Pet Forum / Aquaria / Cichlids / August 2003

Disconnect it, take it to your sink, take apart the impeller chamber and
clean out the chamber and the impeller unit itself.  Be carefull with the
impeller as the ceramic is breakable.

The filter you are using is an Emperor 400 model manufactured by
Marineland.
Don't fret about your fish.  One of these filters is sufficient.
Oxygen gets into the water through surface agitation.

Check the simple stuff first...
1) Is the filter clogged? Try removing the filter media.
2) Is the flow contro valvel pulled all the way up? (That's the little
gray button on top of the unit)
3) Is the intake obstructed in any way? (at the bottom or inside) Is
it pushed all the way down into the sump?
4) Is the water level in the tank sufficient?  As the water level
drops, the pump has to work harder to pull water up through the
intake.
5) Have you tried disassembling the unit and thouroughly cleaning it?
The impellor may be jammed with debris or algae.
6) Is it or was it making any kind of unusual noise?  The motor may be
disfunctional.

Fortunately, you have 2 units.  You can take parts off the non-working
one and install them on the working one and see when it fails.  Parts
for these units are readily available.  I buy at www.bigalsonline.com
They have a large selection and reasonable prices.

Hope this helps...Good Luck!