Loud HOB, whats my best solution

[Theplatymaster]

As few of you might know im currently running a Tidal 35 on my tank.

As some of you might know, (im thinking of you @nabokovfan87) the tidal filters have a few issues.

As most of you would know its not worth it just to get a new HOB for a few issues, with prices these days, though i consider it.

As barely any of you would know, in storage i have a tetra whisper HOB. Its in storage because it was too loud for my liking, but i want to use this filter. So any tips to silence it? The impeller seems to be making all the noise. Will just getting a new impeller help? what else could be happening? Please help.

[CJs Aquatics]

Mine gurgles when it’s clogged with debris on the skimmer portion or water level gets low but other then that I’ve never experienced much issue with the bigger version

[lefty o]

what kind of noise are we talking about, water gurgling, or aeration sounds, or plastic parts vibrating??

[KittenFishMom]

Take the impeller out and look to see if the rubber nobs/plugs on of both end of the wire "axle". They keep everything in line. If one of those is missing it will make a lot of noise as it doesn't stay aligned. When I lost one, I found buying a complete "opened box" filter was cheaper than  buying just the impeller.

You may also have plant fiber or filter media fiber wrapped around the axle that is causing drag. You may need a pin or pointed tweezers to get all the fibers off the axle. You need to slide the impeller to the bottom of the axle to see fibers at the top, and slide it up to see fibers at the bottom.

Another way to quiet an HOB is to keep the surface of the water in the tank high. The farther the water level is from the HOB outlet, the more noise the falling water makes as it hits the surface water. 

The HOB should be level left to right and front to back. I think the top fin has a plate on the bottom of the motor that holds it out, away from the glass. The lid will rattle if is not seated correctly. I tend to leave the lid off and put plant cutting next to the media to root. You can fiddle with the top and the media until everything settles quietly into place.

You can find the source of some rattles by touching different parts of the HOB to see what makes the sound get quieter, then adjust that part. (You can slide some media padding between the tank and the filter quiet a loose fit.

One more thing... if you have a large intake sponge filter, it can make aligning the impeller and sliding the cross tube all the way down tricky. if it is only part way down, it is noisy. You may need to press on the uptake tube to compress the intake sponge.

Edited January 27, 2023 by KittenFishMom

[nabokovfan87]

On 1/26/2023 at 4:43 PM, Theplatymaster said:

As barely any of you would know, in storage i have a tetra whisper HOB. Its in storage because it was too loud for my liking, but i want to use this filter. So any tips to silence it? The impeller seems to be making all the noise. Will just getting a new impeller help? what else could be happening? Please help.

You'd have to inspect the shaft of the impeller.  Send a photo and I can advise.  Ususally noise in the impeller region is because something got in there and is causing it to grind.  If it's an aquaclear, then it's literally grinding the shaft.  I don't think any other HoBs have that issue.  Replacing it will help, yes, but that is if the issue is the impeller and not the shaft / pump housing itself.

Use some silicone grease to lubricate the shaft and make sure the water level is high enough, should be as quiet as you can get it.

I would not recommend doing what this guy did, but the impeller should be located as he showed.

 

Edited January 27, 2023 by nabokovfan87