# Aquaclear 110: noisy, looking for replacements now ?



## jlm86 (Aug 24, 2002)

havce had Aqucaclears for lots of years...
Have had noise issues off and on,...
Latest 110 really noisy, cleaned well etc...

Is there a more highly rated HOB filter thats out there now for 55 Gallon?

Need really silent
thanks


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## catfish crazy joe (Oct 30, 2011)

I would look in the product review section.
If you want it to be quiet i would check into a canister filter.


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## CITADELGRAD87 (Mar 26, 2003)

For that size and output, the obvious alternative is the Emperor 400.

I will warn you, mine CAN BE noisy, I posted a thread a month ago asking if an AC wold be quieter, I ended up replacing the impeller.

Now it's not too bad, but it's nowhere near silent.

How long have you had the AC and was it ever quiet? Sometimes replacing the impeller is just what the Dr ordered.


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## PfunMo (Jul 30, 2009)

I have finally broken down to the fact that I can no longer tolerate the noise. As I have added tanks, things have slowly gotten too loud. I've given up on finding a truly quiet HOB. If you can stand the upfront price, I would recommend an Eheim 2075 for any large tank where you want quiet. I love the energy effecient motor design. It is built to EU standards making it run much cheaper and quiet as well.


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## CITADELGRAD87 (Mar 26, 2003)

I almost suggested a canister, but wanted to also address exactly what the question sought and got sidetracked.

I added an Eheim Classic to my 50 and left the Emperor on. The Eheim is so quiet you can't even FEEL if it is running by touching it.

TONS of bio room and you can go a month or so, give or take, between major cleanings.

If I had a tank in my bedroom or TV room, I would not use a HOB at all.


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## Marky (Jan 8, 2003)

You can make the 110 quiet.

Take the motor off the bottom of the filter and take the impeller out.

Pull the impeller blade off it's magnetic shaft.

Then if you notice... You see some flash alone the mold seams on the magnetic shaft. Take a nail file board and smooth all the flash off flush. Check all around every where making it smooth and round. Check for any possible flash or burr's on the impeller too.

Also on the motor block top where the impeller slides in there is sometimes a little flash too. This flash cause's eddy's which vibrate the impeller. If you see any again sand these smooth.

Then apply a small amount of vasoline to the impeller bland and place it back on. Also place a very small amount of vasoline into the whole of the magnetic impeller and slide it back down into the motor block.

Also lube the rubber O-ring a little and then put it all back together.

Unless it's really old already it should now run quiet. There not completly silent but you can get them MUCH quieter.

I like the 110's and think they are pretty good H.O.B. type.


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## tinman7344 (Jul 4, 2010)

i have two ac 110's that are so old that they are called ac500's. i only use them for backups or temporary set ups. they are loud at first but usually settle down after a week or two. I'm guessing from build up on the impeller set up. Those filters are beasts, i love em. 3 weeks ago i went to the store intending to buy a powerhead. i bought another 110 instead.

i'm definetly going to try the vasoline tip.


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## chinds78 (Jun 22, 2011)

Marky said:


> You can make the 110 quiet.
> 
> Take the motor off the bottom of the filter and take the impeller out.
> 
> ...


Great advice! I will have to remember that if I ever bet an AC110. Would this work with a Penguin BW 350?


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## BillD (May 17, 2005)

If you are having noise issues with a fairly new filter, I would contact Hagen.


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## skurj (Oct 30, 2011)

My 110 is driving me nuts with the rattle.. took it apart tonight and cleaned it up, figured it was because I put it in a new tank with sand just a few days ago. Figured it had eaten some sand, but even after cleaning it is noisier than when I first brought it home. Not sure if I should tolerate it for a week and see if it gets quieter or just return it now.. Its Tuesday I bought the 110 on Saturday, new...

I have a 405 and the 110 on a 55, I wanted to try an hob with the canister with the canister primarily bio and the hob for polishing.


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## newforestrob (Feb 1, 2010)

the rattle noise is probably the lid,take it off and see,I guess I,m lucky ,I have 8 ac 110s running and the only issue of noise comes from the lid rattling,I just weigh them down with a rock :lol:


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## Mike_G (Nov 8, 2011)

I have a ~15 year-old AC 300 on my 29G that still runs real quiet, but the lid buzzes sometimes (like last night) so I put a hockey puck on top of it.


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## kodyboy (Dec 9, 2007)

A couple of large internal sponge filters (or box type filters) with powerheads are completely silent and work very well. The downside is that they take up some room and if you can not hide them are ugly. I make 2 liter pop bottle filters, paint them black and use a mag 1200 or a decent air pump (air pumps can be noisy too though) to run them. They work great and are easy to clean. Here is a video on how to make one:




there was another video of a guy doing this using a 2L and showing both an air pump and a powerhead, but I can not find it. 
The only other option that I can think of for low low noise is a really good canister filter. My XP4 is pretty quiet as was my marinland 360.


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