Aqueon Evolve 8 - pros/cons?

It's no problem turning an airstone off at night. The tank works perfectly fine without one so it's just really an aesthetic choice for you. Just be sure you have a check valve on the airline between the pump and airstone so that the water doesn't backsiphon down into the pump and damage it when the power is off.

Andy
 
Narwhal72 said:
What Just Prince said. The pump in the Evolve 4 and 8 is the SP-98 pump and can do almost 100 gph which is pretty strong and great for the pico reef and planted tanks.

But when it rubs against the side the normal vibration of the pump will resonate with the walls of the aquarium and get loud. If the pump is sitting flat on the bottom and not touching the sides it's not loud. I have one of each in my office and I don't even notice it.
Another thing you can do to reduce noise is to put a filter pad under and around the pump to cushion it and reduce the vibration resonance as well.

Andy
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Ah, Andy, just the person I need to speak to. I've had the Evolve 8 running for 4-1/2 months. There is a rattle in the output section at the top of the black divider that is extremely annoying. I've been in contact with Melissa @ Aqueon & she suggested the pump be completely submerged in water. The pump is never out of the water, it is attached to the bottom with the 4 suction cups. Melissa had me take the propeller out of the pump & clean it. Not much there but I cleaned it & the rattle was reduced to a tick sound which became a rattle in a couple of a days. Melissa then mailed a new output tube, elbow connector & directional output piece. Took the originals of those out & put the new ones in. Rattle is still there. The tube she sent is 2 inches shorter than the original tube therefore the pump is hanging by the tube. Now the vibration from the pump is extremely loud. I'm almost to the point of breaking this tank down & just not use it. Any suggestions as to how to stop this rattle? BTW, excellent customer service from Melissa! Thanks Andy
 
Most likely it is the vibration from the pump transmitting to the side walls of the tank. First I would make sure the pump is not touching the side walls. Direct contact of the pump on the walls is usually what causes it. This is not a permanent solution because the pump will move on its own and eventually work back to the wall and start resonating again. A good solution that I have used is to take a piece of filter pad (you can cut off one side of an old cartridge to do it) and wrap it around the bottom and sides of the pump so that it can't make direct contact with the walls. You don't have to fully enclose the pump. Just enough to put a barrier between the pump and bottom/side walls.

Melissa must have sent you an Evolve 4 tube which is why it is 2" shorter.

Andy
 
Sorry, didn't see that you posted what I just told you above your second post.

As far as "rattling" from the outlet tube, I don't know how that could be possible. It's not a moving part and it's a pretty firm connection so there really isn't any way it could be oscillating to cause a rattle. It has to be resonance from the pump traveling through the side walls. The filter pad trick should solve that.
 
Narwhal72 said:
Sorry, didn't see that you posted what I just told you above your second post.

As far as "rattling" from the outlet tube, I don't know how that could be possible. It's not a moving part and it's a pretty firm connection so there really isn't any way it could be oscillating to cause a rattle. It has to be resonance from the pump traveling through the side walls. The filter pad trick should solve that.
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Thank you Andy!! I know, I don't understand the rattle either. I clean the pump, the tube, the elbow connector, the tube in the black divider wall, the output directional piece and the rattle is reduced to a tick. Within a couple of days, it resumes a full-time rattle. If I was tech-savvy, I would video it & send the video to Melissa. lol I try to make sure the pump is nowhere near the walls. If I pull the elbow connector with the tube attached to it & the pump, but the pump is still working, the rattle stops. Idk, I'll try wrapping the pump as you mentioned & if that doesn't work, try something else. Thanks Andy!!!
 
Hi Andy, I have the Evolve 8 - I love it. Shortly after I purchased it the led lights started flickering - I just let them go. Now all the lights are out with the exception of the blue lights in the center of the led. Any suggestions on a replacement?

Thank you,
Sheila
 
You can get a replacement LED light from Aqueon Customer Service if it is still under warranty. Not sure how long ago you purchased the tank from your post.

We don't sell the light separately nor do we have any other small LED's that would fit it. If your tank is out of warranty you can find a number of small pico tank LED lamps on Amazon or at your LFS.

andy
 
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