Aqueon QuietFlow series Filters (includes photos of QuietFlow 55/75)

This is going to be my first in a series of filter reviews I will write, I've tried many different filters over the years and haven't found product reviews very useful in terms of noises generated by these filters.  Having one tank in my bedroom it's been very important to have a quiet filter.

Today I'd like to start with the Aqueon QuietFlow series hang on the back filters.  I've tried a 10, 20, and 55/75 models recently.  The first one I tried was the 55/75 for my 75 gallon planted discus/community tank. It was quiet, had a lot of flow and seemed to do a very good job at clearing up the water.  I was worried because it was relatively cheap for the size and flow rate. I found it for $24.99 at petsolutions.com. The first one I got had a quiet pump house, which was what I was looking for.  This is what led me to order a second 55/75 and the smaller ones for my bedroom tanks. It turns out the first one I got was the exception, the other 3 units were noisiest filters I've used.  The second 55/75 one I got actually failed after two weeks of service, one of the impeller shaft bearings wore out and became wedged. I suspect quality may not be one of the highest priorities for this manufacture.

The good:
Pump house sits at the top of the intake tube, inside the aquarium - no priming required as it's submerged already, also it doesn't syphon empty in a power outage because the tube stops at the pump house.
Intake tube is extendable up to 14 inches long.
Uses two replaceable cartridges at an angle to reduce overall footprint - back half only extends about 3 inches behind the aquarium, which is impressive for that power level.
Very easy to change cartridges, and they are very cheap with 6 packs going for about $9-12 online.

The bad:
Strange bio block on the outflow that makes a bit of water noise, isn't easy to clean when you are trying to use fish water to clean it.
Most of the filters pumps have a loud 60hz hum, sounds very much like a loud air pump when running.
Cartridges always contain carbon, some serious planted tank folks have told me plants dislike carbon sometimes.

Due to the noise issue these ended up not being a good candidate for my use, however if you are running an air pump for your aquarium you'll never even know the filter makes noise. Great cheap filters for a beginner tank or a tank that's in a fish room of sorts where noise or hums are not an issue. The 10 and 20 series look identical only smaller, and only use one cartridge. 20's use the same cartridge as the 55/75.

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View from the top

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View looking through the pump house section, with pump house removed.

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Pump house assembly, removable for easy cleaning.

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impeller shaft, with busted bearing - This one broke after about two weeks of service on my 75 gallon. It was the loudest of the bunch.

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Measuring tape to show scale of filter size, this is the 55/75 model (up to 75 gallon aquariums)

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Pump house installed, intake tube attaches to the bottom of the pump house.

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This is what the bio media looks like, it sits on the outflow.

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Underside of the bio media, not easy to clean.

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All media installed, this was to show where the bio media sits.

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What the filter looks like all put together with the cover on.

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Intake tube can collapse down to 9" long.

Anyway that's my review for this product line, I hope it was a good write up. Let me know what you think, thank you!

Yep, like I said, the first one I got was really quiet, but all the others have a very audible hum, it sounds like an air pump running. I have found a better alternative. Given that these are new, the impellers don't have anything stuck in them yet, they just didn't come with good bearings, not sure if that's a recent problem or not.

Very nice write with pictures. I recently ask about these filters because I was looking to get a few cheap back ups. I decided to just stick with my AquaClear.

I have one of the smaller QF units on my 10g and it has been very quiet, nearly silent. I modified the intake tube to have join with a sponge filter and put purigen and ceramic rings in the HOB. It's been working great, but it is a little unsightly in the tank.

anderson_p_r wrote:I have one of the smaller QF units on my 10g and it has been very quiet, nearly silent.

With all the noise issues youve had with your AC70, I am thinking you wish you would have just got a larger QF unit instead....

yeah, I considered it. I'm awaiting the new impeller for the AC to see if that helps at all. I do really prefer the media holding for the AC, but there is no comparison on noise between the two I own.

Let us know if the impeller solves it.

I was running an AC 110 on the 75 gallon for a long time before I tried the aqueon, it was a great filter and was quiet, but recently it got really noisy, I replaced the impeller and motor assembly, didn't get any better, it has me worried that AC has gone down hill in recent times for quality.