Aqua-tech Power Filter for 5-15 Gallon Aquariums

Not sure why there are so may 1 star reviews here.. Filter works great. I have had mine for over 6 months with no issues. All I can hear is water moving and the aerator. You can really only hear the motor if you put your ear up to it.

In response to other reviewers who broke theirs or felt it was too loud, you must prime it. If you do not fill the filter basin with water it will chug along really loud and eventually burn out the motor. Probably says that in the instructions..

I started up 2 10-gal tanks ( 1 for each of my kids) about a month ago. One tank I had already so I just bought the Aqua-Tech filter from walmart and the other I got as a basic kit from Petco which was Aqueon brand. Everything else in both tanks were identical including the plants, rocks and fish. The Aqua-Tech 5-15 filter has kept the tank crystal clear since day 1 and the fish are healthy and active. The Aqueon tank had so much trouble the first couple weeks the fish were dying and I could never get the water as clear as the other tank so finally to end my frustration I just went and got another Aqua-Tech 5-15 filter for the 2nd tank and it's looking so much better!

I really expected the Aqueon filter to work better since it was from a "pet" store but I think for sure the Aqua-Tech filter is better!

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I got this filter in a 5 gallon tank kit for my betta fish. I fallowed the directions and set up the filter. You must pour water into the filter before you plug it in or it will be very loud and you can burn out the motor. It states this in the directions. If it is ever unplugged I pour water into it before i plug it in. It keeps the water very clear. It is so quiet that i often check and see if it is still working. it has a strong current off the top so I had to baffle it with an old water bottle. So far I have had no problems with it. I would update this review if anything happens.

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I have a 10gal triple divided male Betta tank and I'm using 2 of these with good results. Since I have dividers, I wasn't getting the filtration that I needed so I picked up another one and my problem was solved. I have both of them baffled since Betta don't like strong currents. And also got a Fluval pre-filter from petsmart covering the intakes and they still do a good job. As another review said, you must prime the pumps or you'll destroy the motor. Yes they are kind of on the cheap side, but if you do your weekly water changes like you should, you should not have a problem with these. And they are not loud at all.

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I am rewriting this review since I returned my earlier purchase (which did not work same model and brand) and exchanged it for a new one, hoping it was some sort of mechanical defect or broken part. It seems I may have been right (though I am not entirely certain).

The first one just would not work at all. The second one took about as much coaxing as the first, but it did, in the end, start working. I almost couldn't believe my eyes after my titanic battle (which I lost) to get the first one running. I was all but convinced they'd designed a filter that does absolutely nothing.

If you want a filter that's easy to start (just plug it in and go) then don't get this one by any means. The filtration quality is decent for the tank sizes it is recommended for, though for divided tanks, I would recommend having a separate filter for each section. The blue part of the filter (the thing you replace) seems far superior quality to some other filters I have used for smaller tanks. This system also has a component that does NOT need replacing (some kind of BIO-filter where bacteria is intended to grow, I believe). You may notice some Wal-Mart brand activated carbon on the shelves near these don't buy it. The packaging seems to indicate the carbon is a necessary component, when in fact it is contained inside the blue filter cartridge. The only way you could use it is to buy a media/mesh bag and fill it with carbon, then slide it down inside the filter somewhere.

Another reviewer posted that they have to reset the filter every time the power goes off, and I can attest to that. The only tip I can give for how to get this thing to reliably start up has something to do with the impeller and its assembly. I found that you can pull the assembly up a little bit by putting your finger under the assembly more in the center of the reservoir (as opposed to the sides) in between the bio-filter and the cartridge. That's the only decent place to lift up on it. When you lift up (with it already primed and then plugged in) you will hear a grinding as soon as you hear this, shove the whole assembly back down, hard. I think one of the impeller components can spin freely when it's not supposed to (not the impeller itself, but something else). This "jamming" action seems to have jammed that component into its proper place since as soon as I did that, it started working. This must be done EVERY single time the power goes off or you unplug it.

Note: When working, it does take about 20 seconds for the filter to work up to full capacity (with water spewing out at the normal rate). Apparently it can also be baffled by moving the intake tube up and down. However, I am unwilling to try this due to the touchy nature of the impeller assembly. I just know that if I do, it will stop working and I'll have to get it started again.

Overall, I'm not sure it's worth the hassle, but based on some other reviews, and for the price, it is a fairly good filter.