Filters

[katy]

I currently have a sponge filter and am finding it's not up to the job for my 2ft tank. Can I get some advice as to what is the best kind of filter to get? What about good brands?

Thanks

 

[mik]

Seeing as you have an airline you could buy a couple of the cheaper corner filters and try those for a while.

Alternatively, buy a corner/bottle with motor/pump mounted directly on top. I bought a large-ish one at 30 quid but ended up throttling it down to reduce currents. It now sits in a tub with my breeder mollies and i use undergravels for my axie tanks.

Remember whatever you buy it'll need time to biuld up the right levels and types of bacteria in it. Take some tank water and put it in casserole dish or bowl of similar size. Then take your sponge and squeeze it that bowl to gets lots of bacteria-laden water (dirty). Put that into your new filter to 'seed' it.

(Message edited by mikki on September 13, 2004)

 

[katy]

do you know the fluval filters? i keep seeing the brand everywhere, i think they're an all-in-one unit, though they do have a water flow (i think it's adjustable anyway). i'm considering one of these. it has two filters, carbon and polyester, apparently - i think this means bio filter?

 

[leah]

Katy, I have a Fluval 2 filter in my 30 gal tank and it's doing a great job so far. The thing I like most about it is how silent it is- you can't even hear it! The water flow coming out is adjustable, but only slightly. Falkor really didn't like the high-flow setting, he'd start drifting around the tank if he hadn't anchored himself properly

On the lowest setting, he was happier but wasn't "hanging out" much near the surface like he'd do if I turned the filter off, so I modified it a little:

I've got it on the lowest setting (there's a valve that you can have all the way open, or partly closed) and have a piece of wide air hose tubing attached to where the water comes out. In the tubing I poked a bunch of holes along the bottom and clamped off the end, so it's more of a drip system now which seems to work better to keep currents down.

It's got a nice sized chamber for filter media, so I don't expect the bio-filtration to be a problem, though I haven't had mine long. The carbon in any filter is meant for removing contaminants and doesn't help with the biological filtration (that I know of.) Think medicating a tank- you always remove the carbon so that the meds will be effective, and replace with fresh carbon afterwards to remove any remaining meds from the water, right? If your water is clean and you aren't adding any extra chemicals or meds to the tank you don't even need the carbon. What will help the bio-filtration are the sponges (the polyester.) Nitrifying bacteria grow in the sponges the same way they grow in your substrate, and the bigger the bacterial colony the better! The only thing you really need to watch is when you rinse the sponges, rinse them in TANK water, not tap water because the tap water will kill off all your bacteria. Most of the sponges you buy will say to replace them at least once a month, but as long as you keep them relatively clean they last forever. When you do put new filter media in, it's best to put the new stuff in along with the old to let the bacteria build up in the new sponge- that's what's nice about the large chamber in the Fluval, it gives you room to do that! Fluval also has different sponges with large or fine pores, so if you need to get any really fine dusty particles out of the water you can choose a finer sponge... I'm really happy with mine so far!

 

[kim]

Katy,

I did have a brand new Fluval 1 filter and a corner filter until about 2months ago, but a friend of mine had started up a tank tropical tank and needed some good bacteria so they had my Fluval filter at cost!

And then i went out and brought a new filter with two chambers in it as the fluval one one had one chamber. My current one has a sponge and carbon in it (i'll find out later what the band is as im at work) and it seems to be working great... No problems as of yet.

I have the fliter top out of the water as i find it stops the current. I have a speed setting on it so i have it on the lowest setting.
I did have an under gravel one but now i have sand and it wont work with it.

I also have a corner filter to help.. its is one you connect with the air pump.. it was £0.99p from ebay.. i use filter wool and carbon with that too.

When i get home i'll take a photo to show u.

 

[kaysie]

I use a Penguin Biowheel. Instead of the bacteria growing on the filter media, it grows on the 'biowheel', which spins around in the output water. I've not had any problems, and can say I'm pretty satisfied with it. The filter works fantastically well. It trapped even the smallest bits of hornwort when I had that problem with die-off. I had to baffle the waterfall as it was causing too much disturbance, but thats the only problem I see.

 

[katy]

thanks guys for the excellent advice

i think i'm going to go with the fluval 1, i'll see if there's anything on ebay.

 

[carl]

i just got a fluval 3 i have an air pump aswell do i really need the air pump its a 3foot tank if i take the air pump out will he have enough oxygen in the water

 

[benjamin]

Axies aren't made to live in super oxygenated environments.