Filter Question

[Kwenbee]

Okay, once again I feel like I have NO IDEA what I'm doing....

Friday, I decided to look into buying a more powerful filter for the 10 gallon. The one that came with the tank (a Whisper HOB) is just not circulating the water with the betta divider in it. The side without the filter is really scummy looking on the top (I think it's betta spit) and when I moved this tank on Saturday, the gravel was grungy...like NOTHING is being filtered from that side of the tank.

Anyway, I went to Big Al's website to look at sponge filters -- holy crap! I have NO CLUE what to look for. I saw that some of them were only about $8, which is a bargain price and would work for me, but I don't know if I'm buying the right thing.

I have a limited budget for this filter, so please, please, please give me some advice on what to buy. I'm thinking less than $20 if possible (okay, so I'm poor...I just worry about my poor Bill the Betta).

Bill has also had little appetite in the past couple days and I wonder if it's cuz his side of the tank is gunky. Water parameters are fine...I tested them Friday. Going to test again today after the big move yesterday.

[Endgame319]

I highly reccomend the penguin bio-wheel models. This one is on sale for $12, and should give your 10gal plenty of filtration, good deal IMO.
http://www.bigalsonline.com/catalog/...d1=1699;pcid2=

[patryuji]

Or you could keep the hob and add a sponge filter like this one:

http://www.bigalsonline.com/catalog/...d1=1699;pcid2=

for only $5.79

This way the betta can have calmer waters while still enjoying clean water on his side as well.

Then again the sponge will take up tank space while the penguin doesn't.

[Fruitbat]

Kwenbee....

One alternate suggestion would be to run two filters in your tank. I put a Whisper 2/5 filter in my daughter's 5 gallon tank a few weeks ago. It can either hang from the back (inside the tank) or you can use suction cups to stick it to the inside. It does an EXCELLENT job of circulating and filtering the water in that 5 gallon. If you put one of those in each side of your 10 gallon you should have some crystal clear water in no time!!! I don't remember the exact price but I think they were in the neighborhood of $12.00 each at Wal-Mart.

Oh....they also have an adjustable flow rate so you should be able to keep the water from circulating TOO quickly!!

[Kwenbee]

I don't think I can add a second filter because I already have problems with the tank cover fitting properly with the little divider clips that hang over the side. I'm considering clipping the plastic at the spot where the divider sits just so the lid fits.

Of course, I guess I could clip the back of the cover as well. I know that Bill has jumped out of his tank before, so I'm a little leary of removing the cover, plus I need the lights on the tank since the new corner they live in has little natural light.

I'll probably go with the Penguin biowheel...I really need to do something because it's looking fairly yucky in Bill's side of the tank!

[patryuji]

You don't have enough room to just put in an airline for a sponge on Bill's side of the tank? Even with the biowheel you will still have the same problems. Biowheel on one side of the divider, no filter on the other side...the side without filtering will have more gunk.

A sponge will do moderate mechanical filtration as well.

[Kwenbee]

My actual thought was just to get a stronger filter, but today I realized that Jake has far more water movement than he likes, he actually sometimes appears to be working hard to swim slowly, so I guess I HAVE to put in two filters.

My plan was to get rid of the cheap floss type stuff in the current filter and get something a little less maintenance, but I don't think that's going to be possible.

I guess I'm going to just have to change the top of this tank to make it work properly...

[mrzap]

I am running two filters in my 10 gallon. I had to jigsaw my hood to get the extra space. Works well although it is a lot of current.

[malkore]

most plastic hoods are designed to be cut...it should have some little grooves in it...pre-scored cutting lines.

You could put a second AquaClear mini and turn the flow down. i run one of these on a 5.5 gallon betta tank, and he has no problems with too much water flow.

[smilla4]

I don't know if this helps, but perhaps he could get used to the current. As long as there's a dead space or slow spot for him to rest. Mine used to be blown around the tank by the filter, but now he's gotten stronger. If he goes directly under the stream of water he'll get knocked back, but can recover pretty easily.

[Kwenbee]

This morning, apparently Bill had built a little bubble nest which really makes the surface of the water slimy and gross. I couldn't take it anymore, so I moved the filter over to Bill's side of the tank. He wasn't too impressed with the change at first, but he seems okay now.

I just kind of slid the top of the tank toward the front. It DOES have scored lines for cutting, but the one on Bill's side of the tank is very small. I've never seen a filter that small that would fit, but at least now I know I can hook another small filter up on Jake's side.

I also considered just getting an airstone to move the water around. Any thoughts on whether that might work rather than an all new filter?

[noteworthy]

The other slit on the tank cover should be for a hob thermometer but you can hack up the lid for your needs.

I'm going to put a biowheel 330 gph hob on one side of my tank. The other I am mounting a h.o.t. magnum 250. Hopefully I can modify the tank output/input tubes so I won't hack up the lid too much.


I've never been into sponge filters but I've heard some good things. My wife likes the air-bubble lines (if you do this get a valve to throttle the air), which do cause more air turbulation but it lacks any cleaning ability.

Another option that also moves current but doesn't clean is a powerhead... not sure what the lowest gph is tho. Certainly don't want to stress the fish by slamming it against the glass. 8O

You could probably make a sponge filter with a powerhead but not sure exactly how easy/cheap it would be compared to retail purchase.