Filter for tank

[Socrates]

Hey I have a 20 gallon long. Has about ~4inches of water on the bottom. It will have Mossy frogs inhabiting it. My question is I'm looking into a filter, specially an external canister filter such as the ZooMed 501 mini canister filter. Will this work efficiently and/or what is people's experience with this filter? OR does anyone have any other suggestions? I tried an internal submersible filter but it raised the temperature way too much. Also would possibly the Tetra Repto Filter 10i be sufficient? (meaning doesn't raise water temp significantly). Water movement is not an issue, mossy frogs inhabit northern Vietnam by streams coming from the hills/caves.

 

[SludgeMunkey]

Honestly, in the case of frogs, I would skip the filter and go for regularly scheduled water changes or go with a sponge filter. To be truthful, I am a real fan of sponge filters for still water animals. You can buy these, or you can do like I do and use the hillbilly version, which is just a brand new grout sponge from the DIY store, cut into quarters. I use a long pointy object to make a hole through the center of it. Then I jam a 50 cent piece sized river rock in it for weight. I then saturate the sponge with spring water, and insert an air line into it. Hook that up to a pump and give the sponge a good squeeze or two in the tank water and you are good to go. When it gets dirty, I just squeeze it out in the dirty water from the tank water change, and put the filter back into the tank.

I especially prefer sponge filters for frogs- just in case they breed, i do not get tadpoles sucked into the filter and "smooshed".

 

[bewilderbeast]

I'm using the 501 for my Dicamptodon larva... it works great and is very versatile. I avoid the "intake vaccum of doom" syndrome by having the intake set below the false bottom... the problem I can see with the 501 is that there is no effective way of changing the rate of flow aside from excessively long tubing. this isn't an issue for me really because I was looking for a filter that would create a current.

I have heard complaints that this filter gets dirty too quickly when used in turtle tanks (it is billed as a turtle filter) but I haven't had an problems at all..

 

[Kurt]

I am using a Marineland Dueto in my red-eye leaf frog breeding chamber. The filter is turned down so the flow isn't clobbering the tadpoles. I also have a filter bag over the entire unit just below the return. The only thing that gets stuck to the intake is food.

 

[bewilderbeast]

I have also used duetto filters... I like em because of their adjustable flow (very strong pump if you need it) and the fact that it comes with a tube adapter makes it very adaptable... I find that it must be fully submerged to pump effectively though... which can be a hassle in tight spaces... still I think it cleans as effectively as my zoomed 501. I like the 501 because it is external and the Duettos because they are small, reliable and inexpensive.

Zoomed is making a new model, the 511 or some such thing... I think it is the "new and improved" version that is replacing the 501... A little bigger perhaps?

I need very clean water for my Dicamptodons so I may be overdoing it when compared to newts and frogs... still, cleaner water means less chance of bacterial infections and the like...

 

[Socrates]

Thanks for the suggestion guys, but I did actually find an effective filter that is submersible with a spray bar. Thanks again though for the help.

 

[Kurt]

You're welcome.