Looking for a nano tank self-priming, quiet HOB filter

[HoosierJeff]

Folks -

I’m in the market for small, quiet HOB filters for two tanks (5 gallon shrimp colony and 10 gallon betta tank.) The catch is we get enough short power outages that I need self-priming filters. Self-priming filters that have low enough flow for a small tank and a betta are hard to find, though. 

Have any recommendations? 
 

(FWIW, I’m coming from sponge filters, but I *hate* hearing the pumps (the betta tank is in my bedroom), and I’ve had enough of the nano pumps die on me, that I’m looking for a different solution.)

Thanks for your help and input!

[Fish Folk]

Although they are not marketed as self-priming, I've found AquaClear HOBs to be very reliable. Unless the water level completely drains out of the filter, they'll restart after a power outage. They just won't start if the entire apparatus is _completely dry_.

Here is another small thread about it on the CARE FORUM:

 

[Lennie]

Keep the water level higher than the motor part of the AC(so have your tank water level higher than the motor part) and they start normally in a power outage. All of mine do. During a potential power outage, water line drops to the level of water level in the tank and not further. I believe most people have issues with restarting in such situations because they keep water level low.

 

But when you empty your tank, do water change, or have water level lower than the AC's motor part, you will need to start manually. 

[Jackson]

My aqueon that came with the kit is still pumping , though I burned out a fluval and put the aqueon back in ..

[HoosierJeff]

Thank you all for the input so far! This is helpful.

[HoosierJeff]

On 8/6/2023 at 4:47 PM, Fish Folk said:

 

Here is another small thread about it on the CARE FORUM:

 

Thanks for the link to this! Makes a ton of sense. I had always thought the water in the filter when the power goes out should be sufficient, but, then again, I’m new to the hobby, so thought maybe there was more to it.

That said, I do *really* appreciate the noise reduction of having the motor and what-not in the tank rather than where I hear it more.

[_Eric_]

I know you were asking for an HOB but you may want to consider an internal filter like an Oase Biocompact 25.

[HoosierJeff]

On 8/6/2023 at 11:40 PM, _Eric_ said:

I know you were asking for an HOB but you may want to consider an internal filter like an Oase Biocompact 25.

Thank you for that! So tiny. Do you have any experience with that model?

[HelplessNewbie]

I also don't like the loud air pump noise, airline hoses loosening and coming off, nor the possibility of overflow in hobs. How about using a quiet, submersible miniature or nano fountain pump with an aco sponge filter on the input and aco prefilter on the output? This would be similar footprint as your air pump sponge filter setup before, or hob filter, but only requires the additional purchase of the fountain pump.

You can see mine in the top left corner for a 10g betta tank. I added a modified bladder/squeeze pump from a water change system for future co2 injection, which 8s why it is long.

There still is an airpump for the right side sponge filter in this tank, but my kid doesn't mind the sound, and I wanted 2 different types of pumps for redundancy.

Hope this helps.

[_Eric_]

On 8/7/2023 at 5:35 AM, HoosierJeff said:

Thank you for that! So tiny. Do you have any experience with that model?

I don’t have any but I was looking at it over a sponge filter for a nano tank going in my daughter’s bedroom.  I’m motivated by some of the same reasons you mentioned so thought I’d bring it up.  

[HoosierJeff]

On 8/7/2023 at 7:01 AM, HelplessNewbie said:

You can see mine in the top left corner for a 10g betta tank. I added a modified bladder/squeeze pump from a water change system for future co2 injection, which 8s why it is long.

There still is an airpump for the right side sponge filter in this tank, but my kid doesn't mind the sound, and I wanted 2 different types of pumps for redundancy.

Hope this helps.

Interesting option! Thanks for the suggestion.

[nabokovfan87]

I believe marina makes one, let me check pump location.

https://www.amazon.com/Marina-A285-S10-Power-Filter/dp/B0032G8TPW/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=marina+nano+filter&qid=1692306554&sr=8-2

Aqueon also has the quietflow series, internal and external.  Some of them have the smartclean feature which makes maintenance extremely easy for kids.

[Streetwise]

This is my favorite HOB:

 

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

On 8/17/2023 at 5:09 PM, nabokovfan87 said:

I believe marina makes one, let me check pump location.

https://www.amazon.com/Marina-A285-S10-Power-Filter/dp/B0032G8TPW/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=marina+nano+filter&qid=1692306554&sr=8-2

Aqueon also has the quietflow series, internal and external.  Some of them have the smartclean feature which makes maintenance extremely easy for kids.

Using this now. I like it. I baffle it for shrimps because it blows the little ones around if you don’t. I just made a simple water bottle baffle. Normally I just use sponge filters for them but I had to run carbon after they were treated, and the hob was the most effective strategy. 

You may not need a baffle if your fish are ok with some current. The betta would not be. Galaxy glow studio on Etsy makes custom baffles. I have one for my other filter and it’s good quality. He also takes special requests if you’d like it to look a certain way.

 

 

I did use pantyhose on the pfs. Also I would not recommend this for a tank less than 10gal. 

Edited August 17, 2023 by Chick-In-Of-TheSea

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

On 8/6/2023 at 2:38 PM, HoosierJeff said:

but I *hate* hearing the pumps

Pump hack 

 

[Galabar]

My suggestion would be a HOB with the pump in the tank.  Usually, the AquaClear will restart if the water level is high enough.  However, you can search on here for all the folks that had these filters not restart.  I'd rather not have my tank water level dictated by my HOB filter. 🙂

Something cheap like Test Whisper IQ: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06XHSJ8MV/ref=twister_B09LNPYBQM

Just put some sponge in there and you are good to go.

[HoosierJeff]

On 8/17/2023 at 5:09 PM, nabokovfan87 said:

I believe marina makes one, let me check pump location.

Thank you! That looks like a good option for me to check out. 

On 8/17/2023 at 5:35 PM, Chick-In-Of-TheSea said:

Using this now. I like it.

Thanks so much for the recommendation!

On 8/17/2023 at 5:42 PM, Chick-In-Of-TheSea said:

Pump hack 

Yes! I've watched this video and seems to be the only real solution out there. I'm not comfortable stuffing the pump housing with batting or other material (as some videos shows), but have tried this. Did it with the little nano USB ones, and it helped some. Haven't tried it with a larger pump yet, but I appreciate you sending this along!

[HoosierJeff]

On 8/17/2023 at 8:52 PM, Galabar said:

My suggestion would be a HOB with the pump in the tank.  Usually, the AquaClear will restart if the water level is high enough.  However, you can search on here for all the folks that had these filters not restart.  I'd rather not have my tank water level dictated by my HOB filter. 🙂

Something cheap like Test Whisper IQ: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06XHSJ8MV/ref=twister_B09LNPYBQM

Just put some sponge in there and you are good to go.

Thanks! I've tried these Tetra filters. The 30 gallon one is running silently and beautifully on my 20 gallon tank. Tried the 20 gallon model on a different 10 gallon tank, and it made a horrible but subtle buzz/hum sound that I couldn't handle. Returned it and am back to a sponge filter in that tank using this Hygger pump (the 2w version.) It is MUCH quieter than the Tetra Whisper pump I'd tried. Curious to see how it does over time.

[nabokovfan87]

On 8/17/2023 at 5:52 PM, Galabar said:

Usually, the AquaClear will restart if the water level is high enough.

I know a lot of people keep saying this and in my use of ~5-6 different ACs and a plethora of power outages and maintenance sessions, I have almost never had an AC restart for me.

You kind of have to have the water level very high because of the design of the box itself and the pump location as well as lean it backwards so that some of the water stays in the tank. Honestly, the uplift tube always siphons out for me. Water level being where it needs to be what ends up happening is that the pump has a lot of air to pass through the impeller and it's very hard for it to do so and to start the flow back. You end up hearing that "classic" noise of an AC struggling to pull water through the tube over and over and over and over and over and over until you go and mess with the intake tube or do something to knock the air out. The trick I used was to just adjust the flow from low to high and back and forth to knock the air out..... And that is all assuming the impeller actually spins when you hit go.

Needless to say the rose tinted glasses on the AC, I don't understand. I get that people love it, but it has a lot of issues.

 

[HoosierJeff]

On 8/18/2023 at 10:52 AM, nabokovfan87 said:

I know a lot of people keep saying this and in my use of ~5-6 different ACs and a plethora of power outages and maintenance sessions, I have almost never had an AC restart for me.

Thank you for sharing this! Really helpful.

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

On 8/18/2023 at 10:52 AM, nabokovfan87 said:

I have almost never had an AC restart for me.

I tried an AquaClear and had the same issue, so I returned it!

[Lennie]

You dont need water level that high. You need just enough to not empty it all. I shared examples from my tanks with power outs here before so sharing it again. I have no clue if having a frame effects the HOB location negatively, so the water level cannot easily reach the needed levels. I always use glass to glass tanks

 

Edited August 18, 2023 by Lennie

[HoosierJeff]

On 8/7/2023 at 8:25 AM, _Eric_ said:

I don’t have any but I was looking at it over a sponge filter for a nano tank going in my daughter’s bedroom.  I’m motivated by some of the same reasons you mentioned so thought I’d bring it up.  

@_Eric_ Did you end up getting that Oase BioCompact? I tried the Tidal 35, and flow was perfect on slow for my Betta, but it was making a constant rattling noise. Seachem sent a replacement impeller, and it was the same issue. I bought a second Tidal 35 to see if it was better, but same issue. Grr. Currently using a sponge filter still. 

Thinking about the Oase BioCompact (though would likely do the 50 to have more media space), a small Nicrew internal one, or a Sicce Nano Micron. I like the media space of the Nicrew, but it doesn’t have adjustable flow. The Nano Micron has adjustable flow, but it looks like smaller space for media. Hence the Oase BioCompact 50…a bit larger, but I think the space is well used to accommodate more media, and it has adjustable flow which I want.

So many options, and none of them seem quite perfect.

[_Eric_]

On 9/9/2023 at 6:29 PM, HoosierJeff said:

@_Eric_ Did you end up getting that Oase BioCompact? I tried the Tidal 35, and flow was perfect on slow for my Betta, but it was making a constant rattling noise. Seachem sent a replacement impeller, and it was the same issue. I bought a second Tidal 35 to see if it was better, but same issue. Grr. Currently using a sponge filter still. 

Thinking about the Oase BioCompact (though would likely do the 50 to have more media space), a small Nicrew internal one, or a Sicce Nano Micron. I like the media space of the Nicrew, but it doesn’t have adjustable flow. The Nano Micron has adjustable flow, but it looks like smaller space for media. Hence the Oase BioCompact 50…a bit larger, but I think the space is well used to accommodate more media, and it has adjustable flow which I want.

So many options, and none of them seem quite perfect.

Not yet.  Haven’t set up that tank.  Planning to go with the BioCompact when I do though 

[HoosierJeff]

On 9/9/2023 at 9:57 PM, _Eric_ said:

Not yet.  Haven’t set up that tank.  Planning to go with the BioCompact when I do though 

Thanks. Just ordered a BioCompact 50 and will report back with my experiences.