Concern about too much surface agitation from 110 Aqua Clear in a planted tank

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Aquartist

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Mar 19, 2010
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Cleveland Heights, OH
A couple days ago I set up a 65 gallon planted tank (see previous post / two away) I bought the tank used and it came with a 110 AquaClear, which has a high 300 gph rating. It really churns the water, especially at the surface; should I be concerned about that. I don't inject any CO2 I only use Flourish Excel for a low tech tank, so I'm thinking I don't need to be concerned about gassing off the CO2. I might raise the water level in the tank some so the action at the surface is not so much like Niagra Falls. I've also considered replacing the 110 with something smaller like an Aquaclear 70. Note: There is also a Eheim 2215 running on that tank. I've considered running two Eheim canisters, one vertically and one horizontally, in place of the HOB filter. Any thoughts or suggestions?
 

TL1000RSquid

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Apr 6, 2011
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110AC currently on my 40b med light low tech, no problems. Since we're just doing liquid/dry ferts and no c02 injection I don't think its an issue.
 

tanker

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Since we're just doing liquid/dry ferts and no c02 injection I don't think its an issue.
I agree.

PS--You can have all those filters running at the same time. You can never "over-filter".
 

Aquartist

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Mar 19, 2010
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Cleveland Heights, OH
Thanks for your reply.
So my next question is how to make the 110 Aquaclear filter run quieter? Initially it was rather noisy so I did a little research and read that the impeller assembly may need cleaning and lubrication. I took it apart and did that, but the noise level did not change. It's only been running three days, so I'm hoping it will possibly self adjust. Otherwise I may replace it with a newer HOB that runs quieter.
 

Hr0th9ar

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Sep 8, 2012
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Raise the water level of the tank, remove the lid on the filter, make sure the filter is level, place a piece of rubber where the filter contacts the side of the tank. Other than that there isn't much you can do and you'll be hard pressed to find a filter quieter than an AquaClear.

Sent from my SGS4 Active
 

Aquartist

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Mar 19, 2010
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Cleveland Heights, OH
Thanks for your suggestions,
I already had triple up a piece of Foamcore between the filter and the tank to make it level. However, I raised the water level and repositioned the lid (rather than remove it), now it sounds better though still not quite as quiet as I would like, but then it is a large HOB filter and not an Eheim Canister filter.
 

Aquartist

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Mar 19, 2010
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Cleveland Heights, OH
I have now removed the lid as suggested by HrOth9ar. I resisted removing the lid at first as I realized there will be more evaporation, however with the lid on, there did seem to be vibration between it and the filter housing, that added to the noise.
 

FishFanMan

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Though not as high gph, I love my Fluval C4. Very quiet and super easy to clean the sponge.
 

TL1000RSquid

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Sounds like maybe your impellar is damaged, you can buy replacment impellar and shaft off ebay pretty cheap. I have several AC's running on different tanks only noise is water splashing in ones with low water level.
 

calivivarium1

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I would try a new impeller/shaft unless the filter is brand new (seems that it is not and came with the tank.. ya?). A new impeller can make a world of difference.
 
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