# I have GOT to change my filtration! Help!



## dam718 (Nov 25, 2013)

Alright, so perhaps the subject line is a bit misleading... I don't NEED to change my filtration setup... 

In fact, I think it is pretty much overkill, and far more than adequate for even the heaviest bio-load I could throw at the aquarium... 

But I can't help but notice my insatiable urge to pee every 5 minutes, even without beer! The constant babbling brook waterfall of the HOB's is just itching every nerve in my body... Haha!!

So here is the situation... I have a 36G Bow Front. Currently I am running 2 Aqueon QuietFlow 50 HOB Power Filters. They claim to be rated at 250GPH, but I think that may be a bit of a reach. I bought a single filter, but I wanted to be at 10x water turnover, so I bought a second of the same model because I like symmetry. So, for now, I am running these two filters, and they are pumping a massive 500GPH (allegedly)... The water fall babbling noise isn't really too much louder having two as opposed to one...

The last aquarium setup I had was a small 10G tank, but on that little thing I was running an undergravel filter with a powerhead, and it was dead silent. Now, obviously I need to move quite a bit more water on this tank at nearly 4 times the size, but is there any way to get back to a virtually silent setup, while maintaining adequate filtration, 10x turnover, and sufficient surface agitation to support healthy oxygen levels without the need to supplement with an air stone?

I'm only a couple weeks back into the hobby, so my knowledge on anything outside what I have right now is very limited. I have researched a couple of different canisters that claim to be silent, but these filters I'm running now are named QuietFlow, and they are clearly not very quiet at all! So I'm not big on manufacturer claims.

What interested me most about canisters is the ability to choose whatever combination of filter media I want (or don't want, as the case may be). 

Some of these canister filters I have looked at like the Fluval 06 series and the Marineland C series have grabbed my attention do to them having multiple filter baskets. I've heard the Eheim brand mentioned many times, but from what I have seen the only one I can realistically afford is the classic series, and I'm not sure how they are put together. It looks like one of the inlet/discharge hoses is connected to the bottom of the housing and the other on the top, so I would imagine you have to clean it in place. I've also seen mention of a Cascade and Filstar model, but I can't find much info on those. I'd prefer something with multiple media baskets, and hopefully whisper quiet!

All feedback is appreciated! I'd like to hear about as many different options as possible, and models that will suit my needs for a 36G tank!

Thanks everyone!


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## Raymond S. (Jan 11, 2013)

Well I'll leave the canisters up to those who know them. One question which enters my mind is if your sound that your hearing is
the water entering back into the tank water. Sounds obvious but I'm talking about the fact that some people(at times it is not 
a choice but rather the way the thing is made) allow the water level to be low enough in the tank so that there is a gap between
the return spout and the water. It would create extra sound if this is the case. If it is not possible to raise the water up so that there
is no gap, then perhaps a DIY screen can be added that would extend down from the spout to the top of the water made for example 
from this material. It can be found at Walmart craft dept sometimes.
EverythingPlasticCanvas.com: Plastic Canvas
BTW these filters you can choose the media which goes into them but I've heard that the motor on them is not exactly quiet.
Hagen AquaClear AquaClear Power Filter Aquarium Power Filters


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## dam718 (Nov 25, 2013)

Yeah, it's the water trickling down from the filters back into the water. Not so sure raising the water level would make much difference... It's already pretty high. I'd rather have something where the sprayer / return line is fully submerged. I actually considered the AquaClear filter because the media was a lot more flexible, but I think I would have despised it as much as these Aqueons. I can't take anything from their ability to filter the water, as they do seem to work great... I think I'm just finding that HOB filters are not my thing... I think they may all suffer from this trickling sound from the water return.


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## majerah1 (Oct 29, 2010)

Run from the filstar. Run fast and hard and never look back. From a personal view I do not like them due to how irritating the one I had was. The plastic that the inlet/ outflow are made out of is too brittle.It would allow air in which would cause noise and loss of flow.

The fluval I owned was nice but IMO was not as silent as it could have been. Now not that it will make you pee but when you open the cabinet you could hear the water in there a little. 

Cascades I have heard are noisy too, but no personal experience. 

Marineland, I had the 350. It was nice but lacked the options of the others. 

Eheim is my favorite I own two of them. I have had a classic but didnt need it so sold it. The flow rate is great and I cannot hear it running even with the cabinet open. Only way I know its going is the slight ripple on my surface. Main thing about the classic is that there is one basket, but it is the height of the entire inside. You layer the media, meaning when doing the maintenance, if changing it out you would have to open and dump. However rinsing in a bucket is about as easy as it gets. Lift the basket and dunk it several times in your bucket of tank water. Easy Peasy. Have you looked at the Eccos? They are great as well. Eheim Ecco Pro 2234 Canister Filter & Media - Up to 60 gal. Keep in mind also that the Eheims have all the media you need to start it right up, including the rings and such, so you do not have to buy more. Not quite sure on the on the others as I cannot recall. 

Aquatop is another decent choice. I had one ( sold it last night actually) that I really liked. It worked very well and was huge! Which was the problem, it was so heavy I couldnt lift it comfortably to do the maintenance LOL. Its worth a browse though. 

Cobalt is a new brand on the market and is something I am considering. The pump is inline which makes it easier to prime and keeps your water moving through filter maintenance. https://cobaltaquatics.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=57 Noise factor I cannot tell you as I have never owned one, but people I have spoken with say its silent.


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## Manafel (Sep 4, 2011)

I'm not sure if you have considered this possibility, but now I am strictly using Sponge and canister filters on all of my tanks. Sponge filters are awesome because they aerate the water while providing water movement, and bio and mechanical filtration. Plus you can run more than 1 on just 1 air pump, if you have a strong enough one. I just put 2 large sponge filters on my 75 after having HoBs and the sound that it makes is so much more soothing than the HoB's splashing. Plus they are safer for fish breeding, and so much easier to clean.
If you are looking at canister filters, I have a fx5 and to really know that it's on, I have to put my hand on it to see if it's vibrating. My eheim is also silent as a church mouse, so I can only really account for those two brands, but canisters can be awesome. My biggest buff with canisters is that they are kind of a pain to clean and get primed sometimes.


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## MriGuy85 (Aug 29, 2013)

I have a 55g running on the marineland c360 canister. You could probably get away with the 220, but I would recommend the 360. It's only 50 or 60 buck more and it's much bigger. The nice thing is that the marineland has virtually zero bypass. 99.whatever% of the water is forced through the baskets and the one I have is darn near silent. The 220 made a rattling noise which I discovered was a defective impeller, but my 360 is very quiet. The only thing I hear is a very slight hum from the impeller. No water fall sounds. I do have a power head that has the option for air infusion but even that is nearly silent. I would while heatedly recommend the 360. The flow is enough to give the fish something to play in, but will not blow them around. If there's any questions I can answer for you about the canister, feel free to PM me.


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## dam718 (Nov 25, 2013)

So after watching many, many videos on YouTube, I think I like the Marineland C series the best. Seems like I'll get the most bang for my buck out of them, although I'm certain that at some point I'll be plagued with the "You get what you pay for" syndrome, it looks to be a nicely designed filter.

MriGuy85, would you be able to tell me how wide the C360 is at it's widest point?

The cabinet door on my stand may not be wide enough to accommodate the 360, which is a bummer cause I would prefer the 360 over the 220 I believe... 

My door clearance is 11" wide x 27" tall


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## MriGuy85 (Aug 29, 2013)

Sure, ill grab some measurements when I get home this afternoon around 3pm Arizona time. I'm pretty sure it is smaller than those measurements, but I will check for you and let you know. I think it's a great canister. No problems with my 360 so far.

I actually found the dimensions online after writing the first part of this post. check out this website. There is a table showing the dimensions of each of MarineLand's canisters.

Canister Filters: Marineland C-Series Multi-Stage Canister Filters


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## dam718 (Nov 25, 2013)

MriGuy85 said:


> Sure, ill grab some measurements when I get home this afternoon around 3pm Arizona time. I'm pretty sure it is smaller than those measurements, but I will check for you and let you know. I think it's a great canister. No problems with my 360 so far.
> 
> I actually found the dimensions online after writing the first part of this post. check out this website. There is a table showing the dimensions of each of MarineLand's canisters.
> 
> Canister Filters: Marineland C-Series Multi-Stage Canister Filters


I think the dimensions they have listed here may be the dimensions of the box. It doesn't look, in pictures at least, like it is 3 inches bigger from front to back than it is from side to side. It looks fairly square to me.


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## MriGuy85 (Aug 29, 2013)

It is fairly square, you are correct. The extra three inches are probably coming from the handles on either side of the canister. You'll notice in the picture that it has the two clips on the front and back of the canister to secure the head to the body, but it also has two handles that jut out a little bit which could be accounting for those measurements. Let me measure when I get home in about an hour and a half and we'll know for sure.


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## MriGuy85 (Aug 29, 2013)

Ok, so the measurements on the website are correct as far as I can tell. The extra 3 inches you saw are, in fact, from the handles on the side of the canister. Sounds to me like it'll fit and you've found yourself a new canister


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## dam718 (Nov 25, 2013)

MriGuy85 said:


> Ok, so the measurements on the website are correct as far as I can tell. The extra 3 inches you saw are, in fact, from the handles on the side of the canister. Sounds to me like it'll fit and you've found yourself a new canister


That'll be a tight squeeze if it's 10 3/4" at the narrowest point. The 11" was a round up  It's more like 10 7/8"... So I'd have about 1/16" clearance on either side getting it in the door, which SHOULD be enough, especially if I can shimmy it in, one side and then the other...

What I should really find out first, is how liberal a return policy the store I buy it from has... Haha!


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## MriGuy85 (Aug 29, 2013)

I bought mine from petsmart. When I bought the 220 and decided I didn't like it after a week they let me return it for the 360. They just "damage" it and throw it away, unfortunately. Apparently marineland has no interest in returns.


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## majerah1 (Oct 29, 2010)

What a waste. Though I suppose I can see why as it would be used and no telling if it will spread things. If I were an employee I would keep it LOL. Of course I know how to clean them


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## MriGuy85 (Aug 29, 2013)

I agree! And it was perfectly fine, I just couldn't handle the sound of the impeller, as it was defective. But I needed a bigger one anyways. They should figure out a way to salvage them or something. Or maybe they were just trying to make me feel bad. Who knows


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## majerah1 (Oct 29, 2010)

Yeah. I had QTed some black neons for almost two weeks, then realized they were too hyper for my tank. took them back, they went to their qt tank... I told them they just came from it. LOL They dosed em with methyl stuff too. Silly people. I felt bad, the come from my nice pristine planted qt tank to theirs, half the size and drugged up. 

I think they do these things to make us feel bad.


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## dam718 (Nov 25, 2013)

Out here PetSmart is the only folks I have found with the 360, but they want $199 for it... Amazon has it for $129, free shipping with Prime... So I'll go with Amazon and pray it can squeeze in there... 

I guess I could see if PetSmart will match Amazon's price... But I kinda doubt they would be willing to do that. They complain about having to match the price of their OWN website...


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## MriGuy85 (Aug 29, 2013)

Amazon may have an even better deal if you search hard enough, but 129 is a good price. That's what I would go with. It does not have an spray bar attachments though. I've been considering going to Home Depot and getting some vinyl tube and some PVC to construct one to go across my entire tank's length. Maybe this weekend. I would have to drill some holes in the lip of the rim on the back and I'm very nervous about doing that to a full tank.


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

For that much I'd much rather have a Fluval or Eheim. An Eheim Classic 2217 or 15 would be perfect for that tank. Once you get an Eheim, you'll more than likely never change brands again.

When I used to have a few HOBs going in my tanks I could never hear anything from mine for water noise. If you let the water coming out drop into water instead of flow into water it will make a lot of noise. I always keep the water level above the outtake of the filter though. Looks silly to have 2-3" of space at the top of the tank that is empty - IMO.


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## dam718 (Nov 25, 2013)

jrman83 said:


> For that much I'd much rather have a Fluval or Eheim. An Eheim Classic 2217 or 15 would be perfect for that tank. Once you get an Eheim, you'll more than likely never change brands again.
> 
> When I used to have a few HOBs going in my tanks I could never hear anything from mine for water noise. If you let the water coming out drop into water instead of flow into water it will make a lot of noise. I always keep the water level above the outtake of the filter though. Looks silly to have 2-3" of space at the top of the tank that is empty - IMO.


I did have the water line above the out take... I think it's just how the Aqueon filters are made. There is a little "Wet/Dry" insert in the outtake that the water runs through... It's what is making all the noise... 

I considered both the Fluval and the Eheim. There was something that didn't sit well with me about the Fluval design... I didn't like the prefilter on the side of the media baskets. Just didn't make much sense why they would do it that way. Not that it doesn't work, I just couldn't make sense of it.

I would have gotten the Eheim if it had separate media baskets for each layer of media you choose to have in the filter. It looks like a pain in the butt to clean


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## dam718 (Nov 25, 2013)

So I looked at my weekend sale circular from PetSmart and what do ya know they had the Marineland C-Series filters on sale again.

$149.99 on their website... 

I figured what the heck... Only $20 more than Amazon, I'll pay another $20 to get it right dang now... 

So I went up there, and they had one in stock... Marked at $199.99

Of course, I had to haggle with them to get them to match their website price, but I finally got them to do the right thing, and brought home the C360 tonight... 

Snapped off a couple of photos...

This is a pick of the door clearance... TIGHT!










And this is a pic after installation hiding nicely under my tank. It is whisper quiet!










Did a water change during the filter install... I had meant to cut the carbon out of the Aqueon filter media and put that in the new filter to seed it (the floss, not the carbon), but I forgot to do it...

Not sure how much a difference it would have made since that media is only 3 weeks old. Hope I didn't start my cycle over again... 

Anyway, for filter media I kept everything as it came from Marineland with the exception of the carbon basket. I did that basket with a dense floss media... So from bottom to top it is Sponge > Dense Floss > Bio-Balls > Ceramic Rings > Polishing Filter. 

Also added a live plant. I believe it's called an Anacharis, it's the plant front and center in the tank.

I love the new filter! I am sitting here typing, admiring the tank, and not thinking about wetting myself!


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

Canisters are the best way to go. Come back and post how the filter is doing after a year. Just interested. Seems about the point people report issues with Marineland. they all have some issues.

The Eheim classic not having trays doesn't hinder you. Only takes about 10min to clean completely. I only do it once it year, so no real issue. Just keep the filter pad replaced.

You may get a small spike. Also, you may want to put the Anacharis in the back. It will grow and grow to the top of your tank, layover the top of the water and keep going.


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## MriGuy85 (Aug 29, 2013)

Right on man! That looks awesome! I admire my tank and canister every day. I really do love it. And I love being able to show people why the tank is so quiet. They get a look at the canister and its always a resounding "awesome!"


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