VorTech Noise

[HTFish]

I have 3 MP40 VorTech QD pumps in my living room aquarium and only one of them - always the same one - constantly makes a clicking noise. It sort of sounds like a kid's bike after they clip a playing card to the tire spokes. The noise slows down and speeds up according with the speed of the program it's running.

Playing with the wet side position doesn't help. Swapping out wet side assemblies doesn't help.

Anyone know what could be causing this issue and what I might be able to do about it? It is annoying for an expensive, supposedly quiet pump.

 

[Bear22]

The Vortechs are not completely silent. They do make a muffled clicking noise while in operation. Are you using the rubber spacer? YMMV, but i ditched mine (despite the legalese) and that made the pump operation a bit quieter.

 

[HTFish]

Two of my three pumps *are* silent.

Yes, The aquarium’s glass is ½” thick, so I’m using the thin spacer on them. I’ll experiment with the spacers and update you here.

 

[nautical_nathaniel]

My MP10QD does the same, I usually have to reposition the dry side a bit to make it stop clicking. I also turned it 180 degrees and that helped a bit.

It's probably 7-8 years old now and has been dropped a few times. From my visit to the Top Shelf Aquatics aquaculture facility (where they admitted they drop the dry the sides all the time), I can tell you the sound can get a lot worse and just be glad you don't have an entire room with dozens of them all making that noise!