Filtration

[ArtesiaWells]

The tank I had it on was in a bedroom and I couldn't sleep thats how loud it was.

Like I said, interesting...

Was the water level of the tank kind of low? Was the return flow backsplashing into the tank water? These Aqueons do best when the flow from the returns are kind of making an aggressive "rift current" across the surface of the tank; or, when the tank is so filled up, you can't even see the current...then they're really quiet...

Marineland way quieter. I did have someone return one to my work cause it was smoking though. Personally never had a problem with it. I've had a 350 for 9 years now

Wait -- a customer returned a SMOKING Aqueon?

 

[vanimal]

You can't go wrong with an Aquaclear or Marineland. Both are great filters but if you are limited on money I would go for Marineland. Most other hob filters only come with cartridges while Aquaclear has Biomax and Marineland has the Biowheel. Marineland has space for two cartridges but on mine I add sponges. On my Aquaclear I don't run carbon anymore so I just do triple Biomax. Both are pretty customizable.

 

[ArtesiaWells]

You can't go wrong with an Aquaclear or Marineland. Both are great filters but if you are limited on money I would go for Marineland. Most other hob filters only come with cartridges while Aquaclear has Biomax and Marineland has the Biowheel. Marineland has space for two cartridges but on mine I add sponges. On my Aquaclear I don't run carbon anymore so I just do triple Biomax. Both are pretty customizable.

I have read and have been told by some folks I know that keep tanks -- and again, this is NOT my personal experience as I never owned a Marineland filter -- that the BioWheel mechanisms/systems are somewhat "overrated" and tend to break down a lot via caked-up debris buildups and the like; just something I was offering to the OP as another perspective...

 

[vanimal]

I have read and have been told by some folks I know that keep tanks -- and again, this is NOT my personal experience as I never owned a Marineland filter -- that the BioWheel mechanisms/systems are somewhat "overrated" and tend to break down a lot via caked-up debris buildups and the like; just something I was offering to the OP as another perspective...

I'm currently running 5 Marinelands and haven't noticed this at all. My Marinelands are actually a lot easier to clean than my Aquaclears.

 

[ArtesiaWells]

I'm currently running 5 Marinelands and haven't noticed this at all. My Marinelands are actually a lot easier to clean than my Aquaclears.

Fair enough; as I said, I have no personal experience with the brand in terms of filtration (though I just purchased and set up a 60 gallon Marineland tank); I was merely offering what I had heard and read about them (BioWheel failures/overrated design)...

Actually, your Marineland HOBs sound a lot like my Aqueon in that they take cartridges and can easily be maintained by swapping out the carts or rinsing them, etc; my Aqueon uses what the company calls a "Wet/Dry" filtration stage -- probably something very much like the BioWheel process -- in which a "diffuser grid" oxygenates the water coming out of the filter before it returns to the tank...

Interesting video of the process:

http://www.aqueonproducts.com/education/videos/index.php?v=UrJ_BF5i-h8

 

[Sillyfishies]

I think I'm going to go with the marine land! Thanks everyone. Just got to wait for my b-day!

 

[vanimal]

Fair enough; as I said, I have no personal experience with the brand in terms of filtration (though I just purchased and set up a 60 gallon Marineland tank); I was merely offering what I had heard and read about them (BioWheel failures/overrated design)...

Actually, your Marineland HOBs sound a lot like my Aqueon in that they take cartridges and can easily be maintained by swapping out the carts or rinsing them, etc; my Aqueon uses what the company calls a "Wet/Dry" filtration stage -- probably something very much like the BioWheel process -- in which a "diffuser grid" oxygenates the water coming out of the filter before it returns to the tank...

Interesting video of the process:

http://www.aqueonproducts.com/education/videos/index.php?v=UrJ_BF5i-h8

I think maybe I'll have to give aqueon a try.

 

[TheCommunityCichlid]

The aqueon was on just a normal tank, the noise was coming from the motor. And yea I work at petsmart and there was a penguin 400 in the trash so I asked what was wrong with it. Manager said it was smoking. I thought it was weird As well

 

[vanimal]

The aqueon was on just a normal tank, the noise was coming from the motor. And yea I work at petsmart and there was a penguin 400 in the trash so I asked what was wrong with it. Manager said it was smoking. I thought it was weird As well

haha I've never heard of a filter smoking.

 

[Laser]

Take a baseball bat to whichever you like

Bottom line and fact is... Most of what you stated can easily be corrected. I can't comment on the other filters you mentioned as I have no experience with them.


Ugh! I messed up. My responses are in the quite. Sorry about that.

The tube cannot be cut to fit because of the way it is made. Besides, I shouldn't have to. I purchased an extension tube that is too long and not adjustable. The top part of the tube has a greater diameter than the bottom so that it can cover the original intake tube. If I cut off the top part I won't be able to attach it to the original intake. If I cut off the bottom there will be an open tube instead of the protected intake.

I don't see how the sponges will remain in place without the filter basket to lock them in.

 

[ArtesiaWells]

I think maybe I'll have to give aqueon a try.

Based on the video?

They're great filters for the cash...

 

[ArtesiaWells]

The aqueon was on just a normal tank, the noise was coming from the motor. And yea I work at petsmart and there was a penguin 400 in the trash so I asked what was wrong with it. Manager said it was smoking. I thought it was weird As well

Yeah, but what I'm asking is, was the water level low, high, somewhere in between? That could make a filter "louder"; it could also make the motor SEEM louder...

What do you mean by "it was on just a normal tank"?

 

[vanimal]

The only way I could see a filter smoking would be if the water level got below the intake.

 

[ArtesiaWells]

The only way I could see a filter smoking would be if the water level got below the intake.

...and someone was smart enough to let it RUN dry like that for a period of time.....

 

[Rare]

I have the marineland emperor 400. Good selling point for me was the bio-wheel when I bought the fish tank & filter same day. Later on I was also reading about the overrated bio wheel when I read it something back & they did some test on the bio wheel i believe. I started wondering about this from them as well... let us not get into that...

Now if the bio-wheel does get heavy/caked up I think there is no harm in swishing it around a bucket with aquarium water that should solved that problem. A friend told me that the older version had a clear window to see the bio-wheel and a control for the flow of water and saw a video on you tube that someone that used to work with them said the same. The one I have doesn’t have this option & he did say they were very quiet & didn’t have the problem they have now.... Im guess it will have to be noise related. What some LFS did was that if you bought the marineland filter they will give you two cycled filter that they have been running and you give them the new ones so they can start it all over...interesting that is & a good selling point as well don't ya think?

Just a few weeks back I started hearing the noise like if it was the impeller hitting something. I check it out and couldn’t find anything. This is the point where I wanted another filter running for the just in case factor comes in. I went big and got a canister eheim 2080 but still keeping the 400 running even now. I messed with it and got what quiet…

After a few weeks having the 2080 running I could now investigate the 400 further. I found what might be the problem. The flow manifold cover (9) snaps into place via flow manifold cover (7) and in the middle is the impeller (8). The flow manifold cover (7) feeds the spray bar and that can vibrate and cause some noise. I did take it out and it did run like the first day smooth. The intake manifold section that holds the impeller looks be another weak spot of the gridding noise. I put everything back together and push the intake tube back and did seem to run smooth as far as noise level & lifting up the in-take tube a tab bit. You just have to find a sweet spot but pushed it in all the way now and its better.

As far as for media the 400 can hold plenty if you want to customize it and not use the media slot cartridge it comes with. It comes with a with the activated carbon cartridge that I just threw away yesterday rebuy if you want it again.
The 2nd slot is one you can fill it with what you want and reuse it. The cartridge opens and fills it what with you want. I have been messing with it since day one I added bio-balls on the 2nd slot and filled it with bio-balls….Bio balls? Yeah, I know..lol Now to give you an idea how much I fitted in there here is a pic.

The were running 5 across if I am not mistake so 25 total & also I added a few small lave rocks. I also removed it yesterday as well. Now I filled the cartridge with poly filter & thinking about getting 2 more cartridge to fill it with what ever I want. or buy the media small bag and use that. You can alos grind away the inside of section of the cartridge to even add more room inside.

 

[vanimal]

I have the marineland emperor 400. Good selling point for me was the bio-wheel when I bought the fish tank & filter same day. Later on I was also reading about the overrated bio wheel when I read it something back & they did some test on the bio wheel i believe. I started wondering about this from them as well... let us not get into that...

Now if the bio-wheel does get heavy/caked up I think there is no harm in swishing it around a bucket with aquarium water that should solved that problem. A friend told me that the older version had a clear window to see the bio-wheel and a control for the flow of water and saw a video on you tube that someone that used to work with them said the same. The one I have doesn’t have this option & he did say they were very quiet & didn’t have the problem they have now.... Im guess it will have to be noise related. What some LFS did was that if you bought the marineland filter they will give you two cycled filter that they have been running and you give them the new ones so they can start it all over...interesting that is & a good selling point as well don't ya think?

Just a few weeks back I started hearing the noise like if it was the impeller hitting something. I check it out and couldn’t find anything. This is the point where I wanted another filter running for the just in case factor comes in. I went big and got a canister eheim 2080 but still keeping the 400 running even now. I messed with it and got what quiet…

After a few weeks having the 2080 running I could now investigate the 400 further. I found what might be the problem. The flow manifold cover (9) snaps into place via flow manifold cover (7) and in the middle is the impeller (8). The flow manifold cover (7) feeds the spray bar and that can vibrate and cause some noise. I did take it out and it did run like the first day smooth. The intake manifold section that holds the impeller looks be another weak spot of the gridding noise. I put everything back together and push the intake tube back and did seem to run smooth as far as noise level & lifting up the in-take tube a tab bit. You just have to find a sweet spot but pushed it in all the way now and its better.

As far as for media the 400 can hold plenty if you want to customize it and not use the media slot cartridge it comes with. It comes with a with the activated carbon cartridge that I just threw away yesterday rebuy if you want it again.
The 2nd slot is one you can fill it with what you want and reuse it. The cartridge opens and fills it what with you want. I have been messing with it since day one I added bio-balls on the 2nd slot and filled it with bio-balls….Bio balls? Yeah, I know..lol Now to give you an idea how much I fitted in there here is a pic.

The were running 5 across if I am not mistake so 25 total & also I added a few small lave rocks. I also removed it yesterday as well. Now I filled the cartridge with poly filter & thinking about getting 2 more cartridge to fill it with what ever I want. or buy the media small bag and use that. You can alos grind away the inside of section of the cartridge to even add more room inside.

A few of mine have also been noisy but after messing with it I soon was able to quiet it down.

 

[Rare]

It really has come down in noise lvl for now. After running the 2080 for a few mins with the 400 off I can tell you it will never be quiet in these ears....lol., That 2080 is scray quiet. I do like the 400 for mid level cleaning and does pick up the small stuff...so I will use it for now to polish the water