10 gallon safety net

[fish_4_all]

I need opinions about this as it is simply speculation.

I think that the Aquaclear 20 or better, the 30 is best for a 10 gallon tank.
I also think that adding bioballs, ceramic stars or something else to the filter chamber to add a huge amount of surface area could be very important. 10 gallon tanks just don't have the surface area that is needed to maintain a constant biologcial process and need the extra surface area in the filter to help prevent any major crashes.

What is your opinion on this?

 

[Tiffi]

You are absoulutely correct.

I would get the Aquaclear 30 and switch it on a lower filtration level to not blow away your fish, though. If you get ceramic rings, that would be even better, plus some regular sponge works always fine.

This way you will be saver but you can still not put 20 x 2" fishes in there.

 

[fish_4_all]

Npt talking about protecting from overloading, just in general. Gonna get some ceramic pieces from my parents shop. One nice thing about them having it is I can get broken ceramic pieces for my tank any time I want as well as make my own beads and balls for my filters.

I am just looking for the best way to prevent a major crash and I think this is the way. That and I need to gut plants back in the tanks.

 

[tropicfishman]

this would defintly be helpful, i own a 10 gallon and I have 3 completely covered bio balls in my filter and everything has been smooth sailing so far with this setup, I did have some cloudiness this week but that was becuase of my decaying plant and nasty filter, i fixed both problems and its slowly coming clearer

 

[Devilishturtles]

That is one of the main reasons that alot of people reccomend AC filters. They have the greatest option in filter media usage.

 

[Kilgore]

Hhhhmmm. You mentioned putting bioballs in the Aqua Clear. I am interested in this (about 20 plastic ones is what I have), but do they really have more surface area than the sponge that comes with the filter?

Also, would you place them between a layer of sponge and carbon or on top? If on top, should they be put into a mesh bag to keep from spilling over into the tank? Sorry if I am tresspassing on your post, but these are related questions at least. Thanks!

 

[YuccaPatrol]

I'm using the seachem matrix biological media in my AC-110. It is incredibly porous and harbors both anaerobic and aerobic bacteria.

I do agree with the previous poster who suggested getting the larger filter and setting its flow rate lower if it is too much. That way you will take advantage of a higher volume of media and decrease the frequency of your filter maintenance.

 

[fish_4_all]

Well, I would put the plastic bioballs in the bottom and the sponge on top. What I will use is either the ceramic rings or the bio-chem stars and they will be on top without and bag, assuming they will stay there. If they won't, I will put the on the bottom.

It actually makes sense, to me, to put them as the first line of filtration. They will take out the larger items that need to be broke down and being they have more bacteria; they should break it down better and not impede water flow.

I haven't used any yet but I think they ceramic rings and the stars will be much better simply because the bacteria has somewhere to live and not get washed off in a simple rinsing in tank water.

The bioballs, I don't know for sure how big they are but in a AC 20, I don't how much room there is going to be and a second sponge might actually provide more biological surface area than anything else.

If the bioballs are small enough to put 6 or more in there, then I would use them and only rinse half of them if it becomes necessary. Lots and lots of options, again, this is why most love the AC. Once I get my ceramic rings and my bio-chem stars, I will be using them as I do like the filtration the double sponge gives but I don't like the water flow loss in less than 1 week. At times I have to rinse the sponges twice a week instead of only at water changes, once a week. This is just another one of those glory necessities of a 10 gallon tank.

One other thing, I don't know why you are using carbon but I have been told time and time again it is not needed and is really a hindrance if you have a planted tank.

Ask away, that is what I did when I started and I still do it. Never a worry about trespassing on a post. It is amazing how often a post actually goes way off topic. You had a good question and I wish I would give you better answers with how many will fit of all types, the surface are and the biological capacity but I am not that far into it yet as I have only had mine for 3 months or so.

 

[Kilgore]

Well, I would put the plastic bioballs in the bottom and the sponge on top. What I will use is either the ceramic rings or the bio-chem stars and they will be on top without and bag, assuming they will stay there. If they won't, I will put the on the bottom.

It actually makes sense, to me, to put them as the first line of filtration. They will take out the larger items that need to be broke down and being they have more bacteria; they should break it down better and not impede water flow.

One caution on using bio stars at the point of first water contact in the filter - I recently read (probably in this forum somewhere ) that you should NOT use your biological filter as your mechanical filter.... something to do with the wrong kind of bacteria growing too fast when all that gunk gets clogged up, and then the nitrifying bacteria not being able to keep up. Or something.... feel free to correct me or clarify.

Anyway, for that reason, you should always have a mechanical filter weed out all the gunk before the water gets to your biological filter - in this case that would be the bio stars and/or sponge. Maybe have a coarser sponge or other filter material on bottom? That is the one that you can clean frequently to rinse away all the gunk you don't want, so that you will not disturb the good bacteria during maintenance, and it can flourish in an unclogged environment.

 

[fish_4_all]

The only thing that seems odd is if you need to mechanically filter first then 2 different types of media are essential for the filter to work at all. My bottom sponge gets plugged up all the time and I switch the one from the top to the bottom all the time. Maybe that is part of the problem? Maybe I should leave the sponges in the same order and never rinse the top one. Maybe I need to get the stars or ceramic media just to get the system to work right at all.

I am also curious. From what I have read, the bio-chem stars are chemical filtration, not mechanical as they have huge surface areas for bacteria growth? Have you seen something different from that?

 

[Kilgore]

That large surface area on which bacteria can grow would make the bio-chem stars biological filtration, not chemical, unless they contain some chemical material such as zeolite. Mechanical filtration refers to filtering out of larger particles, such as plant material, before it gets to the biological media. This is just what I've read, but it makes sense to me as a biologist because the bacteria need room to grow, and if the water flow to them is clogged they cannot adequately "filter" the water, i.e. break down the waste.

That is one of the drawbacks of the "out of the box" Aqua Clear setup - one sponge, one carbon bag. In this case the carbon is also acting as a biological filter which is why they tell you never to change both at the same time. But luckily that can be changed. Try using the sponge on bottom, then the bio-chem stars, and either another spong or some sort of chemical filtration on top to keep them in. If this theory is correct, you should see the sponge bottom clogging more with bigger stuff, and you can rinse that without rinsing the bioballs, thus not disturbing the bacteria on them. Makes sense to me anyway.

 

[fish_4_all]

I meant biological not chemical, my bad there. Is why I never became a chemist.

Anyway, it all sounds good to me. The stars inbetween should work well, I will try it many ways to try and see which works best. The fact that the sponge filter clogs and the water runs out through the top gives putting the stars and another sponge on top a lot of creedence. That would insure that the water is still being biologically filtered even if the bottom sponge is clogged.

See, I knew it would work somehow, now I know what to try and what I need to get.
Maybe we can figure out how to make a AC20 the best filter there is for a 10 gallon tank yet. Now we just have to keep this thread going or start new ones that tell how things work out with our different setup trials.

 

[YuccaPatrol]

As I read this, I would suggest getting at least the AC-30 if not the AC-50. The 30 is rated for a 10-30 gallon aquarium and would provide significantly more volume of filtration media. The price difference between the 20 and the 50 is only $6 from an online retailer such as Petsmart.

If you can fit the AC50 behind your hood, you can adjust it to the lowest flow rate which is only 66 gal/hour. The 20 has a max flow of 100 gal/hour, so you can easily achieve the same flow rate (or more if you choose) with the 50 and have a LOT more filter media. You'll have increased mechanical and biological filtration and will decrease your filter maintenance.

 

[Kilgore]

YuccaPatrol makes a good point.... but if you already have the AC20 I would try what we've discussed and see how it works. Let us know! I agree - 10 gallons almost need a better filter than bigger aquariums since they are subject to such large fluctuations... and don't get me started on smaller tanks.

 

[fish_4_all]

I will keep track of all the changes that occur. Recording all readings weekly, change in fish behavior, color of the water, etc. Might make for a good discusion .

Maybe this information should be added to sticky on getting started. I know it would make a lot of aquarists happier to know that starting larger than a 10 gallon is actually easier.