Filter not sitting deep enough in aquarium?

[WhiteWolf]

This is kind of difficult to explain, but I will try and I hope everyone understands what I mean. It seems as if my filters are not sitting deep enough into my aquarium. They splash a lot of water and I am worried it is unsafe. I realize in the picture that the water level is low, but this is a problem even when the tank is filled all the way. I bought two Aqueon QuietFlow 30s for a 42 gallon aquarium that I got from a friend. I also bought an Aqueon deluxe full hood for it. I haven't had the light part on it for a while now because water from the filters gets on it. Is this a hazard?

I really want a light on this tank because I want to have live plants. I tried to tape the hood in a position far enough away from the back of the aquarium that it wouldn't be a problem, but it did not work out. I also tried to reduce the flow of the filters by covering where the water goes in, but that didn't seem to help much, and I want the filters running at full capacity.

Has anyone else ever experienced this issue? What should I do?

 

[00youknowit00]

You could try putting a piece of foam in the out take, that should slow the water down as its leaving.

 

[WendiDell]

It looks like the entire filter is sitting up off of the tank, instead of it sitting all the way over and down.
If that's the case then the filters are to small for the tank or the tanks edge is to thick for that size filter.
If it is up above the edge it won't ever not splash because it's to far away from the surface.

Some of the older tanks have really thick rims and a lot of regular filters won't hang right. I know this because I happen to have bought one through craigslist several years ago.
The only way I found to get a filter to work was to use a HOB Canister with an adjustable hanger. This one works really well, it's for up to 55g tanks. The outflow can also be set so that there is 0 splash, or just a small amount for air.
Sorry about the crummy pics. it's 1:30am and the room is really dark.
Anyway in the second and third photo's you can see the the hanger moves in and out to accommodate any size rim, from a rimless tank to a tank with a 4" thick rim. I use 2 of them on my 55g Mbuna Tank and they keep everything crystal clear. I only have to clean them every 6 months. It is an extremely low maintenance filter. The one in the pic. is 7 years old, I replaced the gaskets once about three years ago.
Right now you can get one for $51.99 at bigalsonline. It's a great filter for the money.

 

[reefdiver]

You can glue or silicone a lip to your filter to extend where the water is making contact b

 

[Retired_AF]

Both of my ideas concerning the splashing have already been posted. That being said, I will add that the lights need to be set so that NO water splashes on them and that includes from any air stones, bubble wands or anything else of that nature that causes little droplets of water to splash up. If the bulbs are hot, it could cause a catastrophic failure (exploding bulbs are not good in ANY way). Also, the old adage that water and electricity don't mix is valid. There is the shock hazard to both you and your fish plus the water could cause corrosion on the connections.

You mentioned wanting plants. Looking at the hood of your tank, it appears to be similar to the standard hood that comes with a lot of tanks with the lighting that sits on top of the glass, and the lighting that usually comes with the 2 screw-in type bulbs is inadequate for all but the ones requiring only low light. I would recommend a glass or plexiglas cover between the water and the lights (this prevents the splashing and also cuts down on evaporation) and an upgraded lighting system depending on what you have in mind for the tank.

 

[hippy guy]

Yeah I have a aqueon glass lid for my tank, and you can get lights that basically sit just above that