Small filters

[PinkFishy]

Hi all,

I came across this small filter which I haven't seen in any stores. Can anyone comment on this. If it really is quiet like the box says then it may be a good buy. Quiet is something I am looking for.

http://www.theaquariumshop.com.au/shopexd.asp?id=380

It's an elite Stingray Internal Filter 5 19ltr/hr

If anyone has any other ideas on filtration for small tanks (less than 20l) let's discuss.

Lis

[Jess]

Hey Lis, I haven;t used an internal filter like that. 19L per hour is suitable to for no more then a 5 litre tank IMO as that would turn the tanks volume over 4 times per hour. How big is the tank you want it for?

[Chuckie]

I run sponge filters on all my 20L tanks (which I use for spawning and grow out). They are not the most aesthetically pleasing things but they do a great job and are so easy to clean!

[Callatya]

I think Boronia was selling Palm filters (mini-HOBs designed for 1gal type tanks) but I have never seen them I use sponge filters or cartridge on mine, or UGFs (air powered) How strong are the stingrays? does anyone know?

[PinkFishy]

I was thinking of them for 20ltr grow out tanks for the fry and also hubby's small community tank in his office. I am using the sponge type filters (a discus one) at the moment and I haven't found them to be overly good. It may well be the particularl type of I have. I have also used the penn-plax cartridge ones but they are expensive as you have to replace the whole cartridge fairly regularly at around $3.50 per cartridge. Abbey what cartridge type have you tried? And Lisa what particular sponge filters have you found to be effective? Oh and can someone tell me about Boronia (don't know that shop) Thanks, Lis

[Chuckie]

Hi Lis I'm not sure of the brand of my filters, but SLS has the same ones in many of its tanks, you may have seen them there (if that helps)? They have a round plastic base, which anchors a cylindrical black grooved sponge that the airline feeds into, and the bubbles escape through a clear plastic tube in the top. I'll try and get a photo.

[Callatya]

Sponge Filter <-- one of those? (i took its clear tube off)

[edie]

ahh....I need to learn more from u guys later about sponge filters....I reckon I can add some to help my tanks deals with my laziness (in cleaning them that is )

[PinkFishy]

Yep that's the one Lisa - I got it from Kevin at SLS - he says its used mainly by the discuss breeders. How often do you clean it? Maybe that's why I'm not getting the best results from it. And edie - you have the blackest looking spawning tanks I have ever seen but I thought that was the secret of your incredible success with spawning Bettas. So many say keep the water really really clean and change change change. Yet you seem to raise many and gorgeous fry without filtration and frequent water changes. Lis

[edie]

Yeah...but I thought if I put filter, I may not need to change the water EVER Currently, I still need to change the water every 3 months or so...So, putting the filter may save me the entire cleaning work Ahh...I love the saying on my signature :)

[Callatya]

Lis, I take mine out once every 2 weeks and just squeeze the sponge (remove the sponge from the frame) in a bucket of old tank water. The water goes very muddy after some squeezing. Never clean in tap water as the chlorine and different temp can kill the bacteria or at least make them less active. I like my bubbles to come out under the water too, so if the tube makes it too high, take it off and use it without :thumbs:

[Chuckie]

yep, that's the one, but I use a smaller version (or the fish would have nowhere to swim!). Edie, you'd still have to do H2O changes (unfortunately - I'm with you!) as it is nitrate that gets to be the problem - it can stunt the fish, and at high enough levels cause defrmities, ray curl (in CTs) and rounding off of HM tails.

[splendidbetta]

i would rather not have to change the water in my tanks, but if i try and leave an 80 litre tank full of 150 4 week old fry without a water change for a week, the water goes a green shade with a brown tint. sure my fry sparked a bit more growth from the more 'natural' looking water, but its not worth it. and this was WITH 2 sponge filters running.(the fridge-type ones that stick to the side of the tank) so edie, if you can go 3 months without having to do tank water changes, does your water quality still stay safe? does it build up ammonia, nitrite and nitrate? ive been wanting to ask you that. if it doesnt go bad, then you have to teach me some of your water secrets :alright:

[Robbies Betta]

I think Edie should be running "Betta Breeding" seminars :alright: :cheer:

[PinkFishy]

Edie you must be the only person who gets away with doing a water change every 3mths and yet you still manage to raise the most gorgeous and healthy fish. And yes I do like your saying! :)Right I'm off to get ready of that tubing thing on the filter - the bubbles do drive me mad. Lis

[edie]

Uhhmmm....To be honest, I have no idea how to measure ammonia or nitrate etc. I basically know that if the water drops too low, time to put a whole bucket of water in. So, practically, my tank is full of accumulated ammonia/nitrate huh? I don't have problems associated to ammonia/nitrate since most of the time my fry will be off to barracks when they reach certain age. Come to think of it, my barracks would have built up ammonia/nitrate as well right??? cause I never clean it up...I just kept topping it off LMAO. Anyway, I really don't think you folks gotta copy my method...It's a lazy guy's method!!! LMAO That's why for once I thought I better treat my fish "better" by putting the sponge filter And Stefan...try to beat me on this: once I've got 200+ adult fry in 60L tank, and they were everywhere! The only problem was that the males won't sprout their darn tails cause it's overcrowded....Ohh...I also forgot...I didn't clean the tank either :lol:

[splendidbetta]

LOL @ edie edie, its time to get a water test kit but if you dont have any problems with your fish's health, then good on you. :giggle:

[iamking]

I like your way of thinking edie. Would love for you to teach me how to be "lazy" and still produce all of those nice bettas. Would be interesting when someone goes over to edies next time to take a test kit and see what his water is like Matt

[Chuckie]

er, IME the test kits don't work so well on brown water... I like to think of it as genuine blackwater. I expect that there's a good colony of bacteria in edie's tanks despite the absence of a filter (which is really just more surface area), so ammonia and nitrite are not a problem. It's just nitrate that might build up. And if the water is acidic from the amount of organic stuff in the water (aka "mulm", which I personally quite like ) then ammonia would be ammonium anyway, and so non-toxic. The water looks quite acidic, and I expect that a large part of the 'brown' is caused by tannins from broken down organic material. In which case, adding new water would be bad, as the water would become more alkaline and the ammonium would be ammonia again! So there is a good excuse for edie's approach!

[splendidbetta]

ok, it always helps when you take into consideration that the tanks are fully cycled and the factors like the water being acidic......... but when the tanks were new, and if edie never used filters, wouldnt the fish suffer from ammonia /nitrite build-up before the water 'aged' to the stage that its at now? oh well, the important thing is that edie is getting great results from little effort. :)

[Callatya]

If the water was straight from the tap and he tossed in adult fish, definately. If it was aged water (presumably aged with time, not chemicals) and the fish were fry, the bacteria could well increase in numbers right alongside the fish as they grew up.