Silent running tank?

W

Waylander

AC Members
Jun 23, 2006
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Tasmania, Australia
At some point in the future, I would like to have a fish tank in my bedroom. My current tank was originally supposed to go in my room but I soon realised that with the noise of the filter, I wouldn't be able to sleep. My room needs to be absoloutely silent.

So my question is, can I run a tank in my room which will make no noise at night. Any noise is fine during the day. Any ideas anyone? I was thinking that maybe a normal filter would work, just turning it on when I get up and then off again when I go to bed...

It could be coldwater or tropical. I would also be able to run a light during the day so maybe if it was heavily planted the plants could do alot of the filtering...

Anyway, a tank which runs silently at night. Discuss :)

EDIT: also size-wise it would probably only be 5-10 gallons.
 
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An internal filter like a Fluval, Stingray, Duetto, etc will make a relatively silent tank. And they're especially good for small tanks like a 5 or 10. Larger tanks can be relatively quiet with a quality canister.

I actually have a 20g long and a 5.5g in my bedroom. The 20 long has a Fluval 104 canister filter and a Penguin 125 HOB, and the 5.5g has a Stingray internal. I sleep like a baby.
 
Plants in the tank actually take IN oxygen at night, so turning off the filter at night is not adviseable as it could lead to oxygen depletion.

Like echoofformless mentioned, the internal filters are some of the quietest I have come across for smaller tanks, as the motor is under water. I've got a Fluval 1 Plus internal filter in my 10 gallon, and when I lay it horizontally on the floor of the tank (which it is designed to do) I've found it to be extremely quiet--although I don't have it in a bedroom, so I can't judge in that way.
 
I have a 20gallon in my bedroom with a rena filstar xp1 canister filter on it. It is dead silent unless you put your ear right next to the filter.
 
yup, many of the current filters and air pumps run virtually silently. there have been great improvements in technology since i started in aquaria in 1990. i have 4 fish tanks in one room (not my bedroom), and can barely hear anything. as suggested, the internal filters are dead quiet. i use Rena air pumps and they, too, are almost undetectable, as long as they don't touch something and start vibrating against it.

hang-on-back (HOB) filters usually produce a splashing sound because they dump water back in from the top, although that is preferable for surface agitation. i personally like the sound because it's like white noise that some people actually buy on CD's to help them sleep. but i understand the need for silence to sleep :) My boyfriend loves falling asleep with the TV on for the light and sound, and it drives me insane. i, like you, can't sleep unless it's perfeclty quiet AND dark.

you can get around the waterfall effect with a HOB by just making your water level at or above the outflow, though. at 5-10 gallons, an internal filter would be perfect. Whisper makes the 10i that I use in my betta tank and it is SILENT.
 
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i have an emperor 400 beast of a filter on my 20gal in my room that makes a crapload of noise when there is just a little space between the output and the water surface-its like a waterfall and i sleep just fine, but that's just me.

i've thought that those eclipse and other self-contained filter, hood, and heater systems are good in this area
 
I can't even hear my Fluval 305 under my tank when I stick my head in there...
 
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