sirdarksol

I have what I believe is a Penguin powerhead that's really noisy. It kind of sounds like when a HOB filter is trying to run with no water in the back.
Anybody had any issues with this? Any suggestions?

Steen16

Check the impeller it may have a broken fin..

and check if screws are tyt, I have had problems with that before.

Hope this helps

sirdarksol

Turns out that it's either a poorly-made powerhead (possible. It's not a Penguin. It's one of the cheap ones from Walmart) or just a poorly-made impeller.

I pulled it apart today and I'm pretty sure it's just the impeller blades brushing against the housing. I'm going to try to figure out if there's a way for me to mount the column just a little bit higher to keep it away from the housing.

nemo addict

try moving the impellor on the shaft so it dont rub or rub them down with sand paper , but make sure you clean well after

sirdarksol

The impeller slides freely up and down the shaft, so I can't adjust it that way.
I really like your sandpaper idea, so I'm going to do that.

nemo addict

or a utility knife and just watch those thumbs lol (stanley knife)

sirdarksol

Alright, so I'm a dummy.
I sanded the fins down, and that didn't do anything. I cut them shorter with a utility knife, and that didn't do anything. Then, the other night, the buzzing turned into a humming that happened to resonate through the entire tank (basically turned the aquarium glass into a speaker that only generated a deep hum).
It turns out that the sponge filter was too dense for the powerhead, and was putting a strain on the impeller.