Twoapennything
Aquarium Advice Freak
OMG, I am SO ANGRY!!!!
My 10 gal. tank was just about fully cycled; however, last night I noticed that the filter was making a very loud noise. I checked it and it wasn't turning or processing any water. It's a Penguin biowheel filter that is just one month old. I tried everything I could think of to get it running again - the motor was running, but it was not taking in any water. I cleaned out the intake tube, checked to make sure there wasn't any substrate in the actual mechanism of the filter, and spent nearly 20 minutes pouring water over the filter and wheel, trying to get it going again. No luck. So, I pulled the Penguin out of the tank and put in the spare Tetra Fin filter that came with the tank. It's better than nothing, I'm sure, but it's certainly not a fabulous filter.
Now my tank's cycle has wigged out. This morning's readings were ammonia .25, nitrites .50, nitrates 5. The rise in ammonia made me groan because I had been getting 0.0 readings for about a week, with higher nitrite and nitrate readings.
So, if I get a new, better filter, the tank will essentially have to start the cycle all over again, as most of the good bacteria lives in the filter, right?
With a new filter I'd be starting from square one; yet, I don't want to be stuck with the not great Tetra Fin filter forever. Furthermore, I'm scared it might stress my fish out, having wildly fluctuating chemical levels for an extended period of time. We have eleven baby mollies in the tank (that was a surprise - thanks, PetSmart!) that are almost microscopically tiny, plus two adult mollies, three lyretail guppies, an albino cory catfish, and one African dwarf frog.
Ugh, I hate inadvertently getting stuck with crappy products . . . I'm really upset about this :| I'm definitely going to take the Penguin filter back to PetSmart and insist on a refund.
So, any recommendations for a filter for a 10 gallon tank?
My 10 gal. tank was just about fully cycled; however, last night I noticed that the filter was making a very loud noise. I checked it and it wasn't turning or processing any water. It's a Penguin biowheel filter that is just one month old. I tried everything I could think of to get it running again - the motor was running, but it was not taking in any water. I cleaned out the intake tube, checked to make sure there wasn't any substrate in the actual mechanism of the filter, and spent nearly 20 minutes pouring water over the filter and wheel, trying to get it going again. No luck. So, I pulled the Penguin out of the tank and put in the spare Tetra Fin filter that came with the tank. It's better than nothing, I'm sure, but it's certainly not a fabulous filter.
Now my tank's cycle has wigged out. This morning's readings were ammonia .25, nitrites .50, nitrates 5. The rise in ammonia made me groan because I had been getting 0.0 readings for about a week, with higher nitrite and nitrate readings.
So, if I get a new, better filter, the tank will essentially have to start the cycle all over again, as most of the good bacteria lives in the filter, right?
With a new filter I'd be starting from square one; yet, I don't want to be stuck with the not great Tetra Fin filter forever. Furthermore, I'm scared it might stress my fish out, having wildly fluctuating chemical levels for an extended period of time. We have eleven baby mollies in the tank (that was a surprise - thanks, PetSmart!) that are almost microscopically tiny, plus two adult mollies, three lyretail guppies, an albino cory catfish, and one African dwarf frog.
Ugh, I hate inadvertently getting stuck with crappy products . . . I'm really upset about this :| I'm definitely going to take the Penguin filter back to PetSmart and insist on a refund.
So, any recommendations for a filter for a 10 gallon tank?