# What is the quietest canister you've used?



## LondonAquascaper (21 Apr 2022)

I've owned Biomaster 350, 600, an Eheim 2213 and a Fluval 307 over the last few years. I love the features of the Oase but frankly - both of them were far, far too loud (and I'm referring just to pump noise, not trapped air etc)

The Fluval and Eheim however, are both very quiet, with the Fluval being virtually silent. I place silence quite high up on the list of important features in a filter, so much so that for my next tank, I'll probably get another Fluval (407). 

For those people who are sensitive to noise, which other filters have you owned that you've been pleased with?


----------



## fredi (21 Apr 2022)

Now i have replaced the impellers and bearings, my 2217’s are pretty much silent


----------



## Garuf (21 Apr 2022)

Eheim 2224. Can’t hear it outside the cabinet. Often have to put my ear basically on the filter at times. 

Shame the turnover isn’t world beating at 700lph and the big brother isn’t anything like as quiet.


----------



## Ash J (21 Apr 2022)

I recently purchased a Tetra Ex600+ and it's pretty much silent.


----------



## fredi (21 Apr 2022)

Garuf said:


> Eheim 2224. Can’t hear it outside the cabinet. Often have to put my ear basically on the filter at times.
> 
> Shame the turnover isn’t world beating at 700lph and the big brother isn’t anything like as quiet.



My 2080’s are louder than the 2217’s


----------



## Garuf (21 Apr 2022)

The 2080 isn’t in the same family as the 2224? 
It also produces 700lph more than a 2217? 
The pro 4 is a noisy ol filter compared to a 2213 which is in turn a noisy filter compared to a 2222? 
But yeah. 
The 2080 is noisy but it’s not as noisy as an oase washing machine. I mean. Filter.


----------



## dw1305 (21 Apr 2022)

Hi all,





Garuf said:


> Eheim 2224. Can’t hear it outside the cabinet. Often have to put my ear basically on the filter at times.
> 
> Shame the turnover isn’t world beating at 700lph and the big brother isn’t anything like as quiet.


l've had / got a couple of these and they (I think I've owned four) have all been pretty much silent.

Cheers Darrel


----------



## MarcusA (21 Apr 2022)

Probably not helpful, but I second the fluval. It's as close to silent as a filter can be when there's no gas trapped in it. With a pre-filter sponge on the intake, and the intake set low in the tank to avoid sucking up too many bubbles, it will run near-silent even outside of a cabinet.


----------



## Simon Cole (21 Apr 2022)

Fluval 106. Happy to be the third person to say they are the quietest. With proper tubing they are even quieter.


----------



## LondonAquascaper (25 Apr 2022)

Its starting to sound like Fluval make the quietest filters! I don't much care for their interior arrangement but I've found their turnover to be excellent and stay strong even between cleanings.


----------



## Courtneybst (25 Apr 2022)

My Fluval 307 is the quietest canister filter I've owned so far. I've had the whole Biomaster range, Filtosmart 100, Eheim 2213 and 2217.


----------



## john6 (25 Apr 2022)

Ive had Fluval, eheim, Oase but the quietest of all the filters i have owned has to be the Aquael 2000 Max, It was dead silent even with my ear next to it.
I dont know if i'm lucky but i use 2 Oase biomaster 850's on my Discus tank and they are very quiet, certainly not as loud as alot people seem to say.


----------



## Aqua360 (26 Apr 2022)

Dennerle Scapers Flow


----------



## jdr3366 (26 Apr 2022)

Fluval 407 and FX6 are very quiet. Have both  running on a 600 liter  tank and can't hear them. I have to touch the FX6 to confirm it's working. If I stick my head in the cabinet I can hear a hum from the 407.


----------



## Mr.Shenanagins (26 Apr 2022)

All my Fluval were silent, and my Rena XP4 (now API XL).


----------



## LondonAquascaper (26 Apr 2022)

jdr3366 said:


> Fluval 407 and FX6 are very quiet. Have both  running on a 600 liter  tank and can't hear them. I have to touch the FX6 to confirm it's working. If I stick my head in the cabinet I can hear a hum from the 407.


Interesting about the FX6 - its such a big filter I assumed it was pretty loud - shame it doesn't use 16/22 hoses or I'd have one in moment.


----------



## Conort2 (26 Apr 2022)

All my previous fluvals have been silent. 

My ehiem pro 3 2075 I have now which are second hand now are very quiet too. Quite happy with the flow they kick out aswell.


----------



## VarunA (13 Jun 2022)

Actually comparing a fluval 106, eheim 2215 and ADA SuperJet ES-300 V2, the ADA filter is the quiestest i have ever used. It is literally inaudible in my living room even in the open ADA cube/glass cabinet. Of course, keep in mind the bigger filters use iwaki pumps which are meant to be louder.


----------



## PARAGUAY (13 Jun 2022)

Finding the Fluval 307 quiet


----------



## hypnogogia (13 Jun 2022)

Eheim classic that I had years ago was probably the quietest.  But output was not great - in the days before 10X flow, so not sure if it's a fair comparison.


----------



## cldskt (13 Jun 2022)

I found OASE Biomaster can differ from unit to unit; my first 250 was kinda noisy (audible) but second one was very much silent.

Dennerle's Scaper's Flow and Shiruba's XB-305 (they are pretty much the same) are pretty quiet for me as well.

Then again, 'quiet' is pretty much subjective, and whether the filter is placed in a cabinet, on a mat, etc are important factors as well.


----------



## Ria95 (13 Jun 2022)

Eheim Classic for me as well.


----------



## Mattant1984 (13 Jun 2022)

I use an eheim classic 250 and a 600, both of which are really quiet. The 250 you wouldn't even know it was running


----------



## Aqua sobriquet (13 Jun 2022)

My Tetratec EX400 is virtually silent, EX600 has a slight hum.  I had an Eheim many years ago that was good but my current Eheim Classic is noisy as is a Sera.


----------



## Yugang (13 Jun 2022)

jdr3366 said:


> I have to touch the FX6 to confirm it's working


My FX4 is pretty silent as well, but wouln't it be more fair to compare filters with similar capacity in this thread?

I owned both Fluval FX4 and Eheim professional, and for both it helps to place them on a piece of styrofoam for acousic insulation. 
Just as with a violin, a small vibration can be hugely amplified by the cabinet as a sound box. 

I like to place my ear on the aquarium glass -- if I hear anyting in there I have some work to do as I  can't imagine the fish enjoy the hum either.


----------



## Onoma1 (26 Jun 2022)

My two Aquael Ultramax 2000s run silently.


----------



## Aquaruimaddictuk (26 Jun 2022)

Fluval 307 is very quiet.
Fx6 too.hugely impressive cannister but it's a big old bugger!


----------



## Courtneybst (26 Jun 2022)

I know I've already posted but had to give an update. 

I've had my Fluval 307 for several months now and I've never cleaned it since it was setup, yet the flow is still perfect and it's whisper quiet. Very impressed! Just wish it had a heater! 😅


----------



## AlecF (26 Jun 2022)

Simon Cole said:


> Fluval 106. Happy to be the third person to say they are the quietest. With proper tubing they are even quieter.


Proper tubing being what? Keen to know.


----------



## Aqua sobriquet (26 Jun 2022)

AlecF said:


> Proper tubing being what? Keen to know.


Do Fluval still supply corrugated tubing with their filters? Perhaps he means using normal plain tube?


----------



## John q (26 Jun 2022)

Aqua sobriquet said:


> Do Fluval still supply corrugated tubing with their filters? Perhaps he means using normal plain tube?


Yes they still come with ribbed tubes.


----------



## Aqua sobriquet (26 Jun 2022)

John q said:


> Yes they still come with ribbed tubes.


Are they the same on the inside? I ask as some hoses for other applications can be ribbed or corrugated on the outside but relatively smooth on the inside. I don’t know how they make them but I guess it’s to improve flow rates?


----------



## dino21 (26 Jun 2022)

Interesting thread, we got an Eheim Ecco Pro200 for our planted tank but very disappointed by the amount of noise, ( vibration/ hum, not water noise)   and if we put it inside the cabinet it just made things louder ! the cabinet seeming to act as a sounding board ?
Has anyone had success in making  a cover for an external filter that does reduce the noise substantially, we tried a few things but nothing seemed to work as such.

When looking at the prices of the current Fluval External filters here in the UK, its noticable that there is a big difference (20%+)  in their prices from some of the more well known suppliers,  there isn't a 'grey import ' market for them  that allows some to sell cheaper that we should avoid ?


----------



## Aqua sobriquet (26 Jun 2022)

Cabinets can indeed make the noise worse.  Sitting the canister on closed  cell foam can help stop vibration being transferred to the cabinet

Edit: I’ve just checked the dB level on my two filters, an EX400 and an EX600 with an app on my iPad and it was just 38dB with them both running. IPad was just 250mm from the filters. With the cabinet closed it went up to 44db! I must try and sort this out.
Edit 2: it might be interesting to see what dB reading others get from their filters?  This is the app I used.


----------

