

hey guys so I have my tank set up since 1 week ago and I wanted to do a fast clean up on the filter.

The noise after cleaning is way louder and I'm trying to find out whats the problem.

I do the youtube tactic where you fill the whole canister and the tubes and it works great for priming.





Now, when doing the cleaning, I didn't clean the empeller.
The sound was absurd like this:
https://streamable.com/jgte8


I tried cleaning the impeller after this, but nothing, the rubbers are there aswell.
I tried tilting the canister, in case of bubbles, still not good.
There are no bubbles coming out on the aquarium.

I tried without the youtube tactic, as in, I still had the canister full, but before plugging I sucked on the intake to make sure the tube was full, and then I plugged it in, still the same sound.


You can see the flow in this video:
https://streamable.com/j4fh8

I also know if i put my hand in one of the top corners of the canister the noise gets a little bit quieter, but still I don't know if thats where the problem lies.
https://streamable.com/46jhq


Edit: I noticed on a video someone took the empeller out and the small tube in the middle of the empeller came along with it.
My empeller shaft doesn't come out, is that supposed? the small "toothpick" is just there and if I push slightly it doesn't come off, thats supposed to right?
Any ideas, I'm running out of ideas :|


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## PlantedRich (Jul 21, 2010)

I always avoid taking the " homemade " answers from videos if the "real" answers are available from the manuals. I think the manual folks are far more reliable than the vid folks? 
So the manual says to NOT fill the can. And they have good reasons as filling the can can actually cause a problem like you seem to have. It's always a big discussion but if you fill the tube coming in from the tank to can, leave the can and outgoing tube empty, there will be syspon set up waiting for you to open the cutoff valves. When you do the water will flow down, filling the can from bottom to top as it forces air up and out the outgoing tube. This may leave a small amount of air at the top around where the impeller sets and this will make a noise until it is gradually worked out. One way to make this happen sooner is to slowly tilt and rotate the canso that all parts of this air pocket can move up and out of the can. It happens anyway but you can speed it up. 
With new impeller and shaft, rubber bushings on each end of the shaft, all should be quiet , once the air is out. For future cleaning and long term better use, I suggest wiggling the shaft a bit as you pull up on it to free it from the rubber bushing at the bottom. Likely you can't see down in the hole but it is there if the shaft is standing straight and not falling over. I take it out and clean the walls of the well with Q-tips each time and then I pay attention to turn the shaft over (bottom/top) each time to move any potential wear to the other end. The shaft and impeller do wear slightly but they last longer if that wear is spread around more. 
Try tilting to let the air out?


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## Fabio Carvalho (Jun 28, 2018)

Thanks for the tips, and probably you are right, I completely skipped the manual for the priming part.
I tried tilting and also slighting rotating, taping and punching. lol
I can deal with the sound, I just hope it's not breaking my filter slowly.


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## deeda (Jun 28, 2005)

I also 2nd PlantedRich's suggestion for priming the filter and it's worked flawlessly for me.

Fabio, I viewed your 2nd video also and you do have a good output flow on the filter so I don't think you have air trapped in the filter since the flow is not belching out and doesn't seem to have air bubbles in the flow.

As to your 3rd video regarding the noise going away when you press on the filter top, this seems to be a common complaint and can even happen when the filter is brand new for some reason. 

There are a couple things you can try to quiet the 'rattle' a bit. One is to wedge something between the underside of the stand and the top of the canister head until the noise goes away. A book, towel or even some foam like you have in the stand should work. 

Another option would be to slightly bend the clamps so they grasp the head more firmly and pulls it down tighter to the canister body.

Usually that noise will go away once some slime builds up on the filter parts, assuming this is not a priming problem with trapped air in the filter. I have a similar issue on my old 2217 after cleaning it and just put a brick on top for a couple weeks. :wink2:


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## Fabio Carvalho (Jun 28, 2018)

Thanks deeda, I am using isolation foam everywhere, and also a tower, it helps, no problem, I can live with that, and most importantly, I can sleep with that, cause the foam helps a bit covering the sound.
Just wanna make sure I'm not damaging the filter.

Next time I open the filter, I will do the normal manual priming and hope for the best, just to make sure if the problem lies there.


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## PlantedRich (Jul 21, 2010)

Sorry, I admit that I did not goto the videos until just now and what I wrote earlier is NOT correct. I have this built-in fear of watching videos from unknown places. I admit it! I'm paranoid! Sorry! 
But that is also a noise that I've not had. Does not seem to be air but more a simple vibration and since there is only one moving part, it would seem to involve the impeller in some way. Putting your hand on the top may be making the plastic of the head vibrate less and seem quieter? 
But when I think about the motor, all I think of is the coil of wire which is buried in some type of epoxy and really hard to see it making noise so I come back to the impeller and what might be wrong with it. Hard to believe but I'm always open to things that seem weird but maybe a small defect in the impeller which makes it unbalanced? I might try taking a really close look at the impeller and how it sets in the well. Not sure what I would be expecting to find but something different on one blade that is not like the others? I would normally expect this filter to be dead silent and I put my hand on them to see that they are still running! 
Forget my first idea as it is just the most common but not right for your noise!


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## Fabio Carvalho (Jun 28, 2018)

I will let the filter sit tonight like this and hear if its better tomorrow, but I highly doubt it.

In a week, I will dismantle the whole filter again, from top to bottom.
I won't be doing tomorrow cause I did recently and my tank is still on cycle mode and I don't wanna mess too much, but I will get to the bottom of this, eventually.


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## Fabio Carvalho (Jun 28, 2018)

Hello.

It's been a pain in the ass but I found the issue:

It's the empeller.
I have no idea how it's broken after 1 week of use, and I am honestly surprised in a bad way.


Here is the video:
https://streamable.com/xldm0

Can I cover warranty with this? do I talk with the store or with eheim?


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## PlantedRich (Jul 21, 2010)

Oh my! There are always new ways to find problems. Sorry but that looks very much like a factory defect! Possible because they have changed where Eheim is made? Maybe only a new guy on the line! 
So what to do will depend on how much trouble and how the store will treat you. 
Options that I see? 
1. Pretty certain that Eheim would cover it but I really have to say that their stuff is normally good enough that I've never had a claim, so can't say how they deal. Maybe taking long enough to want to try number two?
2. Might be an easy fix to put some silicone or super glue on the joint. Not something you should have to do but then if it speeded things, I might still want to do it. 
3. Check the store and they may surprise you. But that varies a lot and it really is a defect sothey might have a good reason not to replace it. 

Some pain and some checking what works best. Glad you've found it. Sometimes the bigger pain is not being able to find the problem. But I'm thinking you know that!!


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## deeda (Jun 28, 2005)

Yep, definitely a broken impeller and it even looks like the magnet is cracked and has an odd spot on it. Could be a factory defect OR if the box wasn't factory sealed, it could have been a returned item.

If you bought it locally, see if the store will give you a new impeller or even an entire new unit (my preference) since the impeller rattling around could have damaged the pump area.


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## Fabio Carvalho (Jun 28, 2018)

They exchanged my impeller, it looks good.
About the sound, it honestly looks the same, maybe a 20% decrease in noise, but the inicial build was more silent.

I tried everythign, removing extra bio and mech, cleaning everything, new impeller, tilting, turning, rolling, kicking, holy water, and praying.

Tonight as I go to sleep I will truly test how better the sound is, cause right now I hear all kind of noises cause I live in the city and it's harder to focus on the filter noise to see if it got much better with the new impeller.

Last video:

https://streamable.com/hprj8
Is this how it's supposed to sound?


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## f-fish (Jul 18, 2009)

Do you feel a vibration that is in sync with the sound or is that electric hum ?

If you still feel it is a canister noise .. empty all the media and run it without the media etc maybe let it circulate water in a bucket .. see if that changes the sound. 

Later Ferdie


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## Fabio Carvalho (Jun 28, 2018)

I haven't tested running it without media, might be a step to try in the next upcoming days.

It's hard to tell you if it's in sync or not, when I tilt the canister, I hear some kind of bubbles sometimes, depending where I tilt to, which could possibly mean there is still water inside, but it probably means nothing cause I tilted so much to every angle and the flow kinda gets lower when I'm tilting (I think that makes sense) but after I put it down correctly the flow gets back normal.


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## f-fish (Jul 18, 2009)

Do you continuously get bubbles in the out flow .. or only when tilting it? If you run it for a few days and you still get bubbles then you are sucking air somewhere. Try the clean run into a bucket - so less head that the pump needs to push water also, that really should be almost whispering. 

Later Ferdie


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## maldo3 (Jun 8, 2017)

@Fabio Carvalho
Your Title caught my eye. Agree with remedies other members mentioned. 
I was just about to suggest, check the impeller shaft.
Appears you have figured it out. I remember my first cleaning of a Model 2213, every thing going well. Decided to take out the motor/impeller and give a good rinse and clean the cavity. While rinsing heard a little ting sound and found the impeller shaft had fallen out of the motor and broke into 2 pieces. Oh"No", scrambled around did some research.* The impeller shaft shaft is ceramic and very brittle. The slightest stress will cause it to break*. I now use Eheims on all my tanks from the 2217 to the 2211. But I do keep a spare impeller on hand. By the way on occasion I have noticed the rattling sound so now after cleaning I just coat the impeller shaft with a small dab of silicone grease. All filters quiet as can be. Good Luck!


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## PlantedRich (Jul 21, 2010)

maldo3 said:


> @Fabio Carvalho
> Your Title caught my eye. Agree with remedies other members mentioned.
> I was just about to suggest, check the impeller shaft.
> Appears you have figured it out. I remember my first cleaning of a Model 2213, every thing going well. Decided to take out the motor/impeller and give a good rinse and clean the cavity. While rinsing heard a little ting sound and found the impeller shaft had fallen out of the motor and broke into 2 pieces. Oh"No", scrambled around did some research.* The impeller shaft shaft is ceramic and very brittle. The slightest stress will cause it to break*. I now use Eheims on all my tanks from the 2217 to the 2211. But I do keep a spare impeller on hand. By the way on occasion I have noticed the rattling sound so now after cleaning I just coat the impeller shaft with a small dab of silicone grease. All filters quiet as can be. Good Luck!


Good point here! There are almost always good and bad points on mechanical things. The ceramic shaft is one of those. Ceramic is far far more durable when sand gets in between the shaft and impeller and that is good as the ceramic is far less likely to be scored and ruined but there is a price to pay. Ceramic is BRITTLE as in teacup brittle, so don't drop it or do something that might bend it. Ease it out of position, not just jerk it out and certainly make an effort to place it where it doesn't roll off to hit the floor. 
Metal shafts are less likely to break but then they also wear out very quick.


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## Fabio Carvalho (Jun 28, 2018)

While I am maybe caring too much, this is how I am.
The sound is bad even after having a new empeller on my new eheim with 2 weeks old.
https://streamable.com/s1t16

There is only one thing left to try, which is to use the filter without any media (for whatever reason, which I think it's not gonna help).

I tried the following:
New empeller.
2 rubbers on the ceramic shaft, yes, clean, and in place.
Ceramic shaft not broken, all spots close nicely too.
I tried 2 priming methods, the one where you fill up the canister and the tubes and then just instastart.
The one where you suck the tubes out to a bucket and then put it back in the tank (PS, when I put back in the tank, the flow stops working until I turn the filter on, which I'm guessing my aquarium is too high, or in the right way of saying, I lose pressure as I elevate the lilypipe, the pressure it's pretty much gone when I put it back in the aquarium, but still, as soon as I turn the filter on, the water stuck in the tubes just go out to the pipes inside aquarium, no problem. (unless this is the reason for the noise)
I tried changing the tubes position, before I had both intake and outtake on the left, now I have like most human means, one on the left of the aquarium, one in the right.
I am using full pressure, if I close the valve a bit, the sound gets even worst.
I tried cleaning everything, I tried taking out 1 blue sponge pad out in case the filter was too filled up.
I tried taking all the media out and cleaning everything, i checked both the plastic plates and checked the correct position.
I tilted the canister more than I'm willing to admit.

I tried to fast turn it off and on.
I tried to run the filter with the valves closed for a sec, and then turn it off, and then turn it on.
I tried to pray.

It's not the end of the world, it's on a closed cabinet with some isolation foam, I will live, but I know something it's not quite alright.
I will be doing the last try in the next days without any media, but thats it for me.

Also, I can try to cut the hoses a bit, it's doing a small curve, to also be more flexible to me when I need to take it out of the cabinet etc.
I did not put vaseline on the o rings and the ceramic shaft, because, I shouldn't need to on a new empeller and on a new eheim filter, right guys?

That's it for now.
Thanks for reading.


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## jeffkrol (Jun 5, 2013)

I retired my 1 1/2 year old 2215 (same family). Only thing I didn't try was the impeller..
New bushings/shaft..
Reason being it was an eek bay purchase (new in box ..i.e NIB) and really dirt cheap.
Thought I'd spend the $'s on a new filter..

Still works great BUT noisy..
Came to the "guess" that it's just something in the motor or possibly worn impeller cavity but, like the impeller, too costly to replace, at least in my circumstances.

You sort of confirm my choice.. 

Someday when I find a cheap impeller "may" try again.


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## 3 Goldies (Jan 26, 2019)

I run an Aquatech 5-15 on my goldfish tank. It may be a year or two old. It was noisy and had extremely reduced outflow after 1 1/2 months without being cleaned. A complete teardown and cleaning along with a new filter restored full flow but the noise was even worse! After reading the above comments about a buildup of slime helping to quiet things, I tried generously coating the (obviously worn and scored) impeller shaft with petroleum jelly (I thought about using silicone grease too but wasn't sure about potential toxicity to the fish). This dramatically reduced the rattling noise - sounded almost new. We'll see if it lasts.


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