Tropical Fish Forum
Tropical Fish Keeping Help and Advice => Fish Tanks and Equipment => Topic started by: Fiona on March 03, 2016, 07:29:20 PM
-
I want to replace the filter for the 50 litre tank with a sponge one, I'd rather avoid an impeller driven one because of the shrimp. Can anyone recommend one please?
-
Have you considered going diy and building a HMF filter? (see http://www.seriouslyfish.com/a-basic-guide-to-the-hamburger-mattenfilter/ (http://www.seriouslyfish.com/a-basic-guide-to-the-hamburger-mattenfilter/)) I've always though these looked attractive as they would be easy to disguise with plants or as part of a black background.
-
I have just replaced the filter in my betta's tank with an air pump powered sponge filter.
I bought the sponge filter on the recommendation of the chap at the shop (yes, I know, but this was Mark at Aquatic Finatic!). He made the comment that a lot of sponge filters either stick onto the glass with a sucker or just rest on the bottom. The danger is that if one of these filters floats to the surface, they stop working. He recommended one with a weighted base, the same type they use in the shop in the betta tanks.
This (https://www.seapets.co.uk/aqua-one-air-filter-30-47828) is the one I have. There are two bigger ones, but nowhere does it say what size tank they are meant for. But I would say the one I have would be plenty for a 50 litre tank with shrimps.
I also bought a JBL ProSilent a50 air pump. The chap said he would go either for that one or the Aqua One equivalent. He reckoned those were the two quietest ones - though mine does hum quite loudly. It's in the kitchen so with the fridge etc also humming I don't notice it unless I listen for it. The JBL comes with a European plug so the shop included a converter plug. The box also included air line tubing and a one way valve.
I did have to buy one extra bit for mine once I started cycling it in my QT - a splitter. Basically that is a thing for attaching 2 devices to one air pump, and I use mine to bleed off some air as the current was too strong for a betta - the pump is rated for 10 to 50 litre tanks.
The other thing to bear in mind is that you can't just take the media from another, cycled filter and put that into the sponge filter. The best you can do would be to tie the mature media around the sponge and hope some bacteria migrate in to the new sponge filter. That's why I cycled mine from scratch - that and the fact I'd never done the new method of fishless cycling myself so i thought it was about time I did.
-
UGH!! Just found 1 dead shrimp and 1 lucky survivor in the filter in the quarantine tank filter. :( I had the intake blocked with fine filter wool, the only place the poor things could have gotten in was via the slider bar slot used to regulate flow. I've blocked that now, I hope with filter wool and an elastic band. I haven't seen many babies, 6 of the original 10-ish but there are now 2 berried females.
I have seriously thought about a HMF filter for the 50 litre I'm setting up, I was looking for foam with about 20-30 ppi on ebay earlier. The shrimpery is in my bedroom, so whatever I uses needs to be a little quiet. The current filter has a trickling noise which is quite pleasant but its not big enough for 50 litre.
How quiet is your filter sponge Sue?
-
The tank is silent except for the bubbling coming from the filter. The air pump is a different matter. They are always noisier than internals, and some makes are noisier than others. My pump has got quieter over the 7 weeks since I got it, and it is suspended from a hook under the wall cupboard with a piece of string. I don't think I could cope with it in my bedroom though.
The usual recommendations for air pumps is to suspend them as I have done so that no part of it can vibrate against something solid; to put it on top of a thickly folded towel, again to damp down vibrations; or to do one of those inside a cupboard to reduce any noise further.
An alternative would be an Eheim Aquaball. That's what I have in with my shrimps. They are cylindrical filters with intake slits all round the body of the filter. Mine has a black knee high sock pulled up over the slits, the cylindrical shape making this easy. This sock is usually covered with shrimps eating bits of food caught on it. And they are quite quiet. The aquaballs, that is, not the shrimps ;D
-
OK ta Sue, I'll go browse and see how much they are.
-
They are not the cheapest filter, but bear in mind that my sponge filter and air pump cost about £25. And aquaballs can take media from other filters, it just needs cutting to shape if it's sponges.
The 60 is the size you'd need for 50 litres.
-
Hmm they definitely aren't cheap :o I'll check ebay next, they're usually cheaper