Help? Unplugged HOB, but won't turn back on.

[CalmedByFish]

Update: It definitely died. But I gave the tank a spare sponge filter from another tank, so we're good... enough.

Unplugged my HOB just to stop the splashes while I worked. Plugged it back in, and nothing. No sound. No movement. 

I know I've got the write plug in hand. I know the power strip still works since the light is in it, and on. I tried different "holes" on the power strip, tried rotating the plug, tried switching the strip off and back on...

What could be wrong?

ETA: I also unplugged the working power strip, and put the plug straight into the wall. Nope. Rotated the plug. Still nope.

Edited September 28, 2021 by CalmedByFish

[FiShrewd]

you need to fill the hang on back with water if it has the motor outside the tank 

can you name the filter pl

[Ixrayu]

Could be the impeller is clogged. Take it apart and clean the impeller an inside the motor where impeller goes. I have AC filters that this happens to. Hope this helps!

[ARMYVET]

There is gunk in the impeller assembly.  You will have to take it apart clean it and put it back together and it will run great!

[Tanked]

On 9/28/2021 at 8:52 AM, CalmedByFish said:

Unplugged my HOB just to stop the splashes while I worked. Plugged it back in, and nothing. No sound. No movement. 

I know I've got the write plug in hand. I know the power strip still works since the light is in it, and on. I tried different "holes" on the power strip, tried rotating the plug, tried switching the strip off and back on...

What could be wrong?

Is the motor compartment warm?  Can you move the impeller?  is there something stuck in the impeller?

If the motor housing is not warm than it is probably dead   The impeller should attempt to move if is functional

[Chris]

If this is an AquaClear HOB, some of them have issues with starting their impellers (regardless of how clean they are) - I think it has to do with the magnet not being aligned quite correctly in some of them. I own 6-7 AquaClears in different sizes, and 3 of them never start back on their own, even when filled and cleaned.

I take a soft plastic "stick" of some sort, and nudge the impeller while the filter is plugged in. They usually start right up. Just be careful not to use anything that could break the impeller!

[CalmedByFish]

On 9/28/2021 at 8:02 AM, Tanked said:

Is the motor compartment warm? 

If the motor housing is not warm than it is probably dead   The impeller should attempt to move if is functional

This was an excellent question. I tried it. Nope. Definitely cold. 

I plugged it straight into the wall. Two minutes of silence later, cold. Turned the plug over (cuz maybe?), and 2 minutes of silence later, still cold.

No power to it at all. It's roughly 10 years old, so it kinda makes sense... even though I don't comprehend the mechanics. I'll go get a spare sponge filter out of another tank. *sigh*

Thanks guys.

[Tanked]

On 9/28/2021 at 9:17 AM, CalmedByFish said:

This was an excellent question. I tried it. Nope. Definitely cold. 

I plugged it straight into the wall. Two minutes of silence later, cold. Turned the plug over (cuz maybe?), and 2 minutes of silence later, still cold.

No power to it at all. It's roughly 10 years old, so it kinda makes sense... even though I don't comprehend the mechanics. I'll go get a spare sponge filter out of another tank. *sigh*

The impeller usually is mounted between two rubber cups (bushings)  if you can separate the motor from the filter, when plugged in, the impeller should try to turn.  Because it is now off center it should stick to one side ot the other, or attempt to turn.  If none of this is happening than the unit is dead.

[gardenman]

On 9/28/2021 at 9:13 AM, Chris said:

If this is an AquaClear HOB, some of them have issues with starting their impellers (regardless of how clean they are) - I think it has to do with the magnet not being aligned quite correctly in some of them. I own 6-7 AquaClears in different sizes, and 3 of them never start back on their own, even when filled and cleaned.

I take a soft plastic "stick" of some sort, and nudge the impeller while the filter is plugged in. They usually start right up. Just be careful not to use anything that could break the impeller!

I agree completely. And not just Aquaclears. I've had to kickstart (for lack of a beter word) Aqueon filters and others also. Just nudge the impeller a bit and off it goes. It's wear related and develops over time, but pretty much any and every brand of filter will eventually need a bit of help to get the impeller restarted.

[ARMYVET]

On 9/28/2021 at 10:29 AM, gardenman said:

but pretty much any and every brand of filter will eventually need a bit of help to get the impeller restarted.

The rubber inserts that the impeller has on both sides tends to wear and cause friction.  When they get stuck a lot that you have to nudge...replacing the rubber end caps has always solved the issue for me.  Last thing I want is to have the power go out for 10 min when not home then come back on but the filter doesn't start running again.  

[Blake Calhoun]

I agree with plugging it in, and then using something to press down on the impeller. I usually use some aquascape tongs

[Odd Duck]

On 9/28/2021 at 9:05 PM, FiShrewd said:

dude its 10 yrs old 

no joke why dont you get a seachem tidal or a canister you do look like an old hobbyist

i was just toddler back then ha

And apparently you’re still a toddler if you feel the need to ridicule someone that’s been able to make a filter last for TEN YEARS!  That’s not how this forum rolls, so please don’t make fun of a person that’s one of the most helpful and kind individuals on the forum.

By the way, I personally hate canister filters.  One power outage and they’re an anaerobic bomb just waiting to happen.  So maybe make a helpful suggestion next time instead of ridiculing someone you don’t even know!

[FiShrewd]

my sincere apologies 

i didnt mean to hurt anyone's feelings but i have been in the hobby for three years

i use the self priming canisters so that has never happened to me

the filter i had when i started is still with me an aquaclear 20

i just dont use it cause later i got sponge filters and the non self priming issue

[StevesFishTanks]

I recommend the seachem tidal if you are shopping for a replacement

[Odd Duck]

On 9/29/2021 at 12:08 AM, FiShrewd said:

my sincere apologies 

i didnt mean to hurt anyone's feelings but i have been in the hobby for three years

i use the self priming canisters so that has never happened to me

the filter i had when i started is still with me an aquaclear 20

i just dont use it cause later i got sponge filters and the non self priming issue

You were very rude to @CalmedByFish!  It’s not appropriate and not allowed.  We have adult discussions here.  There’s plenty of joking but absolutely no meanness tolerated!

The problem with a canister in places where there are sporadic power outages (used to happen a lot at our current house, not as much now), is the canister goes anaerobic in apparently as little as an hour.  When the power comes back on, the filter restarts, and that anaerobic toxic mess goes right into your tank.

I had this experience and it was horrific!  I came home from work with the whole house stinking!  Started looking around, figured out the power had been out, traced the smell to a 70 gallon I had.  Fish were gasping and bad!  Hubby and I were able to change 90% of the water pretty quickly and saved the fish (seems like I lost one), but it was rough for about a week afterwards, even after multiple water changes.  I’m just glad we didn’t happen to have a reef tank at that time, we would have lost hundreds of dollars.

I’ll take an HOB or sponge filter anyway after that.  Since it’s not enclosed, an HOB won’t go anaerobic unless you have it packed super tight with a dense media.  And even then, it will only be a small amount of water compared to a canister.  I haven’t used a canister in over 20 years because of it.  No matter how nice or how fancy they get, they are still an enclosed system with no more oxygen available once water stops flowing through it.  Even an excellent battery back up is only going to run a canister about 2 hours, tops.  It will run an air pump for many hours.  Sponge filters for the win.

@FiShrewd Thank you for apologizing to the group.

Edited September 29, 2021 by Odd Duck

[Guppysnail]

First off let me say I am in AWE of you for keeping a hob going for 10 years. M Aqua clears max out at 3-4 and others sooner. .  I have had more aquaclear filters than I care to think of. I have no clue as to why this works but it has worked about 10-12 times for me when it makes no noise or attempt at operating and truly seems dead even after meticulously cleaning the impeller. I turn it upside down for a day or two on a towel and let it dry out inside the motor and it then starts up as if nothing was ever wrong. I often thought moister gets in somehow and when it is unplugged it the moisture contacts something inside causing it to not start. 

[CalmedByFish]

On 9/29/2021 at 4:49 AM, Guppysnail said:

First off let me say I am in AWE of you for keeping a hob going for 10 years. M Aqua clears max out at 3-4 and others sooner. .  I have had more aquaclear filters than I care to think of. I have no clue as to why this works but it has worked about 10-12 times for me when it makes no noise or attempt at operating and truly seems dead even after meticulously cleaning the impeller. I turn it upside down for a day or two on a towel and let it dry out inside the motor and it then starts up as if nothing was ever wrong. I often thought moister gets in somehow and when it is unplugged it the moisture contacts something inside causing it to not start. 

Super interesting. You might be on to something there!

[CalmedByFish]

@FiShrewd I just remembered something. A while back, there was a thread on the forum started by a teen, just to see who else on the forum was in their teens. There were quite a few!

If you were a toddler 10 years ago, I'm thinking that would put you at 12 or 13 right now. Maybe you'd like to see the thread - I dunno. If you want to, put "teenager" in the search bar, and I think you'll find it pretty easily. 

[FiShrewd]

i sure will look up 

but i also wanted to know what hob u were using

 

[Biotope Biologist]

I find this thread fascinating. While all the suggestions are typically what I would recommend when I worked at the chain store, I would grab a 5 gallon and put it on our grey cart and fill it with water and try to break down the filter with the customer and explain how it works (Not all customers were in to this). Almost always if it didn't work by cleaning the impeller or by unscrewing the motor housing, just leaving it plugged in and hydrated on the cart for 30 minutes it would miraculously turn on. If the customer was still in the store we would give it back.

 

It feels like an IT moment where I swear up and down that I turned it off and back on again and as soon as the IT guy does it, it works fine. 

 

I have no suggestions, except maybe call an IT guy. They have a way with electronics 😋

[CalmedByFish]

On 9/29/2021 at 12:17 PM, FiShrewd said:

i sure will look up 

but i also wanted to know what hob u were using

Let's see. It was a Marineland Penguin. The number was either 100 or 150. Bought at least 10 years ago - as much as 15 years. 

I just looked up pictures of the currently sold product, and it looks almost identical. I can't confirm that they're made exactly the same now, but since it appears to be, and the previous one (and another larger one) lasted at least 10 years, I wouldn't hesitate to buy another if I wanted a HOB. 

[Gator]

I have 2 HOB filters that I've been using for a little more than 10 years. They are both Aqua-Tech 10-20 filters available from Wally World that I have one each on 10G tanks. These are made by Marineland and so far, I have not been disappointed with their effectiveness, ease of use, or their ease of cleaning.

I have had times when I'll put everything back together after cleaning when the filter wouldn't restart. What I'll do is lift the siphon tube with the impeller out of the impeller housing while the filter is still plugged in, but not remove the impeller out of the water, and then push the impeller back down into its' housing and I'll not only hear the impeller start again, I'll feel it. I'm pretty sure that you can do this with other makes of HOB's, but what do I know?

Buy a soft-bristle tooth brush and a nipple brush normally used for cleaning the nipples of baby bottles. Use the tooth brush to clean the magnet and impellers, use the nipple brush to clean the magnets inside the impeller housing.

I also have a Marineland C-220 cannister filter that I've been using for 12 years, I still have the sales receipt. This filter has 4 media baskets which are all filled with filter foam to increase the amount of Nitrifying bacteria in the filter, the HOB filters have foam inserts I cut to fit from a Fluval filter foam block for the same purpose. 

I mention all of this because I live in a part of the US where the power goes out about once a month on average. Most of the time it's only for a few seconds, just long enough that I have to reset several clocks, but can be minutes, hours, or even days. Even during the longest outage of 3 days, I never lost a single fish.

Stay smart, keep learning, this is a great forum to do just that.

Sincerely

Gator    

[Guppysnail]

On 9/29/2021 at 4:16 PM, CalmedByFish said:

Let's see. It was a Marineland Penguin. The number was either 100 or 150. Bought at least 10 years ago - as much as 15 years. 

I just looked up pictures of the currently sold product, and it looks almost identical. I can't confirm that they're made exactly the same now, but since it appears to be, and the previous one (and another larger one) lasted at least 10 years, I wouldn't hesitate to buy another if I wanted a HOB. 

This is awesome to know. I just bought a bunch of marine land penguins (super on sale I assume older model to deplete stock) to replace all my aquaclear. I just can’t do the hassle of not restarting and hard to get going every power outage water change unplug anymore. So far I like them better. They have started every time without issue and amazingly without repriming.  More durable plastic less noise and the surface agitation is lovely 😊.  Hopefully I’ll get close to 10 years out of them 😁

[JoshStover]

On 9/29/2021 at 5:24 PM, Gator said:

I have 2 HOB filters that I've been using for a little more than 10 years. They are both Aqua-Tech 10-20 filters available from Wally World that I have one each on 10G tanks. These are made by Marineland and so far, I have not been disappointed with their effectiveness, ease of use, or their ease of cleaning.

I have had times when I'll put everything back together after cleaning when the filter wouldn't restart. What I'll do is lift the siphon tube with the impeller out of the impeller housing while the filter is still plugged in, but not remove the impeller out of the water, and then push the impeller back down into its' housing and I'll not only hear the impeller start again, I'll feel it. I'm pretty sure that you can do this with other makes of HOB's, but what do I know?

Buy a soft-bristle tooth brush and a nipple brush normally used for cleaning the nipples of baby bottles. Use the tooth brush to clean the magnet and impellers, use the nipple brush to clean the magnets inside the impeller housing.

I also have a Marineland C-220 cannister filter that I've been using for 12 years, I still have the sales receipt. This filter has 4 media baskets which are all filled with filter foam to increase the amount of Nitrifying bacteria in the filter, the HOB filters have foam inserts I cut to fit from a Fluval filter foam block for the same purpose. 

I mention all of this because I live in a part of the US where the power goes out about once a month on average. Most of the time it's only for a few seconds, just long enough that I have to reset several clocks, but can be minutes, hours, or even days. Even during the longest outage of 3 days, I never lost a single fish.

Stay smart, keep learning, this is a great forum to do just that.

Sincerely

Gator    

I also have a few of the Aqua Techs that have been around for 8-9 years. You cannot beat them for the price. Mine are filled with sponge and modified to accept a pre filter sponge on the intake. 

[PineSong]

On 9/29/2021 at 6:08 PM, Guppysnail said:

This is awesome to know. I just bought a bunch of marine land penguins (super on sale I assume older model to deplete stock) to replace all my aquaclear. I just can’t do the hassle of not restarting and hard to get going every power outage water change unplug anymore. So far I like them better. They have started every time without issue and amazingly without repriming.  More durable plastic less noise and the surface agitation is lovely 😊.  Hopefully I’ll get close to 10 years out of them 😁

Good to know. I've been stuck on Aquaclears for@18 years and have not been able to wean myself off.  I have some tanks with both Aquaclears and sponges, and a couple with just sponges where I keep having to talk myself off the ledge of wanting to throw in an Aquaclear. Could be my imagination but I feel like HOBs just make the water look more crisp. If the Marinelands provide the same AND restart after a power outage, that might be a switch I can make.