# AquaClear is too loud for me



## ChrisX (May 28, 2017)

Get an in-tank filter. Get one of the Tetra, either 20i or 40i.


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## KrypleBerry (May 23, 2017)

The smaller sunsun canister would work great.


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## blackbirds (Sep 14, 2017)

Is it water noise, vibrations against the tank, or the filter's motor that you're hearing? For water noise and if the filter is vibrating against the tank you can put a sponge in the outflow and/or cut a small piece of sponge to go between the filter and the tank edge. If it's filter motor noise, then yeah, you may just need a quieter filter.


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## tamsin (Jan 12, 2011)

I know what you mean, the filter noise bugs me too, not the water sounds - that fine but the vibrating humm which everyone else doesn't seem to hear. If you go back to your sponge, you can run your pump in a different room - we actually run one in the garage and have a airline that runs outside the house and in through a little hole, but if you've a room you don't use as much that could be an option for you. 

Canisters are good in that they can be enclosed in a cupboard which deadens the noise.


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## ILikeRice (Jul 9, 2017)

I had a fluval c2 in my room and its quiet af after vaseline is added to the impeller..otherwise it is quite loud..you could try a canister filter :]


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## Aquatic Neurotic (Oct 22, 2017)

blackbirds said:


> Is it water noise, vibrations against the tank, or the filter's motor that you're hearing? For water noise and if the filter is vibrating against the tank you can put a sponge in the outflow and/or cut a small piece of sponge to go between the filter and the tank edge. If it's filter motor noise, then yeah, you may just need a quieter filter.


I enjoy water noises, it's the motor noise that bugs me.


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## PlantedRich (Jul 21, 2010)

I use some intank but they also have some of the same noise that HOB does. They are prone to water splash which is one of the things I don't like. So I like canisters for quiet. They do come in some really nice variety and prices so it then becomes what size/ price you think best fits you for this tank and any future tank that it may wind up on. 
Part of the question can also be what media you like. If you order a Sunsun without media, it is cheaper than with media but it also gives you an open slate to add or change media to fit. The media also gives you lots of options for reducing flow. I just find them really practical fr the small difference in price that I now see. I use a Sunsun 302 on a 20 long and boost the flow with a powerhead so I might call it good for a 16 gallon? Killing flow can be as easy as adding a sponge on the intake or outflow but getting more is much tougher if the canister is too small.


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## B16CRXT (Feb 7, 2009)

I just bought a PenPlax 1000 for my 40G and it's great. It was $65 on sale at PetCo. I used Tom's Rapids Mini canister filters for years though and do recommend them though after a few years they will start to leak around the fill hole plug and finding the correct o-ring replacement is quite difficult. This causes lots of bubbles to be drawn in and expelled through the output. Until it gets to that point though, they're great, cheap filters! Look for my writeup on improving flow in them if you end up needing to.

I think azoo makes a similar hob canister filter to the tom's if you can't find it. It looks like both options are harder to find now. Here is an internal tom's filter that might do for your smaller tank.

https://www.amazon.com/KollerCraft-Aquarium-Mini-Internal-Filter/dp/B00176GKM8


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## Nubster (Aug 9, 2011)

I'm just glad I'm not you guys. Three filters running all within 6 feet of me and I don't hear a single one and only a tiny bit of splashing from my sponge filter.


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## keymastr (May 25, 2015)

I guess I don't get it. I have super good hearing and my AquaClear 50 is almost silent.I have to actually put my head behind the tank to hear it. Maybe you got a bad one.

Canister filters are even quieter but they have their own problems.


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## sleepyaligator (Mar 7, 2017)

*Look at zoo med*

I have a zoo med nano 10 for my 5 gal in the office where absolute dead silence is necessary. Pay more, but this one is silent!

The downside: it's a little harder to clean a canister. This one has to be at same level as the tank (right next to it.) Maybe the nano 30 would work for you


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## Aquatic Neurotic (Oct 22, 2017)

I absolutely have superhuman hearing (sometimes a blessing, often a curse) but maybe there is also something wrong with my AquaClear, because I can easily hear it running from the next room if all else is quiet in the house.


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## bblumberg (Sep 6, 2006)

Eheim classic canister filters are very, very quiet and last nearly forever. I have some 25 year old 2215's still running.

Bruce


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## ustabefast (Jan 24, 2017)

Cannot go wrong with an Eheim 2013 if you are willing to pay the bucks. 

My only problem with AC's was not the motor noise but the vibration. The hard plastic frame did not conform to the lip of my tank. 

I inserted a strip of rubber between the filter housing and the tank rim and that helped .


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## bud40oz (Dec 9, 2017)

i was looking at the fluval c series hob filters, from what i can tell off you tube videos, they sound like they are pretty dang quiet. like barely able to hear them when they put the mic right up next too it, i would imagine the smaller ones are even more quiet


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## Trnt (Jul 18, 2015)

It may be worth taking the impeller out of your aquaclear and checking if it has any burrs. Mine had made some noise when I first got it but as soon as I deburred the impeller it was a huge improvement.


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## Aquatic Neurotic (Oct 22, 2017)

Hmmm I just lifted the top off the filter and I would say that reduces the noise by 50%. So it is partially the motor noise and partially the rattling vibration of the plastic. The filter is definitely louder on the low flow setting than on the high setting. Might try lubricating impeller to see if that helps. But ultimately I'd love to find a silent filter. Have been researching all of the options suggested here, thanks very much.


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## hobbysupplanter (Dec 20, 2017)

I also am sick of noisy AquaClears. They are a great filter, but too loud. The quietest filter I have ever used is the Aqueon HOB style.


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