SunSun 304B Show and Tell! (pic heavy)

[SweetMamaKaty]

Ok, so first regularly scheduled water change tonight.  What am I supposed to be doing with this filter on a weekly basis?  The water is clear, by the way!  But lots more algae on the glass than usual it seems.

[Daniel E.]

I don't do anything weekly. Maybe a biweekly cleaning. Personally if I get to it once a month I'm doing good but I can be lazy. Which can be a bad thing with canisters if it goes too long.

[Fastlane]

Ok, so first regularly scheduled water change tonight. What am I supposed to be doing with this filter on a weekly basis? The water is clear, by the way! But lots more algae on the glass than usual it seems.

If you're going to clean the canister filter. Dont forget to check the o-rings for signs of damage. But I bet that there would be no signs of damages on the o-rings since it is a new CF. Also check proper placement of the trays when servicing it back. I do cleaning of my old CF like every month or two.. Depends if I get lazy. One time I didn't service my CF for 3 months. Gunk really accumulated inside the canister. And the filter pads where very filthy. Just sharing..

Also do top off the canister with tank water.

Edited September 5, 2015 by Fastlane

[Fastlane]

Update us after your WC. good luck!!

[Butterfly]

Hi!

 

So I got mine a few days ago and am slowly working on getting everything together. 

 

How does the water flow in this thing?  The pump is at the top but so are the input and outputs?  I want to place my media to it's best advantage.  I was planning on 2 trays with sponge and 2 with matrix.  Without knowing how it flows, I was thinking of sandwiching the matrix in the middle.  Thoughts?

 

Thanks.

[Fastlane]

Hi!

 

So I got mine a few days ago and am slowly working on getting everything together. 

 

How does the water flow in this thing?  The pump is at the top but so are the input and outputs?  I want to place my media to it's best advantage.  I was planning on 2 trays with sponge and 2 with matrix.  Without knowing how it flows, I was thinking of sandwiching the matrix in the middle.  Thoughts?

 

Thanks.

From what I've learned here, and my current set up is that on the bottom tray you put the blue coarse fine pads then the white fine pads after.. The last 2 trays I have has media in it. I think others do put a fine white pad below the ceramic media(last 2 /3 upper trays).. As far as I know the flow of water is from the intake then water goes down the bottom tray first and then goes up through trays.. Hope that helps..

[Cdionne77]

Hi!

So I got mine a few days ago and am slowly working on getting everything together.

How does the water flow in this thing? The pump is at the top but so are the input and outputs? I want to place my media to it's best advantage. I was planning on 2 trays with sponge and 2 with matrix. Without knowing how it flows, I was thinking of sandwiching the matrix in the middle. Thoughts?

Thanks.

I have on the bottom tray a coarse medium and fine filter. You can have coarse and fine if thats what you have. Then rest of trays are filled with nothing but media and no filters. You dont want filters with media because it will just trap any gunk to your media defeating the purpose. I have found this method to work extremely well Edited September 7, 2015 by Cdionne77

[Cdionne77]

If you have existing etablished media, put that on the second tray from the bottom, then new media on rest of the trays on top. This will seed the rest of the new media with all the good BB's

[Butterfly]

Thanks. I got the 304b so I have 4 trays and the uv. I will do from bottom to top: [coarse], [medium/fine layered], [matrix], [matrix]. I'm trying to seed my coarse mats and matrix in my pond now, so hopefully I'll have a good start when I get the rest of the tank set up.

[Butterfly]

SweetMamaKaty,

 

Hello again!  

 

I finally got mine set up and it is kinda loud.  Hum/buzz at least the level of an old refrigerator and echoing everywhere.  What level noise would you say yours makes?  I don't know if I got a bad unit or if this is how it is supposed to be?  Impeller issue?  

 

TIA

[SweetMamaKaty]

SweetMamaKaty,

 

Hello again!  

 

I finally got mine set up and it is kinda loud.  Hum/buzz at least the level of an old refrigerator and echoing everywhere.  What level noise would you say yours makes?  I don't know if I got a bad unit or if this is how it is supposed to be?  Impeller issue?  

 

TIA

 

Are you using the little skimmer part in addition to the other intake?  Mine made some noise until I realized the water level was just below the skimmer, causing it.

[Butterfly]

 

SweetMamaKaty,

 

Hello again!  

 

I finally got mine set up and it is kinda loud.  Hum/buzz at least the level of an old refrigerator and echoing everywhere.  What level noise would you say yours makes?  I don't know if I got a bad unit or if this is how it is supposed to be?  Impeller issue?  

 

TIA

 

Are you using the little skimmer part in addition to the other intake?  Mine made some noise until I realized the water level was just below the skimmer, causing it.

 

Hi!

 

I do have the skimmer set up but the water is above it.  It really sounds like the motor humming.  Not making bad clunky noises, just loud buzzing/humming.  Potentially hasn't purged all the air yet, but it doesn't sound like an air/water noise.  Ugh.  I guess I will check the impeller when I get home to be sure it isn't loose.

 

How much noise would you say yours makes?  

[SweetMamaKaty]

I just tried to take a quick video, but it wasn't a good representation.  It's quieter than my air pump though.  Maybe something is just needing an adjustment of some kind. 

[HomerJay]

 

 

SweetMamaKaty,

 

Hello again!  

 

I finally got mine set up and it is kinda loud.  Hum/buzz at least the level of an old refrigerator and echoing everywhere.  What level noise would you say yours makes?  I don't know if I got a bad unit or if this is how it is supposed to be?  Impeller issue?  

 

TIA

 

Are you using the little skimmer part in addition to the other intake?  Mine made some noise until I realized the water level was just below the skimmer, causing it.

 

Hi!

 

I do have the skimmer set up but the water is above it.  It really sounds like the motor humming.  Not making bad clunky noises, just loud buzzing/humming.  Potentially hasn't purged all the air yet, but it doesn't sound like an air/water noise.  Ugh.  I guess I will check the impeller when I get home to be sure it isn't loose.

 

How much noise would you say yours makes?  

 

Check the impeller shaft. Mine was broken in shipping along with my UV bulb. It's either a plastic or ceramic shaft and was broken in half. They shipped me one out right away, I installed it and it was pretty much silent from that point on.

[Fastlane]

SweetMamaKaty,

 

Hello again!  

 

I finally got mine set up and it is kinda loud.  Hum/buzz at least the level of an old refrigerator and echoing everywhere.  What level noise would you say yours makes?  I don't know if I got a bad unit or if this is how it is supposed to be?  Impeller issue?  

 

TIA

Though mine is just the smaller model (303B/370 GPH).. mine just hums.. you know.. a fair considerable humming noise that you can tolerate..

I guess just follow what Homerjay advised you.. check the impeller if it has a crack, and also check if it is correctly installed to the head pump..

Also check for the trays inside... if they're correctly lined up.. I read here in the forum that sometimes the culprit is the ceramic media. You should fill up the trays in a way that it's really compact.. so the media won't rattle.. Also an advice is to put a rag under the Canister filter or something that will dampen the noise.. HTH Cheers! and goodluck..

[Flipper]

Love this thread

Makes me want one of these filters

But I was under the impression that you didn't need to service canister filters as frequently as AC filters like once a month or 6 wks is adequate.

[HomerJay]

Love this thread

Makes me want one of these filters

But I was under the impression that you didn't need to service canister filters as frequently as AC filters like once a month or 6 wks is adequate.

I usually service them about every 8 weeks

[Flipper]

Love this thread

Makes me want one of these filters

But I was under the impression that you didn't need to service canister filters as frequently as AC filters like once a month or 6 wks is adequate.

I usually service them about every 8 weeks

That's what I'm talking about

[Fastlane]

Love this thread

Makes me want one of these filters

But I was under the impression that you didn't need to service canister filters as frequently as AC filters like once a month or 6 wks is adequate.

 

I serviced my old one like about after 5 months..(not bragging, just sharing.. )

But it was really filthy when I serviced it..

Now, I service mine like every 8-9 weeks... or as often or when schedule permits

Edited September 16, 2015 by Fastlane

[HomerJay]

 

Love this thread

Makes me want one of these filters

But I was under the impression that you didn't need to service canister filters as frequently as AC filters like once a month or 6 wks is adequate.

 

I serviced my old one like about after 5 months..(not bragging, just sharing.. )

But it was really filthy when I serviced it..

Now, I service mine like every 8-9 weeks... or as often or when schedule permits

 

yeah, my "about 8" can sometimes venture to 12

[Fastlane]

 

 

Love this thread

Makes me want one of these filters

But I was under the impression that you didn't need to service canister filters as frequently as AC filters like once a month or 6 wks is adequate.

 

I serviced my old one like about after 5 months..(not bragging, just sharing.. )

But it was really filthy when I serviced it..

Now, I service mine like every 8-9 weeks... or as often or when schedule permits

 

yeah, my "about 8" can sometimes venture to 12

 

I made a comparison between the HW 303 B and the Hw 302, and was surprised that the bigger model is less filthy inside after servicing..

This is based on a 3 week comparison.. Maybe the big CF itself really helps with the waste.. I dunno really but this is just based on experience

[HomerJay]

 

 

 

Love this thread

Makes me want one of these filters

But I was under the impression that you didn't need to service canister filters as frequently as AC filters like once a month or 6 wks is adequate.

 

I serviced my old one like about after 5 months..(not bragging, just sharing.. )

But it was really filthy when I serviced it..

Now, I service mine like every 8-9 weeks... or as often or when schedule permits

 

yeah, my "about 8" can sometimes venture to 12

 

I made a comparison between the HW 303 B and the Hw 302, and was surprised that the bigger model is less filthy inside after servicing..

This is based on a 3 week comparison.. Maybe the big CF itself really helps with the waste.. I dunno really but this is just based on experience

 

Maybe it's the amount of biomedia it can hold to process the waste better.

[Fastlane]

 

 

 

 

Love this thread

Makes me want one of these filters

But I was under the impression that you didn't need to service canister filters as frequently as AC filters like once a month or 6 wks is adequate.

 

I serviced my old one like about after 5 months..(not bragging, just sharing.. )

But it was really filthy when I serviced it..

Now, I service mine like every 8-9 weeks... or as often or when schedule permits

 

yeah, my "about 8" can sometimes venture to 12

 

I made a comparison between the HW 303 B and the Hw 302, and was surprised that the bigger model is less filthy inside after servicing..

This is based on a 3 week comparison.. Maybe the big CF itself really helps with the waste.. I dunno really but this is just based on experience

 

Maybe it's the amount of biomedia it can hold to process the waste better.

 

 

[Butterfly]

Thanks all.  I am so bummed about this noise.  I got home late last night and checked the impeller.  It was not broken.  It did seem a little scratched up though and the hole it sits in in the filter head was rough.  Possible culprit?  I dunno.  I put it back together and it is still really loud.  55-60dB.  Too loud to stay that way.  I'm going to try to work it out with the seller.  

[Fastlane]

Thanks all.  I am so bummed about this noise.  I got home late last night and checked the impeller.  It was not broken.  It did seem a little scratched up though and the hole it sits in in the filter head was rough.  Possible culprit?  I dunno.  I put it back together and it is still really loud.  55-60dB.  Too loud to stay that way.  I'm going to try to work it out with the seller.

Ya the best way is to have it replace if it really doesn't work out for you... If it's still within the warranty period...