# How quiet is Aquaclear?



## FSM (Jan 13, 2009)

My AC50 is silent


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## Chrisk-K (Oct 12, 2009)

Thanks. I've checked out reviews of AC on Amazon and most users seem very happy.


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## mr.gaboozlebag (Feb 22, 2006)

Iv'e found ac's to be very quiet, you can only hear the water, not the pump.


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## Dempsey (Oct 27, 2009)

mr.gaboozlebag said:


> Iv'e found ac's to be very quiet, you can only hear the water, not the pump.


 
+1 I have a AC 70 on my 29g and all I hear is the water. Keep the water level high and you won't even hear that. Great HOB filters.


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## roznalos (Aug 18, 2008)

Yep, my AC 20 and 50 are both quiet


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## zzyzx85 (Feb 13, 2008)

yup. AC20 and 50 and both are quiet.


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## HungrySpleen (Nov 22, 2009)

my AC 70 is silent except when *I *dont put the lid on right then it makes a loud rattle. simply adjust and back to silence.


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## talontsiawd (Oct 19, 2008)

HungrySpleen said:


> my AC 70 is silent except when *I *dont put the lid on right then it makes a loud rattle. simply adjust and back to silence.


Same, I can only hear the water, like everyone else has said, assuming the the top doesn't rattle. The top doesn't rattle easily but I use to have an AC 20 in my room so it has bugged from time to time. It isn't anything that I would stay away from.


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## OverStocked (May 26, 2007)

With sand they can get destroyed quick without a prefilter. I hate the look of prefilters so I have annihilated 2 of these filters over the last 3 years. Now I live and die by sunsun filters. More bang for the buck.


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## roadmaster (Nov 5, 2009)

Would like these filters if intake was not so close to return. Do they make extensions for deeper aqauriums?


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## Bees (Jan 6, 2010)

roadmaster said:


> Would like these filters if intake was not so close to return. Do they make extensions for deeper aqauriums?


You can stack the "extension tube" of the intakes on top of one another and sort of telescope things down if you get my meaning. Just need to find yourself the extra piece.


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## Church (Sep 14, 2004)

Keeping in mind there is a difference between _quiet_ and _silent_, yes, my Aquaclear 20 is very quiet!


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## Huzzah (Jan 10, 2010)

I have an AC70 on my 36 gallon tank in the living room and an AC20 on the shrimp tank in my office. The AC70 is very quiet though there is a steady hum from it (has been as long as I can remember), it came with 3 or 4 intake tube pieces that I stacked together to get the intake about 16" down my 21" tall tank. The AC20 I never really hear.


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## Solid (Jul 19, 2009)

I used to have an ac50 on my 29 gallon and i never heard the pump, the water would get a bit noisy a day or 2 before water changes because of evaporation.


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## crossbow (Nov 29, 2009)

Just as everyone has said...the key to a quiet aquaclear is a high water level. If the water level drops below the return, it makes a "splashing" noise from the water hitting the surface. 

I've also encountered the AQ 70 hum/vibration. I resolved it by placing a small book on top of the lid. I'm sure you could also stop it with some electrical tape, or some sort of thin padding between it and the tank.

My AQ50 doesn't hum in the same situation.

If you're using the aquaclear in a planted tank, get an extra sponge instead of using the carbon/chemical material. I usually get some bulk micro filtering material either from the store, or dr foster, and use that either between the two sponges, or underneath the bio material at the time.


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## DavidZ (Nov 17, 2009)

I have read some put a layer of Vaseline in the impeller and then it is just silent and all you hear the water drip.


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## Chrisk-K (Oct 12, 2009)

I plan to use Eco-complete sand. Perhaps, I'll borrow my wife's panty hose to wrap the intake pipe.


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## husonfirst (Sep 12, 2009)

Chrisk-K said:


> I plan to use Eco-complete sand. Perhaps, I'll borrow my wife's panty hose to wrap the intake pipe.


The problem is that the flow will be severely restricted. I didn't use pantyhose, but rather a piece of netting cut from a fish net. It got clogged up within a week. I'd imagine it would be worse with pantyhose, as it has smaller holes.


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## Fish4Fun (Jan 4, 2010)

my filter is very quiet


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## bcdudley (Nov 18, 2009)

I ma running an AC20 on my 15g tall. I have never heard any noise at all from it. It is quieter than the ambient noise in my office, so that is silent to me.


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## Huzzah (Jan 10, 2010)

crossbow said:


> Just as everyone has said...the key to a quiet aquaclear is a high water level. If the water level drops below the return, it makes a "splashing" noise from the water hitting the surface.
> 
> * I've also encountered the AQ 70 hum/vibration. I resolved it by placing a small book on top of the lid. I'm sure you could also stop it with some electrical tape, or some sort of thin padding between it and the tank.*
> 
> ...


I haven't had a lid on my AC70 for probably a year now... I was thinking about getting it out again and putting a couple dabs of clear silicon in the four corners to give it a little soft barriers between plastics to see if that would help. I suppose it would help a little with evaporation and making sure nothing got into the water (any sprays or stuff kicked up by vacuuming the carpet, etc.)

As it is, all I can hear from my AC70 is the steady hum of the motor... not loud at all, but not silent either.


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## elihanover (May 15, 2008)

Silent.


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## ball3r (Mar 12, 2009)

u cant hear anything


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