Quietest equipment for a bedroom?

[dendro982]

Quietest equipment for a bedroom?
20g long tank, if this matters.

So far my finds are:
- smallest Tunze DOC skimmer,
- Mini-Jet 606 pumps,
- pump from Nano Cube 12g,
- mini-sump with micron sock, connected by U-tube, instead of not so quiet power filters.

Ruled out:
- Maxi Jets (400 to 1200, have them all),
- Eheim 1250 pump,
- ASM Mini skimmer,
- all power filters, except Whisper and DynaFlo for 10g only (but these are too small). Have Liberty 200, AquaClear 50, Whisper 20g.

Your list? That you tried, I mean.

Going natural (without filtration and water movement) is not likely to happen - it's filter feeders tank, with Chrismas Tree worms. If somebody kept them this way or without feeding - post details, please.

[aaron L]

Pan world pumps are very quiet. ou can make most skimmers quiet it you install it externally. That way you don't have any splash.

[lvreefer]

Honestly you should be able to get away with just the skimmer, and could add a mini-jet like you mentioned for extra current if needed. Almost every skimmer will make noise as it pulls in air, but there are several ways to quiet them depending on the skimmer. Pumps/power heads on wave timers no matter what pump will generate noise, if nothing else will cause a change in “white noise” that can be disturbing. When I use to service aquariums way back in the day, I use to use rubber door mats under the sump and aquarium to reduce vibration. Any sump install is going to make more noise than one without. Internal skimmers are quieter than external because a lot of the noise is absorbed into the water. Electronic ballast is a lot quieter than magnetic and burn cooler meaning no fan noise. If you are still in the planning stages you might consider making one end of the 20L an internal sump / overflow out of acrylic.

[saltysupply]

tunze seems like a good idea...other than that you should be good.

[jeweldamsel]

Use a timer to turn on/off the skimmer.

[Snowboarda42]

Hydor Koralia's are silent, and I think they look alot better than most power heads.

The problem with your sump is going to be drain noise, and return pump noise.

The drain noise can be fixed using THIS. My fan makes more noise than this drain.

Unless you have an enclosed cabinet, you'll hear the return most likely.

[dendro982]

Thank you! More input, please.

How the skimmers can be silenced? Tunze DOC, quitest, still has audible air intake sound. And ASMs: Mini and G-3, loud sound at the air intake tubing. The big one, even in the basement, had to be used with the silencer from Maxi-Jet. Any ideas how to improve?

I have Korallia 1, 400 gph. It was silent, when tested in a clean water. But after adding some Cyclop eeze to see flow patterns, it started to rattle, cleaning didn't helped. Now rattles very loud. What can be done? Pity not to use such generally good powerhead.

Already replaced 12g Nan-Cube with side sump by 20g long sumpless tank, with in-tank Tunze DOC skimmer and 2 Mini-Jets. Pumps are reasonably quiet, and flow is sufficient for Christmas tree worms. Skimmer will be off for a night, still 16 hrs of work.

Have to think about some kind of filtration. So far I used micron sock with one more Mini-Jet, but it will require some side container, at least 1g sump, like shown here This means additional stand... What else can be done, reasonably quiet with easy access for a filter media replacement?

Really appreciate answers.