So heres my story. I recently upgraded from a 10 to a 30 gallon tank (taller than wide). I have 2 cichlids and an algae eater, and 3 live plants. The hang on back filter that came with the tank was loud and annoying, so after doing research, and buying and returning a HOT magnum, i ended up buying an eheim ecco. silence is golden to me and i am loving it. I had it set up where i was geting no surface agitation (im new), and i come home from work to find all of the fish hanging out with their noses on the surface, the plants brown, and the plants had put out some film / pulp and polluted the entire tank.. I assume this was all cause of no aeration in the tank, so temporarily i pointed the output valve of the filter to break the water surface and removed the dying plants. after 1 day the fish are acting normal and the water has cleared up. I went to buy an air pump (rena) and a bubble wall for some aeration, but was bothering me (my house is very quiet and the vibrations going through the walls bothers my roommate). I got a penguin powerhead, but it is making a rattling noise. So my question is...... does anyone know of an effective yet quiet tank aeration method, and when would it be safe to add a few more fish and replace the live plants? And has anyone had any rattling noise issues with penguin powerheads, should i just let it break itself in? im thinking that after a few days it should get a good slime coat on the impeller...??? ...or, if i were to buy the spray bar for the eheim, would that be enough aeration (keeping in mind that the tank is taller than wide) . or has any used the hydor ario submersible air pumps? I heard they were garbage. thanks in advance for any advice!
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