Review on 🐠 SeaChem Tidal 55 Gallon (200 Liters) Large Fish Tank Filter - Sicce Brand by Andrea Thomas

I bought a pair of Seachem Tidal 55 top filters for my 50 gallon tank. I've used a few Whisper 5 filters over the past 15 years. The Whisper 5 were good, filtered a lot of water and were quiet. However, their age caught up with them when they started making impeller noises. It's time for something new. Before making my choice, I did a lot of research over several weeks. I was looking for a filter that would firstly add filtering capabilities that I didn't have with my Whispers and also be very quiet in operation. Tidal 55 fits the bill. I installed one of these a few days ago and am impressed with all the filter materials that can be used in a media box. A mechanical filtration sponge and a biological media bag were included with the filter. I've added a polishing pad to the physical filtering options, as well as another layer of filter thread. I bought another filter material to try later. I added some sponge from one of my old Whispers to start the bacterial cycle and it was ready to go. First, it's QUIET. Also pumps a lot of water. I've found that I have to make sure the water level in my tank is high enough or else the filter will make a splashing noise. Not tons of it, but enough to be annoying. Just add some more water to the tank and you're good to go. Now I'm sitting about a meter from the tank and I hear a little noise from the remaining Whisper filter, but I don't hear any noise from the Tidal 55. The Whisper is 15 years old and now makes noise when it did. I don't work before. because of his age. I will wait a week before replacing my remaining Whisper 5 with my second Tidal 55 just to make sure the full cycle is stable. I've invested in other filter materials including Tidal 55 Matrix Carbon, a Purigen bag for better organic waste removal, Fluval Quick Clear water purifier, and a few others. I'll try them all and see what works best for my setup. The water in my aquarium has always been crystal clear, but after a few days of flooding, it's even clearer than usual. That's good. Update 03/27/2021 One filter has been working for me for a few weeks, the second was installed about a week ago. I noticed that the second filter I installed initially made a little more engine noise than the first. After a few days it calmed down and now both are equally calm. Having two filters gives me the opportunity to put different filter materials in each filter to solve different problems. I have the coarse sponge that comes with the filter as well as the thicker buffing sponge. I also have a Biomedia bag that came with each filter in both. In one I added a filter thread, and in the other I added a second bag of activated carbon. I've added a video showing how quiet two Tidal 55s are in my tank. The 55s still work very quietly even with a strong water flow. The water in my aquarium remains crystal clear. I've experimented with different combinations of filter media in the drawer and enjoy mixing and matching. Now I choose a combination: first the coarse sponge that came with the filter, then a layer of thicker filter yarn, then a layer of carbon-filled polyfiber filter pad, and on top of that the matrix bag that came with Tidal. 55. I once tried a bag of Purigen. Big mistake. As a result, my water in the filter became cloudy very quickly.