Equipment Review and Discussion :: my new annoying filter

[Pugness]

I got a 55 gallon fish tank because the shop told me they only made 40 gallon turtle tanks and it came with a whole set up heater and filter, its at my sisters house right now so i cant really tell you which model it is but i do know that its a tetra whisper i wanna say its the 60 series but its huge, its got two little filter slot things. And since its a fish tank its at the top of the tank and the water is only filled halfway. My problem is that its splashing all over the place, now the glass is going to have water marks and makes alot of noise, im not sure if this is gonna be annoying to the turtles. Any suggestions on how to resolve this annoying problem.

Advice is greatly appreciated...

[cam722]

First off, those of us that use glass aquariums use what you call a "fish tank" .. turtle tanks are a waste of your money. Those of us that use over the side filters have the same issue you have. Yes, the noise can be irritating to some people, others, myself included don't mind it Your turtles won't mind at all.

One way to cut down the noise is to fill the tank up further. You can fill it up as long as your turtles can't escape, they are great climbers and escape artists.

The water marks can be cleaned off with a diluted white vinegar solution.

[marisa]

I have some filters that hang off the side of the tanks (Aquaclears) and I've siliconed pieces of plexiglass to the area that the water falls out of to break the fall of the water. If the plexiglass is long enough and the water is high enough to have the edge of the plexiglass under the water, the filter is MUCH quieter. Can you post a pic of the filter, especially where the waterfall would be?

[sublime1008]

marisa that sounds like such an awesome idea for the plexiglass, can u post a pic?

[marisa]

Alas, I don't have a digital camera (yet), so pics are not possible. But it is quite easy to do. If you know what an Aquaclear looks like (you have a canister, though, no?), you know that on the 110 model there's a slant to the lip where the waterfall is. All you have to do is cut a piece of plexiglass the width of the waterfall and a length that will allow the end of the plexiglass to be under the water level. I round off any sharp edges that will be in the water with sandpaper (so eyes don't get poked by accident). Then use aquarium silicone to silicone the plexiglass to the lip even with the edge where the waterfall begins. The plexiglass should cover the lip completely. I use quite a bit of silicone (I actually cover the whole lip with silicone and place the plexiglass on it), and let it dry for 48 hours. It's good if you can get a nice seal at the very top where the water starts to fall to prevent seepage in between the lip and plexiglass. Done right, the water just travels down the plexiglass into the tank. This will work for the Aquaclear 110 and 50 models.

The downside is that you can't remove the plexiglass, which makes cleaning more difficult (but I'm so used to it that for me it's not a problem). Steve has a topic about an alternative way to do this (screwing the plexiglass to the lid of the Aquaclear) with pics and you might do a search for that as well.

[rtswim400@yahoo.com]

I have both a whisper and aquaclear waterfall filters and I searched around for pictures describing or showing how to quiet the flow and I am having a lot trouble and just wonder if anyone knows where I can something like that.

[rtswim400@yahoo.com]

I have finally found the place with pictures!!!!! I think im gonna do the silicone like you mentioned to do..

[sublime1008]

Yah marisa i do have a canister...but thanks for the post!

By the way, I just traded in my Fluval 304 and got a Fluval 405. OH BABY. Its a monster.

[marisa]

Oooh---is the the new model that recently came on the market?

[steve]

The new model for $170 at Big Als. The top casing has re-designed latches and it appears to be the same as the replacement parts for the X04 series (it did for my 304).

[sublime1008]

thats the one....But is it any different than the 404? If i paid 70$ extra just for latches, ill be angry!

[steve]

It also comes with a DVD, but I haven't used the X05 series to make any conclusions. It looks almost identical based on the box pics.

[ellman605]

oooh, a dvd!!!!

[marisa]