Any recommendations for a good supplementary filter for a 29 gallon aquarium.

[Pleco1415]

I would like some help on finding a good supplementary filter for my aquarium.

[Pleco1415]

I already have an old tetra whisper power filter 30 running along side my ehiem canister. I find the canister filter is not powerful enough though I do regular maintenance on it. I would like to replace my tetra whisper power filter 30 for something more modern and quiet.

[mistersprinkles]

Originally Posted by Pleco1415

I already have an old tetra whisper power filter 30 running along side my ehiem canister. I find the canister filter is not powerful enough though I do regular maintenance on it. I would like to replace my tetra whisper power filter 30 for something more modern and quiet.

How much flow do you want in the tank? I'm assuming your canister is the 2213? You can add any small HOB. Aquaclear 50 would be a good choice. Aim the canister's spraybar along the surface. Along with the AC you'll be fine. Another alternative is to just add a powerhead, and run that along the surface of the tank to increase current and surface agitation.

[Pleco1415]

Originally Posted by mistersprinkles

How much flow do you want in the tank? I'm assuming your canister is the 2213? You can add any small HOB. Aquaclear 50 would be a good choice. Aim the canister's spraybar along the surface. Along with the AC you'll be fine. Another alternative is to just add a powerhead, and run that along the surface of the tank to increase current and surface agitation.

I do have the 2213, I took off the spray bar because my aquarium has an led hood and I could not fit the spray bar in in because the only way the spray bar can fit is from the side of the tank if I did not have a hood. I think I might try the aquaclear filter but I would get the 30 because I am not using it as my main filter just support for my canister filter.

[Pleco1415]

I just went out to my aquarium store and bought the aquaclear 30. I did not use the biological material that came with it because my canister filter already has a lot in it so I just stuck another sponge in the aquaclear.

[Ian086]

Originally Posted by Pleco1415

I just went out to my aquarium store and bought the aquaclear 30. I did not use the biological material that came with it because my canister filter already has a lot in it so I just stuck another sponge in the aquaclear.

You could just fill the HOB with filter floss. It will give you crystal clear water and the extra flow you want....

[Pleco1415]

Originally Posted by Ian086

You could just fill the HOB with filter floss. It will give you crystal clear water and the extra flow you want....

The filter is crap. The motor is making a loud grinding noise and it is over flowing. I was very surprised because I've had aquaclears on my other tanks in the past. I will bring it back because I have a warranty on it and I will probably get the 50 or buy a tetra filter. I tried fixing the motor by putting some Vaseline in the impeller but it still makes the grinding sound.

[mistersprinkles]

Originally Posted by Pleco1415

The filter is crap. The motor is making a loud grinding noise and it is over flowing. I was very surprised because I've had aquaclears on my other tanks in the past. I will bring it back because I have a warranty on it and I will probably get the 50 or buy a tetra filter. I tried fixing the motor by putting some Vaseline in the impeller but it still makes the grinding sound.

Aquaclears overflow when the media is too tall or too dense in the basket. What did you put in there? Did you try turning the flow-rate on the filter down?

Once in a while you get a really loud aquaclear, or a little piece of the impeller's magnetic base snaps off and grinds against the impeller causing more damage and lots of noise.

Don't go with another brand, stick with Aquaclear, just hope you get a quieter one.

[Pleco1415]

Originally Posted by mistersprinkles

Aquaclears overflow when the media is too tall or too dense in the basket. What did you put in there? Did you try turning the flow-rate on the filter down?



Once in a while you get a really loud aquaclear, or a little piece of the impeller's magnetic base snaps off and grinds against the impeller causing more damage and lots of noise.



Don't go with another brand, stick with Aquaclear, just hope you get a quieter one.

I like the aquaclear filters for many reasons but one thing I hate most about them is the outflow. The outflow is placed near the top of the aquarium so you hear the loud water trickling sound. You will probably say fill the tank up more but if I do that the water will be right at the rim. I'm guessing the larger models have a deeper out flow so if I get the 50 instead of the 30 maybe it will be quieter. If that is not the case do you know any other good hob filters? I love the marineland bio wheels but the bio wheel makes to much noise even when the tank is filled up.

[Fresh2o]

I have a glass top and used the excess plastic strip that covers the back to make "ramps" for the filter overflow:

It helped cut down on the noise and splash and directed the flow along the surface of the tank.

[Pleco1415]

That's a pretty good idea. I see people have the same problem as I do with the filter. It looks like you have a 29 gallon am I correct. I think i might look into a tetra whisper internal filter or a different aquaclear hob filter. I'm not sure what I want so this might take along time but I'm leaning towards the aquaclear.

[Fresh2o]

Originally Posted by Pleco1415

That's a pretty good idea. I see people have the same problem as I do with the filter. It looks like you have a 29 gallon am I correct. I think i might look into a tetra whisper internal filter or a different aquaclear hob filter. I'm not sure what I want so this might take along time but I'm leaning towards the aquaclear.

Close. It is actually a 20 gallon long (same footprint as the 29g). There are posts about a filter baffle that can easily assembled from a plastic water bottle. It reduces the force of the filter's output for current sensitive species. It may reduce noise as well.

[Pleco1415]

Originally Posted by Fresh2o

Close. It is actually a 20 gallon long (same footprint as the 29g). There are posts about a filter baffle that can easily assembled from a plastic water bottle. It reduces the force of the filter's output for current sensitive species. It may reduce noise as well.

I know the older aquaclear hob filters have a deeper outflow because I own an aquaclear mini which is now called the aquaclear 20 and it has a deeper outflow than the 20. Btw what country do you live in because I think it's crazy that someone is chatting with me at 2:30 am but maybe you live in a different time zone.

[Fresh2o]

Originally Posted by Pleco1415

I know the older aquaclear hob filters have a deeper outflow because I own an aquaclear mini which is now called the aquaclear 20 and it has a deeper outflow than the 20. Btw what country do you live in because I think it's crazy that someone is chatting with me at 2:30 am but maybe you live in a different time zone.

I could not stand the splashing so I had to improvise. I have used the same "adapter" with other HOB filters: Tetra Whisper, Emperor 280, Penguin 200.

Located in the USA. Was up because of an adventure with a DIY CO2 bubble counter. I was adding the CO2 directly to the HOB intake and then added a ceramic diffuser. The DYI glass bubble counter cracked with the increased pressure so I replaced it with a DIY plastic bottle bubble counter until I could get a real one. Well, the plastic one had swollen to the point where I thought it would explode, so I had to remove the diffuser and slowly depressurize it. This all tool place between midnight and 5 AM EST.

[Fresh2o]

Originally Posted by Pleco1415

I know the older aquaclear hob filters have a deeper outflow because I own an aquaclear mini which is now called the aquaclear 20 and it has a deeper outflow than the 20. Btw what country do you live in because I think it's crazy that someone is chatting with me at 2:30 am but maybe you live in a different time zone.

I could not stand the splashing so I had to improvise. I have used the same "adapter" with other HOB filters: Tetra Whisper, Emperor 280, Penguin 200.

Located in the USA. Was up because of an adventure with a DIY CO2 bubble counter. I was adding the CO2 directly to the HOB intake and then added a ceramic diffuser. The DYI glass bubble counter cracked with the increased pressure so I replaced it with a DIY plastic bottle bubble counter until I could get a real one. Well, the plastic one had swollen to the point where I thought it would explode, so I had to remove the diffuser and slowly depressurize it. This all tool place between midnight and 5 AM EST.

[Pleco1415]

Originally Posted by Fresh2o

I could not stand the splashing so I had to improvise. I have used the same "adapter" with other HOB filters: Tetra Whisper, Emperor 280, Penguin 200.

Located in the USA. Was up because of an adventure with a DIY CO2 bubble counter. I was adding the CO2 directly to the HOB intake and then added a ceramic diffuser. The DYI glass bubble counter cracked with the increased pressure so I replaced it with a DIY plastic bottle bubble counter until I could get a real one. Well, the plastic one had swollen to the point where I thought it would explode, so I had to remove the diffuser and slowly depressurize it. This all tool place between midnight and 5 AM EST.

I'm located in Canada. That really sucks. I have never used co2 in my aquariums but I have heard many stories. My friend has one of those fluval nano tanks with the co2 and one night his tank started draining from the co2 system. Luckily he only had plants and cherry shrimp. The cherry shrimp survived in a couple centimetres of water.

[Fresh2o]

The addition of CO2 helped tremendously with plant growth. DIY is pretty simple despite my recent calamity.
One way valves are a must with any type of tubing (air pump, CO2) used in the aquarium. They will reduce the chances of reverse siphoning.

[Pleco1415]

Originally Posted by Fresh2o

The addition of CO2 helped tremendously with plant growth. DIY is pretty simple despite my recent calamity.
One way valves are a must with any type of tubing (air pump, CO2) used in the aquarium. They will reduce the chances of reverse siphoning.

Use said in one of you recent messages that you have used the tetra whisper. Which tetra whisper was it and what did you think about it

[Fresh2o]

I owned a few Whisper HOBs since the 80s. Nice, quiet, and reliable. Now if the water flowed through it vertically rather than horizontally (meaning, if it stacked media like the Fluval series and did not use the cartridges) then it would be a winner for me.

[Pleco1415]

Originally Posted by Fresh2o

I owned a few Whisper HOBs since the 80s. Nice, quiet, and reliable. Now if the water flowed through it vertically rather than horizontally (meaning, if it stacked media like the Fluval series and did not use the cartridges) then it would be a winner for me.

Tetra made whisperers in the 80s! When I bought a 20 gallon long aquarium off of kijiji the tank came with an old second nature whisper power filter 30. The box for the filter was never opened so it was brand new though it was from 1995. I was surprised by the name but the box said tetra on it so it said " why the heck not!". The filter turned out to be very good though I had to play around with the impeller a bit because it was noisy. Today I am still using it as a supplementary filter on my 29 gallon but I would like to replace it soon for something more modern.