Marineland Bio-Filter Hate It!!!

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verna2197

Registered Member
Jun 2, 2013
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Tennessee
I have a 75 gallon freshwater tank, I hate my filters, they make so much noise, we have to turn the tv up pretty loud just to hear it. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
 

jpappy789

Plants need meat too
Feb 18, 2007
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Is it just water splashing noise or something mechanical? If the former, I find almost all HOBs are going to do that once you start losing water to evaporation...frequent top offs help.

But if it is something internal then you might want to check the impeller first. Something might have been lodged in there.
 

Wren

AC Members
Mar 27, 2011
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I hear you! I HATE noisy filters. I am easily bothered by noises. :(

For quiet filters, here is what I have found works best for me - undergravel filters powered by powerheads (not air pumps!) and internal canister filters (I use Fluval brand).

Undergravel filters are actually quite efficient. They can handle heavy fish loads. You will need to vacuum mulm out of the gravel. I don't grow live plants, so I don't know if they are compatible with plants. They are not compatible with digging fish. If the undergravel plate is exposed, the water will flow through the exposed part and not the gravel covered part. You need to make sure the powerhead is big enough to move enough water to filter, but not so big your fish get blown all over the tank. Keep the outlet under water for the quietest tank. I have a 25 gal goldfish tank and a 55 gal community set up this way.

As for the internal canisters, I have 2 filtering my 125 gal. I don't think they are the most effective filters. You definitely won't want to overstock your tank. They need relatively frequent rinsing to get the mulm out of the filter and keep water flowing through it (not a big deal). They do take up some room in the tank and are quite visible in the tank. I minimize that by having black filters and a black background. My lighting is a bit shorter than the tank, lengthwise, so I put the filters in the darker corners. I have found these to be very quiet.

Neither of these options is good for removing surface films/dust so that is a minor problem that I have to deal with. Raising the output to increase surface agitation will reduce films/dust, but also makes the tank intolerably noisy...

Good luck quieting things down a bit!
wren
 

Hr0th9ar

AC Members
Sep 8, 2012
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Winton, CA
Sounds like you need to upgrade to AquaClear. 2 AC110's will be perfect for you. I've been running the same AquaClear filters for 8 years with no problems and they are silent.

Sent from my mind to my fingers to my phone to the MFK servers to you
 

authmal

Pseudonovice
Aug 4, 2011
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Phoenix, AZ
As said, raising water level to be near the return should help the noise of flowing water, if it's something else, cleaning the impeller/lubing it with vaseline (plain, unscented) can help. Personally, I despise the biowheel filters. If it were me, I'd use something pretty similar (maybe even the exact same) to what I have on my 55: AC 70 (AC 110 if I upgraded for the extra 20 gallons of volume) HOB filter and AquaTop CF400UV (CF500UV in addition to/in place of AC 110) canister filter. The only time my AC 70 makes much noise is if the water level is too low or if the sponge is clogged and water is dripping (like it currently is, and I just haven't had the time to clean it since Tuesday, and is why I run two filters, each capable of filtering my tank) out relatively slowly. Canisters are typically pretty quiet. The only time I hear noise other than a slight hum out of mine is if I get air in there, but if it's properly primed, that just doesn't happen.

I'm not sure if there's a difference between an internal canister and an internal filter, or if the latter is simply people shortening the former, but I'd imagine they're pretty quiet by design. They just tend to not filter as efficiently, as I understand it. Undergravel filters are regarded as not being good with rooted plants, if that's an issue, and can be reversed to blow water up and through the gravel instead of pulling it down and into it. I don't feel they're as efficient at mechanically filtering the water, because the detritus either gets pulled into the gravel and needs to be vacuumed out, or (in the case of a reverse set up) blown around the tank until it finds a calm enough area to settle. At least, that's what I've seen, and that could just be the result of poor installation.
 

jpappy789

Plants need meat too
Feb 18, 2007
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In general I'd say UGF/RUGF isn't the best option for heavily planted although I've done it in the past and the only issues that arose with roots were during tear down. With RUGF I'd always have a "secondary" filter for polishing...an undersized HOB or canister would be fine.

I've never been a huge fan of internal filters. Some just take up too much space and there are a lot of crummy/cheap designs out there compared to some of the more popular HOBs or canisters.
 

Star_Rider

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Dec 21, 2005
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I have moved more to canister filters..
I have run several HOB filters including the marineland filters ..of the HOB's I personally like the AC filters..I like the way the filter basket is designed and how flexible the filter is for media.
the marineland filters are the only ones I have issues with regarding 'rattles' usually there is something in with the impellar and it needs to be cleared..

I have run UG and RFUG filters as well on either you still need to be dilligent and vac the gravel during water changes to keep them running as they are designed. I always run multiple filters on all my tanks to increase the flow and pick up of detritus.

there are plenty of low cost canisters on the market if you choose to go that route.

I use catalina aquarium CA1000's with good luck and have also tried sunsun 302 .

I have been happy with both.. you will need to supply most of your won media as they only come with a filter pad or 2
 

authmal

Pseudonovice
Aug 4, 2011
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Phoenix, AZ
I have been happy with both.. you will need to supply most of your won media as they only come with a filter pad or 2
Good point that I forgot to mention. It's one of the drawbacks of a "discount" filter. My CF400UV is, if I recall correctly, the SunSun HW303B, just rebranded, and with allegedly thicker plastic on intakes and returns.
 

MChambers

AC Members
Jun 5, 2009
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Washington DC
I switched to Eheim canisters a few years back in part because they are so quiet. They're not cheap, unless you can find them secondhand, from Craigslist, eBay, or local fish club auctions.
 

dhvService

Aquarium Dabbler
Feb 1, 2013
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Are you looking for suggestions on how to make your current marineland filters quieter? If you are, I have some experience with these filters and can walk you threw a few procedures to silent the impeller and unchain you from the prefab filter media.
 
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