filters-best and quietest?

[jv72]

hello,
it's me again, working on my new 55G. added a 3rd clown and he's doing great. i'm having frustrations right now with what used to be my favorite HOB filters, the AquaClears. I've used these for the last 5 years (used to have 3 smaller tanks) and generally loved them. but, when i first got the larger tank and bought a new AC for 50 gallons, the motor was really loud and the whole thing vibrates. returned it, got a new one, and it was quiet like the last ones. well, my other AC 50 (the one i used to have on my 29G) died last week and when i got a new one, it was real loud too. took it back, and the replacement was loud...took it back, and again loud...in the past AC's were so quiet, all i could hear was the water flowing.

so, my first question is, has anyone else had this recent experience with a new AC HOB filter? have they just cheapened out? with 4 of the last 5 purchases of AC filters being loud and different from the past, i'm not taking anymore chances.

my second question then is, what is another high-quality and quiet HOB filter? does anyone use the RENA HOB's? I hear they do good canister filters, but reviews on their HOBs are mixed, with some saying they too are loud. i keep my 55G tank in our main entertainment/TV area, so a quiet filter is hugely important to me. Any thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks!

[Diana]

I have not had similar problems. The most recent Aquaclear I bought is still in the box, I am afraid (waiting for a tank repair). Prior to that I bought parts (motor and impellor) for an AC70. It is running quietly, and doing its job.

The next brand of HOB that I have and would suggest would be something like a Penguin 330, which is a very old one, no longer sold by that number. I do not know if the new ones are like this:
The things I like about it are:
Very large intake, so I do not add a sponge filter over it. Rarely gets blocked, and is easily cleaned.
It has a Bio Wheel, so filter media can be more aggressively cleaned with less risk to the bio-filter.
Large chambers so I can put in whatever filter media I want. I do not run cartridges in it, but try to set it up similar to the Aquaclear with a large sponge followed by finer media and some chemical media. (I have used peat moss in nylon bags, or oystershell grit, also on nylon bags)
I have held onto some cartridges because they do have activated carbon. If I ever add medicine to the tank I can use the cartridges to remove the medicine.
2 sides for media, so it could be cleaned on alternate days, further conserving the bacteria, and dividing the flow between two masses of sponge, etc, for better filtration.
Things I do not like about this filter:
Short intake tube. Extension is available. I run this filter on a 20 long, which is pretty shallow, so the short tube is not an issue.
It is designed for cartridges and I am not sure I am getting the full benefit of setting up the media Aquaclear style. I think the way the water enters the media compartments is not the same as Aquaclear.

[shari2]

Look into some of the cannister filters. There is almost double the evaporation from the tank I have with a large aquaclear and the tank with my pennplax cannister.

it disconnects from the tank to clean it, has several baskets for media, is quiet, and allows the tank to be closer to the wall. Costs more for cannisters, but overall, I like them better than the aquaclears.

On one tank I have both. The combination of the two is a good thing. Allows me to get some internal flow from the cannister output and some surface splash as well. Though the surface splash makes noise.

[zmo63]

I'm glad to see this thread, as I'm in the same boat with my 55. I have two biowheel HOBs, and the noise is getting worse and worse. I switched my smaller tanks to aquaclears and they've been really quiet, so I was planning to switch the 55 to aquaclears too. So if I do a canister, would I get one big one or two smaller ones?

[shari2]

I have cannisters and a HOB on two of mine. I like having the failsafe of 2 in case one fails for some reason.

[jv72]

thanks for the feedback! i have been very intrigued by canister filters, but thought they'd be more trouble to keep up with. i was worried about sound and storage of the canister. how do you store the actual canister? can it fit underneath in the compartment of a typical aquarium stand, as long as you have holes in the back of the stand to run the tubes up to the tank? if it really is easy to deal with canister placement and they are quiet, i might give it a shot. price doesn't bother me that much if it really is better filtration.

[shari2]

Mine fit under the tank. And the back is fully open on my one stand (the others are iron stands) with the exception of support braces. It takes a little getting used to when you change over, but long term, I've found my canisters easy to maintain.

Next challenge for me (which I've been putting off!) is to actually set up a sump.

[DirtyBlackSocks]

Canister's are the way to go in my opinion.

Way back when all we had were air powered sponge filters, HOB's are too noisy and can be quite a mess.

Check around on E-Bay for an Eheim canister filter, you can generally get a good price and they are whisper quiet. But they aren't cheap by a long shot.

If you want something cheaper look into the ViaAqua models, which are pretty much a knock off of Eheim these days.

A lot of people rave over the Rena Filstar's as well.

[Diana]

I do run canisters on all the tanks 29 gallons and up. Some are combined:
I have a sump, quite a few canisters, and several HOB filters on these tanks.
I run Fluval 404s and Rena Filstar XP3s on tanks of about 45 gallons. These filters are supposed to be rated for a tank of about 100 gallons. There is not nearly enough water movement to properly filter a 100 gallon tank with these filters.
I have run into a rash of problems with the Fluvals, and no longer recommend them. As these die, they are getting replaced with Filtars or sumps.
Aqua clears are good for tanks this size, too. Plenty of water movement.

[crazy loaches]

FWIW the top rated HOB's it seems on various forums are usually AC and Marineland Emperor bio wheels. But if your looking into canisters I can recommend the XP3 or the ultimate is Eheim. Also the new Marineland canisters seem to get a lot of attention but I've yet to see any good reviews on em personally. lEheim's classic series seem to get the best reviews and are a lot cheaper than the newer ones. Personally I have a 2026 pro2 on a 45g and the thing is the quietest filter I've had (thats the only reason I spent the $ on the big E - its in my bedroom right next to my head lol). It goes longer between cleaning than my XP3's also, partly because it has a larger crossectional area as well as a little less aggressive mechanical filtration IMO... the Fillstar comes with 4 foam pads that seem to clog up very quick. The Eheim comes with a coarse ceramic media and then 1 coarse filter pad. Both use a fine filter pad higher up after the bio. Within the pro2 line though on a 55 loach tank I'd get the 2028 and some supplemental powerheads for extra movement.

Also if your looking at the actual flow ratings the Eheim seem lower. This is partly because I believe they rate their canisters with media. Others, like Rena, advertise the pump capacity itself in big print... its not until you get the thing and read the fine print that says the flow with media and stuff is like 1/3rd of what the big print... i think the XP3 actually flows 190ish gph btw.

[janma]

Eheim is the way to go. I have the Pro 2226 and Ecco 2236 in the river tank setup. And in the Sid tank an Ecco 2234. I just discovered the Ecco series and those I can recommend, they come with all filter media included and are super-quiet.

[Mike Lang]

I've had the same issues with AC noise in recent years, Cleaning them, the impeller compartment, really good with Q-tips seems to help some. Eventually the impeller itself or the shaft wears and becomes noisey, both are replaceable. Taking the cover off sometimes helps too, since that can vibrate. You're right though, they used to be much quieter than the newer ones. Probably made in China now, like most other things and perhaps quality has suffered. Personally, I do like the waterfall effect of a large HOB. I think it does a good job of aerating the tank and it breaks the surface tension. Recently, to increase my water flow, I added a 500GPH pump to one tank and plumbed the discharge into the existing AC 500, effectively doubling the volume of water pouring out. It works very well and it would seem that the AC 500 HOB could easily handle 1500-2000 GPH for anyone wanting to increase the flow as I have. It creates a nice waterfall and I like the sound.

[jv72]

Thanks for all the great input everyone. I think I'll shop around a bit and perhaps give one of the Eheim canisters a shot. Since I do have 1 quiet AC HOB still, perhaps I'll do the dual approach many of you mention. I have a pretty traditional tank stand for a 55G, the fake wood look with a middle compartment/shelves area and glass door. If anyone thinks that might not work for a canister (eg, if an open iron stand is required) let me know.

Mike, that's funny, I thought the same thing about the ACs "must be making the motors in China now" (package still says Made in Italy, but who knows about the individual parts). Side-by-side all the new ones I tried buying this past weekend are way louder than my other AC, even when I try things like taking the lid off, taking off the motor and putting back on...it's not intolerable noise, but the comparable difference is definitely noticable.

[Mike Lang]

I actually contacted Hagen, the manufacturer recently about this very issue and they assured me that they're still made the same and that nothing has changed in recent years. However, they ARE noisier than the old ones, so clealy something did change!! AC has been my go-to filter for 18 years and I still like them, particularly the big one, because of the large volume of media you can put in them. I do now use the combo method stated by other folks. I run the AC 500 at one end of my 75, with an additional 500GPH pump discharging into it for increased flow and a Rena XP-3 canister for extra filtration. On paper that gives me 1350 GPH total, which sounds like way too much, but actually it creates a nice moderate flow from end to end in the tank. Not too much for my plants and the fish seem to be quite happy with it.

[jv72]

I've been doing some reading of reviews on the Eheims vs Rena's today. I started to lean getting a Rena since they do seem quite a bit cheaper.

But, many competing reviews say the Rena's are louder than the Eheims. So my question would be, just how loud? Ie, are the Rena's still quieter than a HOB, particularly the AquaClears?? If anyone has had experience with both Rena Canisters and an AquaClear HOB, please let me know if the Rena is at least quieter than the AC. Thanks!