Noisy filter & filter question...

[oceana]

Hello, fellow "fishtank" friends!
I am new on this site. My husband and I just re-started up our 30 gallon freshwater tank. No fish yet.... as we are cycling the water. No problems with THAT tank, thus far.
However, we have a SMALL 2 1/2 gallon tank for our kids and I did my best to find the SMALLEST filter made. It has suction cups and sticks to the side and is completely submersible, however, it is LOUD. Two questions for you....
1) Is there any quiet filters for a 2 gallon tank?
2) Will it kill the fish (once we get them in there) if we turn the filter off overnight?
Any advice is much appreciated!

 

[brody]

I highly do NOT suggest turning filter off for long amounts of time. It can allow ammonia to build up quickly, it will throw beneficiary bacteria out of whack, and worse of all it could cause stress to fish if current is not constant. (That is if there are no other forms of current ex. air bubbles) sorry if that sounds aggresive im just trying to help

 

[chrispar0323]

i 100% back the above suggestion

 

[unwritten law]

I have a tetra filter rated for like 1-3 gallons that is basically the same principle as a sponge filter running off an air pump... The pump makes noise but just s slight hum and I have enough air line to put the pump in a place to make it less noisy.

 

[Cho89]

what about when cleaning the filter casing and intake tubes. Is it still bad for the fish to not have a filter going for a short amount of time?

 

[homebunnyj]

what about when cleaning the filter casing and intake tubes. Is it still bad for the fish to not have a filter going for a short amount of time?

Don't clean the filter casing. You're killing off your bacteria if you do. Maybe a couple times a year you should check and clean the impeller and impeller housing. You can just brush algae buildup off the outside of the intake tube.

A fishtank is not supposed to be all spic-and-span. It has to have some undisturbed areas for the beneficial bacteria to colonize. Clean algae off your glass and anywhere else it is conspicuous, vacuum your gravel including under ornaments with weekly water changes, and swish your filter pad in dechlorinated water; and periodically (I do this two or three times a year) do some filter maintenance, and that's all you do. You should never break the tank down to do a big cleaning on it, and you mustn't try to keep your filter housing all shiny clean.



As for the OP, if your filter is run by an air pump, that's the noise source. Place a rubber mouse pad or something similar under it to damp the noise. If that doesn't help you can try a different brand of air pump.