Dirty Tank! Need Filter!

Alright, so I thought I could handle cleaning out my Axie's tank once a week, but it's becoming a problem.

What kind of filter should I buy? I've included a picture of my tank. The pet store near my house isn't very good so I need your guys' help!

Thanks much!

Even with a filter it is still best to do weekly water changes on your aquarium and siphon/turkey baster out any bits of detritus that you may find. Aquarium filter don't really clean or purify water their main benefit is they retard the degradation of your water quality. They basically just give you a bit more time before you need to do maintenance. So a filter will help you out but don't rely on it too much.

There is an excellent article on filters at the Caudata Culture web page. It gives you an overview of the various types of filters. Basically there is three types of filtration in the home aquarium: chemical, mechanical and biological.

• Chemical: Chemical consists of resins and other materials you add to the tank that react with undesired components of the aquarium water. The most commonly seen of these is activated carbon which reacts with all sorts of things in the water and removes them. Also in this category is zeolite and various special resins that are being produced. The various medias should be replaced as directed. It is usually recommended to change carbon once a month and zeolite can be "recharged" and other resins have their own directions.
  
• Mechanical: This is the filter floss or sponge that captures large particles out of the water column. Mechanical filtration accumulates all the large waste so that it can be easily removed. These should be rinsed out regularly.
  
• Biological: This type of filtration is the bacteria that sets up house in your aquarium and converts the harmful nitrogenous compounds excreted by animals and formed by decay, the ammonia and nitrite, and converts it into the far less dangerous nitrate. This type of filtration is provided by creating an ideal habitat for these bacteria, namely an oxygen rich environment with tons of surface area. These include sponges, ceramic blocks or bioballs and other devices. These do not need maintenance besides occasionally removing any stuck on detritus.

In my mind biological is the most important. Providing a lot of surface area for bacteria helps deal with the most toxic substance readily seen in aquariums. Sponge filters and box filters are cheap and easy ways to provide this surface area and are my filtration method of choice. Canister filters, while expensive are also good at providing biological filtration along with the other two types. They move a lot of water and something will need to be rigged up, like a spray bar, to divert the flow so as to not cause too much of a current.

When looking for filters look at the size of the media used to filter. How large is it? The bigger it is the more it will filter before needing maintenance. It is also important to look at the power source (in watts) of any filter that stays in the tank. The more watts it uses the more heat it gives off which can be big problem for our temperate friends. Some filters can raise the water by several degrees. I am using a Duetto 50 in one of my tanks it raises the tank water by 2 degrees and it is only a 3 watt filter.

Adding more water to your tank will also provide a greater volume to dissolve waste products helping you with your maintenance problems. Just know that even with a filter you still need to perform regular water changes and attend to your filters and any other water problems that arise such as excessive waste at the bottom.

I would fill your tank up, and try to fill it with plants. This will help with water quality as well.

Your axolotl has no place to hide. This can cause it to be stressed, and can lead to health problems.

Your tank also looks rather small.

It's a 10 gallon! Is that too small?

For a canister, yes. There is one mini canister from zoomed (the 501) but it has a lot of mixed reviews regarding how well it goes together. It's supposed to clean alright though.

I'm getting a Fluval filter, i've herd very good things about them and you can get smaller ones that would fit nicely in your tank.
Also can i ask, is your axie male? (I'm practicing sexing Axies)