Hagen AquaClear 20 question

[Andrey Tarasevich]

Hello

I recently purchased a new AquaClear 20 (former AquaClear Mini) HOB
filter to replace my old Penguin Mini Bio-Wheel. The previous filter
worked fine, but I wanted to have wider flow adjustment range of
AquaClear since the tank is small (5.5 gal) and reducing the flow in
Penguin resulted in Bio-Wheel getting stuck. One problem I notice with
the AquaClear is that it is much noisier than the Penguin. The noise is
obviously made by the impeller. In case of the Penguin in order to hear
the impeller noise I have to get to within 10cm of the filter. With the
AquaClear I can hear it from 1 meter. There's no air or particles of any
kind in the AquaClear's impeller chamber. I used to get the same type of
noise from the Penguin when the rotor got dirty and cleaning the rotor
would always solve the problem. This AquaClear is new and it makes this
noise right away. I actually went back to the store and got another unit
of the same type thinking that the first one was misaligned or
something. But it didn't make any difference.

Actually, on the second thought, the noise I'm getting from the
AquaClear is not that bad. If it was my first filter I wouldn't even
worry about it, but now I'm spoiled by the Penguin. (But I also wonder
what the fish will think about it and about the accompanying vibration).

I read a couple of reviews on the Net where people saying that their
AquaClear's are "whisper quiet". Are their filters different from mine?
Of is it just that we have a different ideas of how quiet is "whisper
quiet"?

BTW, does anyone who has experience with AquaClear filter know, whether
these filters have any "break-in" period after which the impeller noise
should reduce?

--
Best regards,
Andrey Tarasevich

[NetMax]

"Andrey Tarasevich" > wrote in message
...
> Hello
>
> I recently purchased a new AquaClear 20 (former AquaClear Mini)
<snip>

> BTW, does anyone who has experience with AquaClear filter know, whether
> these filters have any "break-in" period after which the impeller noise
> should reduce?

Yes, until a slime coat develop on all the moving parts, unless it's the
cover that's rattling.
--
www.NetMax.tk

> --
> Best regards,
> Andrey Tarasevich
>

[Kevin]

Hello Andrey,
I am sitting about 1' from a 5.5 running the AquaClear Mini and the only
noise water from the filter hitting the surface water of the tank. I really
should fill the tank up to the level of the filter. Every once in awhile
though the little plastic lid that sits on the top of the filter is not
seated properly and creates an annoying noise. Reseating the siphon tube
properly eliminates this completely. No noise from the impeller.



"Andrey Tarasevich" > wrote in message
...
> Hello
>
> I recently purchased a new AquaClear 20 (former AquaClear Mini) HOB
> filter to replace my old Penguin Mini Bio-Wheel. The previous filter
> worked fine, but I wanted to have wider flow adjustment range of
> AquaClear since the tank is small (5.5 gal) and reducing the flow in
> Penguin resulted in Bio-Wheel getting stuck. One problem I notice with
> the AquaClear is that it is much noisier than the Penguin. The noise is
> obviously made by the impeller. In case of the Penguin in order to hear
> the impeller noise I have to get to within 10cm of the filter. With the
> AquaClear I can hear it from 1 meter. There's no air or particles of any
> kind in the AquaClear's impeller chamber. I used to get the same type of
> noise from the Penguin when the rotor got dirty and cleaning the rotor
> would always solve the problem. This AquaClear is new and it makes this
> noise right away. I actually went back to the store and got another unit
> of the same type thinking that the first one was misaligned or
> something. But it didn't make any difference.
>
> Actually, on the second thought, the noise I'm getting from the
> AquaClear is not that bad. If it was my first filter I wouldn't even
> worry about it, but now I'm spoiled by the Penguin. (But I also wonder
> what the fish will think about it and about the accompanying vibration).
>
> I read a couple of reviews on the Net where people saying that their
> AquaClear's are "whisper quiet". Are their filters different from mine?
> Of is it just that we have a different ideas of how quiet is "whisper
> quiet"?
>
> BTW, does anyone who has experience with AquaClear filter know, whether
> these filters have any "break-in" period after which the impeller noise
> should reduce?
>
> --
> Best regards,
> Andrey Tarasevich
>

[Andrey Tarasevich]

Kevin wrote:
> I am sitting about 1' from a 5.5 running the AquaClear Mini and the only
> noise water from the filter hitting the surface water of the tank. I really
> should fill the tank up to the level of the filter. Every once in awhile
> though the little plastic lid that sits on the top of the filter is not
> seated properly and creates an annoying noise. Reseating the siphon tube
> properly eliminates this completely. No noise from the impeller.

Yes, my filter also got much more quiet after working for two days. The
aforementioned impeller noise disappeared almost completely (although
sometimes the top lid starts to resonate with the impeller and that
makes the noise more audible, but reseating the lid usually fixes the
problem).

However, now I notice another potential problem with the filter - it
vibrates at what appears to be the AC frequency (60 Hz in my case). The
amplitude is low and it is not really audible by itself, but sometimes
the filter lid and/or some loose plastic on my lighting fixture starts
to rattle because of that vibration, which makes it audible. It would be
interesting to know whether it creates any unpleasant sensations for the
fish. I hope it will also go away soon. In any case, I'll probably put
some foam tape between the filter body and the tank edge to reduce the
vibration transfer...

--
Best regards,
Andrey Tarasevich