Well my faince actually offered (after some pressure, lol) to buy me the new filter, since that was the only thing I needed. I paid for three dwarf pufffers and a thermometer.
I ended up getting an Aquaclear 50, I thought it might be overkill, but the flow is adjustable, and as-is, doesn't seem too bad. I packed it with some remaining filter floss from the setup used in the sump to seed the filter and tank.
The flow rate is 200 gph, which seemed a little excessive for a 10 gal, but after thinking it over and talking with a seemingly knowledgeable LFS employee (who also promised to bring me a lot of MTSnails on Monday!!!). I decided that with a 10 gal full stocked with dirty dwarf puffers, I want it to be over filtered so I opted for the AC30.
Then I noticed the Aquaclear 50 was only $1.49 more. I asked him what he thought and he said go for it: more room for filter material and if the flow is too much (which he doubted and it does not seem to be) I can turn it down some.
I'll eventually take the filter floss out but even without it the flow doesn't seem to disturb the puffers. They actually seem to like swimming beneath the waterfall.
I tried to feed them some bloodworms today, and they checked them out intently but only one seemed to eat. Tomorrow I'll try tubifex.
I really like em and really LOVE the Aquaclear 50. I believe "over-filtered" is an oxymoron so am happy I could move from the 30 to the 50 for only a buck and a half.
I also wanted to get your opinions on whether to expect a mini-cycle: From cycled tanks I placed (1) a small fake plant, (2) two whisper filter catriges (replaced em') (3) a softball sized bag of charcoal, and don't forget (4) the tank itself, which served as the sump in a cycled 55 gal, and (5) the spraybar. I figured I'd leave the spraybar in b/c it's just another piece of equip. w/ ben bact on it.
Also I only have 3 juvie puffers, so the bioload is low for now.
Think I can get another?
Dwarf Puffers : Home says 2-3 gal per puffer. What of a cleanup crew, beyond MTS that is? The filtration should surely be able to handle it, lol.
What do you all think? Of the filter, and of the cycling and stocking issues?