Recommendations for water pump please

[Kristin]

Hi, I’m new to the hobby and could really use some direction. I am a little lost on which water pump would be best for my 20 gallon high tank. I currently have an Aqueon Quietflow that just isn’t doing that good of a job, and it is louder than I expected. I added a second pump I had for a prior 10gal and it helps a lot but I need to upgrade. I’ve done some research and am considering a submergible pump. I’d love to hear your thoughts or recommendations on types of pumps, brands, wattage etc.

Thanks 

[xXInkedPhoenixX]

Hi there! I'm sure there will be suggestions forthcoming from others. I'm sorry I can't speak to a submersible pump because I only use sponge OR my Aqueon Quietflow 10! I used my Quietflow 10 originally on a 20 gallon and it did well but I pulled it to run sponge filters instead. It's now on a 10 gallon where I have 40 or so fish and it does a great job there (but it's also assisted by a sponge filter)- what I find great about it which some HOB don't do is that it doesn't have to be primed if it loses power- so if you have power outage when you're gone you won't return to a burned out HOB motor- if you end up with another HOB just keep that feature in mind. It's so quiet I never notice it's there. What specifically do you find noisy about it? Is it just the water sound or buzzing? Some people have had issues with the lid not fitting right. 

[Kristin]

Thanks for your reply.  After viewing some informational videos I have thought about running a sponge filter as well. It would be quiet but not sure if one would be efficient enough or if I would need two. The HOB I have now does make kind of a buzzing/humming sound but is probably normal.  As I am learning more and more about this a submersible pump is probably not the best option. 

[xXInkedPhoenixX]

Mine (Quietflow) does not buzz or hum at all- however- the times it does it's usually because the lid is a little wonky- once I address it- I don't hear it at all. 

You can run 2 sponges- I run 2 air driven filters in both my 20 gallon tall tanks. I use a Tetra Whisper rated for up to 60 gallons and I use a pump that has a lithium backed battery- this is so, if my power goes out at least one filter in each tank is still working (both pumps have 2 airline outlets and the tanks sit next to each other). I don't hear my pumps OR my sponge filters (you should never hear your sponges if they are optimized). You can also stack sponges. There's lots of things you can do with them and they are pretty great at filtering, just not the prettiest things. 

Some people here also rave about Aquarium Co-op's nano pumps but I personally haven't looked into them. 

Edited November 29, 2021 by xXInkedPhoenixX
1 more thing.

[Beardedbillygoat1975]

I think there’s a host of options for a 20 g. 

1) @xXInkedPhoenixXdid a great job talking about sponges, there’s the ACO sponges, the Amazon double sponges, diy options - buy some foam cut it, drop an airstone and some uplift tube and bam you’ve got a sponge filter-  air powered external pump such as the coop usb pump can power it. One or 2 medium sponges would work great. For another air driven option the Ziss biobubbler is great. Other option is a power head on top of the sponge filter, ACO designed their sponges and power heads to fit together. With a power head you’d only need one but you may need to clean it more often. 
2) a small canister filter from Eheim, Fluval, or Finnex/ZooMed would work great and be quieter typically then a HOB. Oase makes a good one too but cost is an issue. Advantages are you can stuff them with a ton of sponges and lava rock and you’ve got great bio and mechanical filtration. Eheim and Fluval are quiet always wanted to try the Finnex/Zoomed ones. 
3) 20 g makes an in tank option good such as Fluval U2, penn plax cascade and oase makes one as well as it’s in the water so they’re quiet. I have the U2 on one of my sons tanks as well as a tetra whisper they work great  - don’t use their cartridges it’s a racket get some sponge 30 ppi and bam you’re awesome
4) try a different HOB, they are not all equal, keep hearing good things about the tidals and their pump is in the water so they are reportedly quieter. I have a Marineland 450 and an Aquaclear 70 they aren’t quiet but I don’t need them to be. I like the waterfall noise. 

[xXInkedPhoenixX]

@Beardedbillygoat1975 that's the thing I was trying to diagnose with @Kristin. The pump for the Quietflow is in the water (hence no priming). Mine is totally quiet. So it's possible there is another issue (the lids notoriously rattle but is fixable) or just a defective one. 

[Kristin]

Wow, this is really great information. I will definitely check into these options and research some more. Thanks so much, you guys are awesome! 

[Torrey]

On 11/28/2021 at 10:52 PM, Kristin said:

Wow, this is really great information. I will definitely check into these options and research some more. Thanks so much, you guys are awesome! 

My vote is the Co-op sponge filters. The coarse sponge doesn't clog as quickly as some other options. The USB nano pumps from the Co-op are **silent** and if you have a back up battery (UPS) to plug the USB nano pumps into, then they keep working even in a power outage.

Welcome to the hobby!

[Andy's Fish Den]

I would ditch the noisy HOB filter and run one of the medium size co-op sponges in the tank. if you already have an air pump, use that, otherwise, grab one of the USB air pumps from the co-op as well. I run my entire fish room on sponge filters, and I have numerous 20 gallon and larger tanks using one sponge filter only, and some tanks are heavily stocked. 

[BuzzDaddy21]

Hi, my two cents on this?

I myself just getting back into hobby, I decided to use sponge filters only, some with motors built in, just seems easy way to go, easy to clean also. 

Had some hang on the back pumps years ago, hated to spend money on filters. 

I think it comes down to what you are comfortable with.

[anewbie]

You could go with the old style box filters (basically a plastic box with filter floss and are air driven); sponge filters (I like the square ones that have good ppi - around 20-30); a better hob (tidal and aquaclear are very popular); i would not use a canister on a 20 but zoo med makes a small one for that size tank.