Filter for 5.5 litre tank?

[Ravenau1]

Hi

I'm just wondering what a good type of filter (if any) would be good in a 5.5 ltr tank? My Bettas each have some gravel, some driftwood, java moss, a couple of silk plants and a mini heater so it would need to be something not huge. I'm having some water quality issues, having to do 100% water changes three or so times a week but I'm not sure how much difference a filter would make in such a small space.

I have a 50L goldfish tank and I only need to do a 30% change once a week or less in that.

[y2jdaze]

you could use a small sponge filter, that sort of thing would be ideal for that sized tank and you should be able to get away with a lot less water changes , just be sure to get a flow control valve so you can slow the bubbles of the filter down enough for your bettas to be happy :P

[Rod]

I'd ditch the silk plant and add water sprite and duckweed....works for me:)

[Bettarazzi]

And add a light that has a colour spectrum between 6000K and 10000K. That will help the plants grow and do their thing.

[Ravenau1]

Thanks everyone , I may very well go for plants and filter to be on the safe side

[Callatya]

What sort of water quality issues are you having? scum? cloud? ammonia?

[Jess]

You could make a little corner filter with a salt and pepper shaker, add some wool and place a little airstone down the bottom. Might have to modify the lid to fit the tubing. Or you could ditch the lid and use a stocking and rubber bands to make a lid to keep the media inside.

[Ravenau1]

Callatya, I'm having ammonia issues. All is fine for a couple of days (I check every day) then I get a huge reading, it seems to happen overnight.

faewyn, thanks that's an interesting idea! I might experiment with that.

[malignau]

I have a ~7L tank which i have filtered with a supreme hang on filter that is rated at 200L/h. It has adjustable flow so its just sorta trickling now. Its done a great job, and at $5 its a bargain.

[Ravenau1]

Thanks for your advice everyone , just one more question.

I got some small sponge type filters yesterday. Now I don't want to go and just pop them in the Betta tanks as this would be the same as popping the Bettas in brand new tanks. I have a goldfish tank that has been up and running for several years, can I put the new filters in there for a while so they pick up some bacteria? Or would a little bag of gravel from the goldfish tank next to the filter in the Betta tank be ok?

[y2jdaze]

if you've got the sponge filters ready to be set up I'd just toss them in, if they're used to being unfiltered anyways it won't make much difference while they cycle, just do your normal water changes and test the ammonia and nitrite levels, once they both read zero and remain stable you're right to go just remember they still need the odd 25% or so water change (otherwise they'll eventually get "old tank syndrome" - which is just as bad as "new tank syndrome")

p.s. if you want to give the new filters a bit of a kickstart you can whack a bit of Seachem Stability or Cycle or something such in to help establish the beneficial bacteria a bit quicker.

[Ravenau1]

Great, thanks y2jdaze :)

[Callatya]

New filter in an established tank that has not had a filter (so addition rather than replacement) is perfectly safe. It isn't terribly effective, but it isn't going to hurt anything. The goldfish idea is better providing you are happy that your goldfish tank is disease-free. The only possible problem you might have is a small amount of die back of the filter bacteria when you switch it to the betta tank because goldfish would have it geared to handle a much higher level of waste and so would grow more bacteria. A betta won't output eough to feed them all so you might (and only might, usually it is OK) see a small spike in ammonia within the first day or so while it settles in.

Another thing you could consider are zeolite filters. I'll hunt the design, it is rather a clever thing for bowls and tiny tanks. 5.5L sounds like you do 100% water changes fairly regularly and that space is an issue, so it might be something to consider. In small tanks I absolutely adore using 'cheat' products like Amquel, Prime, Ammochips etc. Basically they absorb or neutralise the ammonia until they are used up, which means nice safe water between changes providing you have enough of the product to deal with the expected waste output. It takes a bit of fiddling to match the product quantity with the fish and water volume, but it can work very nicely.

And the bacterial starters are pretty good too. Small tanks are a pain to keep stable and things like Nitravec and Stability give you that extra protection should things go south, without screwing up your test kit readings like the ammonia locking products do.