# Quiet Filter for Nano Tank (3 Gallon)



## Choco (Dec 8, 2007)

Planning to get a planted nano tank started with HC & hairgrass, but I am deciding on what filter to get. Tank is a rimless 3 galoon (12" x 8" x 8"), with flourite black.

What filter would you guys recommend for this tank? I am also planning to put it in my bedroom, so I want the filter as quiet as possible (preferably silent!) 

I thought about the sponge filter, but then even the smallest air pump makes way to much noise in my room. 
Internal filter (whisper i10, fluval) seems to take up too much space inside such a small tank. 
Cannister filter: don't think anyone make cannister filter small enough for a 3 gallon tank.
So I guess I am gonna stick with the good old power HOB filter...but which brand or model would be a good choice for a 3g tank that is extremely quiet?

Btw...I have an aquaclear 30 running in my other tank, and I think the noise level is acceptable, so I am thinking about getting the aquaclear 20 (smallest they have) in the 3g. However, would that filter (100gph) still create too much water flow inside a 3g tank? 

Is too much water flow bad for plants?
What do you guys normally use for the small <5 gallon tank?


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## Nanonoob (Jan 17, 2008)

azoo palm or red sea nano in my opinion


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## fshfanatic (Apr 20, 2006)

I had a AC20 on a 3 gallon picotope and it was fine.


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## Wasserpest (Jun 12, 2003)

Choco said:


> Cannister filter: don't think anyone make cannister filter small enough for a 3 gallon tank.


Actually they do... search on this board for *Zoomed 501*, it is being discussed frequently.


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## CAN_chic (Jan 21, 2008)

I have the internal fluval in my 2.5g nano, and its super quiet (its in my bedroom as well). But i do understand where your coming from though with the size, and taking up "real estate". Maybe check out the elite 3g internal filter. Its about 1/3 of the fluvals size, so it wont take up too much space.


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## Choco (Dec 8, 2007)

Nanonoob said:


> azoo palm or red sea nano in my opinion


I've heard from a few other people the red sea nano is quiet noisy compares to most other (higher capacity filter)

fshfanatic: Do you have to limit the flow rate with your aquaclear 20?


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## epicfish (Sep 11, 2006)

+1 on the ZooMed 501. 

If you have to limit flow rate on AC filters, just stuff more media in.


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## fshfanatic (Apr 20, 2006)

Choco said:


> I've heard from a few other people the red sea nano is quiet noisy compares to most other (higher capacity filter)
> 
> fshfanatic: Do you have to limit the flow rate with your aquaclear 20?


Nope


epicfish said:


> +1 on the ZooMed 501.
> 
> If you have to limit flow rate on AC filters, just stuff more media in.


Just use the flow control


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## Choco (Dec 8, 2007)

CAN_chic said:


> Maybe check out the elite 3g internal filter. Its about 1/3 of the fluvals size, so it wont take up too much space.


I am actually quite interested in the elite mini internal filter (it is small, internal which probably means less noise), but I can't seem to find much information or review anywhere on the internet.


As for the ZooMed 501, it is rated for 30gallons, wouldn't it be too much for a 3 gallon tank? 

Btw, plan to have the tank very lightly stocked. Maybe 10 RCS or a few nano fish only. So I think I don't need much filtration.


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## trackhazard (Aug 24, 2006)

+1 on ZooMED 501. The flow is perfect for a sub 10gal tank. Might want to look into the Tom's mini rapids filter as well.

With the tank being so small, I doubt that you'd want an internal filter taking up so much space.

-Charlie


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## bsmith (Jan 8, 2007)

I have a Toms and love it, it is in my office at a dealership and I cant hear a thing.


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## CAN_chic (Jan 21, 2008)

Choco said:


> I am actually quite interested in the elite mini internal filter (it is small, internal which probably means less noise), but I can't seem to find much information or review anywhere on the internet.


I know they arent the best quality out there, but if your stockinf list is low, I think it'd be perfect. I have the smallest fluval in my 2.5 and it takes up too much space, so I think im going to make my own nano canister one of these days lol


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## Wasserpest (Jun 12, 2003)

Choco said:


> As for the ZooMed 501, it is rated for 30gallons, wouldn't it be too much for a 3 gallon tank?


Ratings are a joke... even using it on a 10gal tank is pushing it, no way if it is moderately planted.

Nice thing about using that on a small tank is the minimal visual impact, you can hide it away and only the filter hoses are visible. Same goes for the AquaClear. Internal filter will be visible and having to pull it out for cleaning all the time is another drawback.


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## h4n (Jan 4, 2006)

Ya i use the Zoomed 501 on my 5gal and it definitely doesnt flow alot. I think it would be perfect for the 3g, if it flow alot to much add more media in it.


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## FobbyBobby (Mar 7, 2004)

h4n said:


> Ya i use the Zoomed 501 on my 5gal and it definitely doesnt flow alot. I think it would be perfect for the 3g, if it flow alot to much add more media in it.


agreed, i find it actually to be barely adequate for a planted 5.5 gallon

i wish there was something in-between a zoomed 501 and the next available canister filters (things like the xp1 or eheim 2213)


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## dekstr (Oct 23, 2007)

I have red sea nano HOB filter, I say it is a bit noisy for its small size.

Also have the Aquaclear mini hob, just as great as all the other aquaclear HOBs, quiet, large media capacity, easy to clean, best flow control out there (because it doesn't get noisy if you turn flow down).

IMO canister filter is almost not worth it if it weren't for the aesthetic reason. Quite costly to filter just 3 gallons of water. I mean it's cheaper to just do water changes everyday, though that would be a hassle.  

Edit: Actually I take the canister filter comment back after some thinking. I wouldn't mind one if I had more money


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## dirkgent001 (Nov 20, 2007)

I guess I'll chime in here:

on my 2.5g I had the Red Sea Nano filter, and it was super quite. After a few seconds, its fully primed and dead silent. Unless your water level gets low and you head the cascading water.

I now have the ZooMed 501 and its also DEAD QUIET. I sometimes forget to turn it back on and have to check the spaybars to see if its on cuz I can't hear it AT ALL. My aquarium sits 3ft from me all day at my office. I found the flow too much for my Clown Killies who like low flow, so I plumbed in a valve to let me adjust the flow.


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## aquaphish (Dec 20, 2002)

Wasserpest said:


> Actually they do... search on this board for *Zoomed 501*, it is being discussed frequently.


I have a ZooMed 501 but IMO that would be just a bit too much for a 3 gal. I use mine in an 8 gal and it seems to be great for that size. No annoying noise that I can hear when I am right next to the filter at night.

If you have not purhased the Nano try and see about a nano kit like the AZOO nano line. They come with tank, filter and light system. You might want to replace the light system with something a tad stronger though.


AquaPhish


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## sumoarigato (Oct 20, 2005)

I, too, highly recommend the ZooMed 501: 

Per your requirements:
- 12x8x8/flourite black:
The clear tubing and black plastic would hide well, although you may need to trim the length of the tubes (easy).
- Noise:
It's dead silent, although internals are typically quiet, too.
- HOB: 
Like the sponge/air filters... much too noisy.
- Flow:
ZooMed seems just right for a range of 3- to 5-gallons. (I needed two on an understocked 10-gallon). Moderate flow, no tsunamis. You didn't mention the fauna, but it may be too much for very slow-moving fish or fish that need low water movement (e.g., the anabantoids). 

I've got a 4-gallon setup on which I used the ZooMed 501. Baby RCS and baby Endler's were just fine with the flow rate. The tubes could be hidden behind the hairgrass... this won't be easy with any internal filter (nor will servicing the filter without disrupting a very small environment).

I had used a Hydor Pico on it for a while, and that took up too much space in what little space is available, and the fish were constantly tossed around. 

The hanger ZooMed includes works well, too, so you don't need to eat up all your night-table space. 

I bought mine from globalpets.com, and I think I got them for around $25 each by using a 20% promo code (just search for one):
http://www.globalpets.com/ViewCart.jsp?action=addItem&ListID=33A10000-1067437199&Qty=1
but you might find them elsewhere for even less.

If I got ambitious enough, plumbing it would be even nicer to eliminate the internal tubing... only so much time...

Good luck!


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## darkfalcon7 (May 18, 2006)

I'm using the Tom's mini filter, and its great. The only gripe I have w/ it is the tubing...its rather awkward to get into the way you want it to go b/c of its design. Both intake and outflow are right next to each other and they give you about 1.5ft of ribbed rigid tubing to work with. But as for noise, it's silent. It was purchased to replace my red sea nano. 

The red sea nano was a great filter on my 2.5, even having TOO much flow that I had to throttle it back w/ its built in flow control. HOWEVER, in the event of a power outage, the bottom of the backpack portion sits at water level, meaning all the water will drain out of the filter. Now unlike AC's which have a little bit of water still in them and can reprime after an outage, the red sea nano won't, the impeller goes dry and filtration stops completely unless you manually refill it. This happened while I was on vacation and w/ co2 being diffused in and no circulation, everything in the tank suffocated. All the bodies look like they died at the same time, healthy looking, but dead. That's my major gripe about the design of the red sea nanos.


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## Choco (Dec 8, 2007)

After some looking around, the Zoo Med 501 seems like a good choice (the flow rate is only 79gph, which is lower than most other HOB or internal filter. Aquaclear 20 mini is 100gph!) 

Although abit expensive (I live in Canada, and we get ripped off prices...cheapest I found is bigals for $50, Petsmart price is $85...Aquaclear is $25), I think the $25 premium is worth it in the long run if it works well...

But looking further, it seems the filter has really bad reviews; Many people complaint it being hard to assemble/diassemble/clean, hard to prime, and stopped working after a few months

http://www.petsmart.com/product/ind.../PET/2889415&fbc=1&parentPage=family&keepsr=1

sumoarigato: How did u find the quality of the filter? Did yours have any problems?


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## trackhazard (Aug 24, 2006)

I've had my 501 for over a year off and on. No problems.

It's not super easy to open but its not hard either. If you haven't opened it in a while, the top can get a little stuck but nothing overly difficult. I suppose my grandmother would have trouble opening it.

Priming involves opening the cap on top of the filter, filling it full of water and starting it up. It will bubble for a few minutes and then its fine.

Reading those petsmart reviews, its hard to believe that we are talking about the same filter.

-Charlie


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## sumoarigato (Oct 20, 2005)

Choco,

I'd second trackhazard's comments about servicing and priming. A canister is always going to be a little more (occasional) work than an internal, but the everyday benefits are more than worth it.

The build quality seems appropriate for a filter of its size... had mine for about two years and no issues or complaints.

I looked at the reviews and... well, if I was keeping turtles, I guess I might seek something else. ZooMed should really re-market this as a canister for nano aquariums. For that application, it seems quite ideal.

Bummer about the price differences up north... never knew that.


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## Ryzilla (Oct 29, 2005)

I am using a rena filstar xp1 on a 5g. I bore out the holes on the spraybar and it is perfect.


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## mahoro (Dec 18, 2007)

i love the 501, i use that for my 20g turtle tank + mini internal filter by tetra, works out really good, it said its for 30g tank with turtle.. but i don't think thats possible and the only thing i hate about is priming and it normaly makes loud noise for the first few mins trying to get the air out... and the price is pretty high too for something its size, but other then that i love it, going to use it for my next 2 10g tank...


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## Homer_Simpson (May 10, 2007)

I use this Hagen Elite mini underwater filter in my 3 gallon low light, low tech nano. No noise whatsoever and plants are growing like weeds.
http://www.petco.com/product/13796/Hagen-Elite-Mini-Underwater-Filter.aspx


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## Kayen (Oct 14, 2007)

Advantage to Hagen elite is if you want to inject co2, you can use it's venturi feature.
I have one, and it's VERY quiet.
However it was temporarily replaced by a HOB which is loud, however i am redoing my tank within a few days, and i am opting to replace that little HOB with the Elite, plus it has adjustable flow which is a plus as well, oh and it's very small  .


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