Z3R013

What would be the most quiet setup? Including filter, air pump, heater, and lights?

dvc_r

Welcome to FishLore! It's nice to see when people research before jumping into the hobby.

First of all it depends on what size tank you want to get. And this sounds like a sales pitch but believe me (from experience) get the largest tank you can economically and environmentally afford. Remember the smaller the tank, the harder it is to maintain.

Most filters now are pretty quiet. If it's a power filter (hanging over the side) it usually gets noisy when the water gets to low or if the filter gets too clogged and trickles out the overflow. Stay away from UGF (underground filters), the air pump and the bubbles they produce will make quite a bit of noise. If you get a large tank, a canister filter is very quiet, especially if you can put it inside the stand underneath the tank.
Heaters and lights don't make any noise unless you get into the high output lights that need fans, but even they don't make much noise.

I also highly recommend reading about cycling your tank. Probably the hardest thing about this hobby... having patience! It usually takes 4-6 weeks to cycle a new tank. This is were most people mess up, loose fish and leave the hobby. Your researching will help you get past this stage. If you have other questions, this is one of the best websites you'll find for information!

Good luck in your decisions.

Tombo

i think the external canister filters are the quietest and as for air pumps the only really quiet one i have found is the aqua twister 4500 which you cant hear even wen its right next to you

hssea

My hang on back filters -you hear the water noise. Esp the bio wheels you hear the water droplets. To me sounds like rain and is relaxing but I wouldn't suggest them if you don't want to hear any noise.

pepetj

The quietest set up is "El Natural", where bio-load is minimal, aims at no equipment but some use the minimal/essential: heater and lights. Filtration is strictly biological and occurs within the substrate and available surface inside the tank.

Being realistic, most of us want to keep as much bio-load as long as optimal care (a personal judgment call sometimes) is provided so I pass on "El Natural" at least for now.

Among the less noisy filtration system is the sponge filter. Once solved the airpump noise issue (there are several easy solutions) keep the air bubble rate on the lower side and the output below water line to avoid splashing water sound (I love that sound so I keep mine above surface).

The draw back is that despite addressing greatly the most important of filtration types: the biological (some findings suggest it does even better than bio-wheels); does fairly poor in mechanical, and likely zero in chemical for most designs (some manufacturers sale a black sponge media that allegedly is activated charcoal, go figure).

Heaters and lamps are likely noise free. Noise in any of these items is likely a sign of something wrong with them.

Pepe
Santo Domingo