Noisy filter & filter question... - MyFishTank.Net Freshwater Saltwater Aquarium Fish Forum

oceana · 07-03-2009, 10:04 PM

Hello, fellow "fishtank" friends!
I am new on this site. My husband and I just re-started up our 30 gallon freshwater tank. No fish yet.... as we are cycling the water. No problems with THAT tank, thus far.
However, we have a SMALL 2 1/2 gallon tank for our kids and I did my best to find the SMALLEST filter made. It has suction cups and sticks to the side and is completely submersible, however, it is LOUD. Two questions for you....
1) Is there any quiet filters for a 2 gallon tank?
2) Will it kill the fish (once we get them in there) if we turn the filter off overnight?
Any advice is much appreciated!

brody · 07-03-2009, 10:21 PM

I highly do NOT suggest turning filter off for long amounts of time. It can allow ammonia to build up quickly, it will throw beneficiary bacteria out of whack, and worse of all it could cause stress to fish if current is not constant. (That is if there are no other forms of current ex. air bubbles) sorry if that sounds aggresive im just trying to help

chrispar0323 · 07-03-2009, 10:23 PM

i 100% back the above suggestion

unwritten law · 07-03-2009, 11:05 PM

I have a tetra filter rated for like 1-3 gallons that is basically the same principle as a sponge filter running off an air pump... The pump makes noise but just s slight hum and I have enough air line to put the pump in a place to make it less noisy.

Cho89 · 07-04-2009, 04:42 AM

what about when cleaning the filter casing and intake tubes. Is it still bad for the fish to not have a filter going for a short amount of time?

homebunnyj · 07-04-2009, 10:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cho89

what about when cleaning the filter casing and intake tubes. Is it still bad for the fish to not have a filter going for a short amount of time?

Don't clean the filter casing. You're killing off your bacteria if you do. Maybe a couple times a year you should check and clean the impeller and impeller housing. You can just brush algae buildup off the outside of the intake tube.

A fishtank is not supposed to be all spic-and-span. It has to have some undisturbed areas for the beneficial bacteria to colonize. Clean algae off your glass and anywhere else it is conspicuous, vacuum your gravel including under ornaments with weekly water changes, and swish your filter pad in dechlorinated water; and periodically (I do this two or three times a year) do some filter maintenance, and that's all you do. You should never break the tank down to do a big cleaning on it, and you mustn't try to keep your filter housing all shiny clean.

As for the OP, if your filter is run by an air pump, that's the noise source. Place a rubber mouse pad or something similar under it to damp the noise. If that doesn't help you can try a different brand of air pump.

07-03-2009, 10:04 PM	#1 (permalink)
oceana Teenie Weenie Fish Join Date: Jul 2009 Posts: 1	Noisy filter & filter question... Hello, fellow "fishtank" friends! I am new on this site. My husband and I just re-started up our 30 gallon freshwater tank. No fish yet.... as we are cycling the water. No problems with THAT tank, thus far. However, we have a SMALL 2 1/2 gallon tank for our kids and I did my best to find the SMALLEST filter made. It has suction cups and sticks to the side and is completely submersible, however, it is LOUD. Two questions for you.... 1) Is there any quiet filters for a 2 gallon tank? 2) Will it kill the fish (once we get them in there) if we turn the filter off overnight? Any advice is much appreciated!

07-03-2009, 10:21 PM	#2 (permalink)
brody Teenie Weenie Fish Join Date: May 2009 Location: england Posts: 39	I highly do NOT suggest turning filter off for long amounts of time. It can allow ammonia to build up quickly, it will throw beneficiary bacteria out of whack, and worse of all it could cause stress to fish if current is not constant. (That is if there are no other forms of current ex. air bubbles) sorry if that sounds aggresive im just trying to help __________________ 50 gallon ish- rams and angelfish 30 gallon- pair of bristlenoses and fry 5 gallon- betta 3 corys (waiting to go into 30)

07-03-2009, 10:23 PM	#3 (permalink)
chrispar0323 Little Fish Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Austin,TX Posts: 108	i 100% back the above suggestion __________________ 20g tall- 6 neon Tetras,1 Neon dwarf Gourami, 3 Emerald Cories, 1 Bristlenose Pleco, 1 Apple Snail 10g- 1 creamsicle molly,1 dalmation molly,2 Silver Mollies, 3 guppies, 2 mickey mouse platies,(the fry have dwindled to two survivors for their toughness we have named them Apollo Creed and Rocky) 3g Pico planted tank-In progress Iwagumi style

07-03-2009, 11:05 PM	#4 (permalink)
unwritten law Super Fish Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: WVU Posts: 1,243	I have a tetra filter rated for like 1-3 gallons that is basically the same principle as a sponge filter running off an air pump... The pump makes noise but just s slight hum and I have enough air line to put the pump in a place to make it less noisy. __________________ 20 Gallon High Reef 2 orange skunk clowns, 1 yellow watchman goby, soft corals, zoas 46 Gallon Planted 6 tiger barbs, 2 yoyo loaches, 2 keyhole cichlids, 1 cherry barb, 1 blue gourami 29 Gallon Planted 11 harlequin rasboras, 3 cories, 1 betta

07-04-2009, 04:42 AM	#5 (permalink)
Cho89 Teenie Weenie Fish Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 15	what about when cleaning the filter casing and intake tubes. Is it still bad for the fish to not have a filter going for a short amount of time?