Tidal Filter, 35 gal. (135 L) NA 120 V, 60 Hz, US, 2P

One might think I should give this fewer stars because it needs to be modified, but not everyone will need this filter modified; for many people it will be good as is. I modified it simply to make it more suitable for smaller fish in smaller tanks. If I couldn't make these modifications, I would not buy this filter. I'd stick with a sponge filter. Even though I love the concept of HOB filters, there hasn't been a single one on the market I've liked until this one... but modified. First, you have to buy the part from Aquarium Coop that renders the skimmer on this filter nonfunctional. This makes the filter safe for small fish and invertebrates. This is a must-have; without it, this filter is no good with small fish and inverts. Second, you need a small silicone o-ring attached to the water flow control shaft, where it passes through the opening in the lid. Here's why: the flow control works via a small flag/paddle on the shaft that sits in the water path and restricts flow when turned to a low setting. The problem is that water pressure pushes against that flag hard enough to lift the entire shaft up out of its seated position, which displaces it and renders the low-flow setting useless. The o-ring adds friction right where the shaft passes through the lid, holding it down against that upward pressure so it actually stays at whatever flow level you set. This is a very easy mod. You can set your water flow down to a trickle if needed. Once you make these two modifications, this filter is nearly perfect. Initially I expected it to produce too much vibration transferred into the water, since the motor sits in the tank, but, to my surprise, it doesn't do that at all, or not enough to bother the fish. With these mods in place, you can add this filter to pretty much any aquarium. It won't push your betta around, and it won't suck up your nano fish or little fry. It's quiet, in my experience. It's very simple to use, and easy to maintain -- it's built from solid, simple pieces rather than something overly complicated. It always starts up -- just plug and play. I don't even need to manually fill the filter with water; it primes itself. The motor itself is also very refined. Hopefully, this filter continues working to my satisfaction. If anything changes, I'll revise this review.

I was shocked at how quiet this filter is. (Though it has only been in operation a few days, so TBD). If it gets loud, I will update my review. I like the bottom-up filtration process, and included bio-media. I think i’ll add a bit of poly-fill on top to “polish” the water, but otherwise it seems great OOTB.

This could very well be the best HOB power filter for a small fish tank. By small, I mean tanks less than 30 gallon. The Tidal 35 has some standout features that make it an excellent choice for a small tank. It is capable of comprehensive filtration: biological, mechanical, and chemical. I say "perhaps" because I have not tried the newest Marineland Penguins. I owned an Emperor 400 many years ago and threw it away because it was a pain to prime the pump after a water change. I understand that issue has been resolved in the new products from Marineland. Anyway, back to the Seachem Tidal 35. This filter's most important feature is the internal (In the tank) motor. This filter will restart even if the media box is completely dry. It does not rely on siphon to work. It is a "push" system. The impeller is inside the fish tank, below the water level. The impeller pushes the water to the filter. This means it will restart reliably after a power failure. There is never any need to prime the filter. Priming means to add water to the filter box in order to start the siphon. The Seachem does not require manufactured filter media. Yes, you can roll your own. Your knowledge and choice of materials will determine the effectiveness of the filter. The size of the filter box will allow you to pack a lot of filtration material. More than enough for a 35 gallon tank. There are other very good power filters on the market. I also love the Fluval C series and the Aquaclears. The Fluval C series has the advantage of having the biological media above the water level. Thus, the Fluval C series has a small wet-dry area to grow beneficial microbes. Biological filtration is greatly improved when your media has exposure to the atmosphere. Bacteria thrives on oxygen. So this is where the Fluval C series and the Marineland filters have their advantage over the Seachem Tidal. However, most situations do not call for maximum biological filtration efficiency. Bacteria grow on every interior surface of your tank. Even submerged media will have more than enough capacity to provide biological filtration for the filter's rated gallons. This Seachem will easily handle the biological load for its rated capacity. This is a great product from Seachem. It is made for them by the Italian maker, Sicce. Yes, it is more expensive compared to its competitors. But the fact that you do not need to prime the filter is a big convenience factor. It also makes the filter more dependable. The surface skimmer will work great if you have carbon in the filter box. Otherwise, it will not be able to remove surface oils. You can reuse or repurpose the small zip bag that comes with the filter. I have freshwater clams in this fish tank. Therefore, I do not want to filter out the floating debris from the water column. Clams are filter feeders. This filter's main purpose is to provide biological filtration and water circulation. I removed the foam filter. I am only using the bag of Matrix biomedia. This allows small particles, such as phytoplankton, to pass through. At least most of them. I either reduce the water flow or turn off the filter when adding phytoplankton to the tank. I also have a Seachem Ammonia alert in this tank. Yes, adding liquid phytoplankton adds to the biological load of the tank. But the clams have to eat too. The Ammonia Alert will let me know if a spike should occur. This is a great filter. I can recommend it without any reservations. For bigger tanks, you might want to also check out the newest Marineland Emperor Pro 450. I have not owned the newly redesigned Emperor. It is only for big tanks. The Tidal 75 is probably its biggest competitor.

Really good filter, and quiet, only concern is the lack of an adjustable or deeper intake like the Tidal 55. As you can see, the minimum waterline where I have my tank filled to is very high, so you will only be able to use this if you plan to fill your tank to a maximum of 2" at the top of the tank. The photo also shows the minimum flow rate, and I wish you could have even a lower possible flow as the water movement maybe too much for some fish species, specially in smaller tanks. I also wish there was a way to adjust the water outlet position, since there is no way to alter the water fall height or having the stream flow directly into the water (although this is good for surface agitation). Last potential concern maybe the inlet design. Since there is no tubular intake, it will be challenging to cover this unique intake surface with sponges if you wish to reduce the size of the intake grille spacing even more. 4 stars is only due to the overall reliability of these filters since the design on the 35 lacks many features that could've been easily implemented.

These are hands down the best HOBs on the market. Large media area, self priming and QUIET. If you hear a raddle, fidfle with it. Lube the impeller and run pump (in water) w/o the filter.. it should be quiet. If its not, its the impeller, if it is, theres something in need of adjustment within the housing. Easy stuff. Dont worry, it feels scary tweeking them at first, but they're sturdy. Done right, this is a great system. Its reliable, and I can sleep with it running (and I'm picky as they come). I have 2 35's and a 55. They have a minor flaw with the intake if you have shrimp but course sponge or ACO has an answer. Over all, for the price, you can't beat it.

Hands down the best filter I've bought. I have 2 tanks, one with this Seachum and the other with the Fluval C3. The Seachum is super quiet and the motor never gives out (like the Fluval does every few months). I never have to clean this either, just squeeze the sponge out when changing water (typical protocol). With the Fluval, if any gunk gets in the motor it shuts down and will burn out the motor. Not this Seachum filter though. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND!

The best! I am a sponge filter user, they are inexpensive and surprisingly effective...but not so much at clearing debris. I got one of these initially to clear up the water in a planted tank that had soil which makes a lot of floating particles. Well, loved it so much I bought another one and will be buying two more today! The best features about this filter are the self priming pump, it doesn’t sound like it’s struggling at all when it starts. Instantly starts flowing. The actual pump is IN the water! Not outside hanging off the back of the tank. The skimmer on it. It’s not too strong...( I have baby fish in the tank pictured and everyone is totally fine) the noise level is non existent, and the adjustable flow is a knob you turn which is a lot more accurate then just pushing the tube to the right or left like some filters. As for the media it is good, but it doesn’t come with the seachem purigen which is amazing. I have it in a canister filter on a different tank and I’ve never seen clearer water!! I will be adding that to these filters too.

10/28/2021 The Aquaclear I replaced this with is doing a much better job. The water became noticeably clearer within a day. The Aquaclear has a much bigger sponge and moves a lot more water. Somehow it can fit a bag of carbon and a bag of biomedia - so it has more space that this one. Currently I am using it with a sponge, carbon, and polyfill. Head to head it's doing a much better job. One day I might try using the Seachem with just a sponge and polyfill, and maybe that will keep the water just as clear, but as of now, the Aquaclear is the clear winner. In fact I changed the filters on 2 other tanks to Aquaclear. 9/1/2021 The intake can be an issue for baby shrimp. I found one baby shrimp inside the filter and I let it back out and it was fine. It was just one among many baby shrimp so it is almost a non-issue, but it's still a worry. I changed the filter to an Aquaclear Hagen 30 just because of this. If this is not an issue for you, then this filter is amazing. 8/19/2021 I have a betta in this tank and also cardinals. No problems at all. The betta swims close by and it does not pull in his fins. I do have it on a low setting but it does really well with keeping the water clean on a 10-gallon. 2/25/2021 This filter moves the water pretty well and the surface agitation means I don't need an air stone. The water flow control works really well. I put this on a 10-gallon and the lowest setting was too gentle so I upped it slightly. It's a very nice flow, and feels relaxing when you look at it. Initially there was a loud rattle that I could hear from 10 feet away, but within a day, it quieted down a lot. Now after two days, there's only a slight buzz that I have to lean in and concentrate to hear. It seems good with getting particulates out of the water. I had a lot of particulates in the tank when I was using a different, smaller filter, but the water looks clear now after two days. I used the included Seachem Matrix and added Seachem Purigen. Feels like a solid setup for keeping healthy and clean water.

It great filter and works fine and it's so quite but I wish that the seller mention on the details that it is 110 V just be careful and read the label before using it

In the past I've used Aquaclears. I found Aquaclears often have a (fairly quiet) rattling or humming noise, and were quieter with the lid removed. So far this filter is very silent. I haven't had it running for long so hopefully it doesn't get much louder with age. The loudest sound I get is from trickling water if my aquarium's water level isn't high enough. If I keep the water level high enough I can't hear trickling water either. I think having the motor under the water (compared to an Aquaclear where the motor is outside) helps keep it quiet. The flow rate can also be adjusted to a very wide range. At its minimum it's a very gentle flow, probably good for a 10 gallon or even a 5.5 gallon. I have it at full strength on a 20 gallon with dwarf puffers. I also like the surface skimmer, since the aquarium it's in seems to get more surface oil than my other tanks. The things I don't like are fairly minor (except for #3): 1) There's a white circle on the side of the motor that can easily be seen. There's also a gray knob on the front. You can see both of them on the picture of the box. They don't blend so well with the black of the rest of the filter. (I have a solid black aquarium background) 2) Like a lot of people mention there's no intake tube to extend to the bottom of the tank. It's not a huge problem for me but it would be a nice extra add-on. I think the fixed depth is around 3 to 4" deep. 3) It's more expensive than other HOB filters. In the past I've resisted buying the Seachem Tidal in favor of cheaper filters like Aquaclear. But I'm happy I spent a bit more this time.

These are fantastic filters. Low wattage high output. Would like to have seen an uptake tube though.

O melhor filtro da Categoria para aquários.

I received this defective tidal filter 35 gallon, not working at all, no option to refund /replac the item through system, even I called amazon call center, they said waiting confirmation approval as it is expensive item, but until now no feedback at all.