Fluval aquaclear HOB really loud

Fishbird · Mar 21, 2020

Hi everybody, I just added an aquaclear 70 to my tank (20 gallon high) with the idea of using it as a refugium. It’s really loud. I’m generally sensitive to noise so I guess it might not bother some people but it’s making a very loud grinding sound that’s worse when I lower the flow. It’s not the water noise, it’s something with the pump/filter. I am guessing it’s the pump but maybe it’s something vibrating. If I try and press on it at various points that doesn’t help things. Is there a way to make it quieter? Can I put a new pump on it? Failing that, what’s the best way to get a quiet/silent HOB refugium happening? Could I hang a small box in a corner and just grow sea lettuce in that? My aim is to have a supply of pods for my tank and to grow sea lettuce to feed my tuxedo urchin when it eventually eats through everything that’s currently in my tank. I don’t have a mandarin or anything and I don’t want one, I’d just like to have pods for cleanup crew/biodiversity reasons and so my current fish can snack on them if they so choose. Looking forward to hearing quiet options!