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Hello,
I currently have a marineland biowheel external power filter. Currently I am not getting enough sleep because of the water splashing around in the filter and it tumbling over the biowheel and the constant need to replace the filter. If I don't replace the filter like every week the filter has like an emergency overflow thing which is really loud, Regardless this is a noisy filter. BTW the filter cartridges cost lots of money. Also when I was younger (When I first got my 29g) It came with a Aquaclear filter. It said 30 on it and I Thought it was 30 gallons per hour and not the tank size. So What I am looking for is a New filter. I am wondering if I should go with a canister or another power filter. This will be used on a Saltwater 29 gallon in the future. Right now the Marineland is on my 29g Freshwater tank. So What kind of filter should I get? Thanks.

Chris

All powerfilters will make some water noise and have to be cleaned frequently. You can rinse the cartridges weekly for several weeks in a row before you have to replace them. If you also cut the carbon out you can use them for more than a month that way. Canisters are quieter but usually have a bit of a hum to varying degrees and that bothers some people. Eheims are usually considered the quietest followed by probably Rena. For a silent filter in a small freshwater tank I'd actually go with an internal filter. However they don't have a high filtering capactiy so in large or heavily stocked tanks they aren't very effective. For saltwater the canister is probably your best bet. Just make sure to clean it very frequently or it will produce lots of nitrates. Your also going to need at least 1 if not several powerheads to move water around in the tank. There will probably be a fair amount of humming from all the motors so if that bothers you then it might be better to hold off until you find a place for the tank outside of the room you sleep in.

I feel your pain I like a silent tank

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~~~ My fish blow kisses at me all day long ~~~

iI have 2 penguin 200's on my 55 gallon tank and I use the same fiolter cartridge for about 2 months without any problems. They are very quiet if you clean them weekly in tank water. The splash of the overflow maybe loud but if you fill the tank with water to a higher level there is no splashing noise.

-Vincent

I have one regent HOB powerfilter on my 55g. FW. I don't know how powerful it is but it has the two passage ways that water comes out of. No bio wheel. I just rinse the fiter pads off about once a week & I have no overflow. I only replace the pads after medicating so the new pads with the fresh charcoal can remove the medication. Anyway I hear no noise coming from the filter or the water......... but then I keep my tank full so there is no splashing noise from the falling water. If anything I get a humming noise from my air pump that has two air stones attached to it!

First thing I'd do is lose the wheel, fill the tank till the water just touches the bottom of the filter where the water comes out. Then I'd start lookin for a different filter such as an aquaclear, or maybe a topfin. Can't hear either of mine moer then a foot away

The Wheel is the Secret to the BioWheel. Is aquaclear perfectly silent and which models should I look at? I am still considering a Canister filter. Thanks.

Chris

Aquaclears are just as "noisy" as marineland's models. I put them in "" because if you keep the tank filled up neither make any noise.

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Critical Fertilator: The Micromanager of Macronutrients

Well the biowheel does make slightly more splash noise than a nonbiowheel filter. Not generally noticeable and not really any louder than the noise from the motor. If you want you can most definitely remove the wheels on a marineland biowheel filter and it will work just fine. It would be the same as running an aquaclear or the regent aquatech filters. Aquatechs are actually penguin biowheel filters without the biowheels. As far as I can tell it's the same exact parts and designs. I've set the 2 side by side on a tank and used parts from one to the other. The only difference is a lack of biowheels.

The wheel is just there as a place for beneficial bacteria to grow. It is not necessary in order for the filter to properly function. In fact, the wheel will often corrode up (the axle pin) and malfunction. If you keep the water level in the tank up to the level of the water spout (where the water comes out of the filter) then almost all of the sound will be eliminated. Then the only noise will be from the motor/impellor (sp?).I like the Aquaclear because of the choice of filter media, you may customize it how you like. Many other filter brands come with premade cartridges, like the bio wheel model. Mine have two sponges, a fine floss and some zeolite rocks in it. I seriously cannot hear any of my filters more than a foot or so away.