# Fluval C4 HOB 5 stage power filter review



## Blackfeet

First I will paste in an email conversation between myself and Hagen.
1st email to them: sent 9/21/12
I have a fairly new hang-on-back filter purchased in this past May so the unit is approximately 5 months old and starting last month when I removed the filter and media for cleaning and reinstall/restart it doesn't start unless the impeller is turned manually. *This situation has continued and gotten worse over time culminating this evening to the impeller stopping on its own approximatlely ever half hour this is my first Fluval product purchase and is seriously damaging to my opinion of the product quality. *The substrate is sand with the suction is 8 inches high *and a course sponge over the suction to prevent fins from getting sucked in

And your site doesnt show a cursor and wouldn't let me fully edit hence this non-sensible ending. * *

n approximately every half hour

1st response from Hagen: 9/24/12
We thank you for taking the time to contact us.

Our instruction manual suggest pulling the impeller out of the motor every 2 months, but with a sand substrate we suggest every 6 weeks.* After removing the impeller you need to flush the hole of the motor out with water and clean inside the hole with a q tip and clean the impeller with water and the q tip or a small brush.

This will prevent the motor from stopping and wearing out the impeller quickly.

2nd email to Hagen: 9/25/12
That is part of the problem. *I have been removing the impeller and cleaning the pump with a q-tip with a frequency of every other week. *I kept the manual and follow the instructions religiously (with the exceptionas that is how I learned to keep my fish happy and alive. *I remove and clean the media weekly 

2nd response from Hagen: 9/26/12
Please include a copy of this e-mail and ensure your full name and mailing address is clearly visible to ensure the best handling of your unit. We have had a few incidents recently where a product sent to us through regular mail has not reached us. We cannot repair what we do not receive and cannot accept any responsibility for items that do not arrive and/or are lost by the postal system before we receive them. We strongly suggest that anything you send to us have a tracking number - for your own safety.


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## Blackfeet

I know sending it back will get me a new motor unit but in the mean time I am out a filter. I have been lucky so far to catch the filter shutting itself down before 1. It fried itself and 2. my fish die off due to lack of clean water or oxygen. But there is no way they will survive 2-3 days at best and 5-21 days at worst 3 without a filter. Beyond that who keeps a receipt for an online purchase that long past verifying the unit works (I don't want to know), and isn't that what the warranty card I filled out and sent them is for?
Other than the random shutdown issue I like the filter it has a float that tells when you need to clean it, which is just about the sponge, course one side and fine polishing pad on the other.
With the substrate issue I started using this filter with course gravel and the refusing to start after being shutdown and having been cleaned started in mid-August. I started switching to sand 3 weeks ago beginning of September in an effort of not shocking my tank into another cycle I replaced approximately a third of the gravel per water change and didn't anything back up until the water had completely cleared afterwards


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