#sponge filter

[herpandherb]

Goldfish that are just growing and growing...........

[bearirii]

I am not sorry. Patrick Rin Kagamine at your service🍊

[betta-butch]

I’m interested in getting a sponge filter to replace my filter that hangs on the back. I’ve seen a few guides on putting one together but from your own experience, do you remember roughly how much it cost? also any tips? thanks!!

[fourteen--steps]

I had to take the air stone out of the corner sponge on my 20L cause it was clogged to shit and I’m trying to soak it in vinegar to clean it but in the meantime I’m running it without the air stone and it just sounds like OOPGLOOPOGOOpBLOOPBUBLOOP like there’s a fucking witch cauldron or bubbling volcano in my living room and it’s very perturbing

[smaxolotl]

general update

It’s been a big week for my water-dependents. This particular tank had a mass of vines and algae at the top that I finally dealt with and now it looks barren. Except for the approximately 5.2 million little seedlings or whatever that the vines release at the slightest movement once they reach a point of maturity. You can see them clogging the filter intake, which happens so fast and just gave up clearing it.

The Amazon sword plant that remained in this tank (heated), has done decently [lower left plant]. I’d love to get it to the point of propagating, but it’s not always easy, especially when you are brand new and not all that committed to the aquatic plants...oops lol.

I am very pleased with how the crinum calamistratum onion plant is growing its tentacles though. I couldn’t get the other bulbs to thrive in colder and then heated but smaller tanks. They’re finnicky and get this gross smelly red rot it seems, almost out of their own annoyance at the wannabe-cultivator (me :/ )

It’s odd to see so much light in the tank again, since there’s been such coverage at the top for a while until now. 

My two bigger community setups for axolotls got a slight rearranging as well. 

Midas is joining the big boy tank with Buddy and Linda

separate post to follow later. Needless to say, he’s adorable no matter what. 

I also switched up the decor in Sadsolotl and Big Mel’s tank.

And they have been enjoying it. Axolotls do appreciate a change in scenery every so often, and get to exercise some curiosity when encountering new things. Ie., can I eat it? Answer: no, always no. Separate post also to follow for their shiny new-ish digs.

unexpected rant extolling the virtues of sponge filters, I guess for newbies? I don’t know.

It’s also odd to imagine there was a time I relied on charcoal filters and other potions to try to persuade the water to cooperate . If you’re new to keeping fish/aquatic critters, the dreaded CYCLE is real and it will be your best friend eventually. Cut the chemicals, save yourself months of struggle , stress, and money and take the initial time to get a good balanced cycle. I’ve read that axolotls actually need some of the minerals in the water that the carbon filter strips away in order to build a nice slime coat (hard water with minerals is preferred). You don’t want your axie naked without a coat do you??

Sponge filters are the way to go. Simple and cheap. Then you can always have backups  going that aren’t obnoxious to maintain and can basically pop them in a brand new setup and their bacteria will do the rest. You can even just slice a piece of foam and pop an airstone into it for a quick and dirty custom mini filter.

If you can’t break free of the more traditional HOB or other filter mindset, just pack it with super porous bacteria-encouraging foam and ceramics instead of the premade filter bags BIG FISH (lol) pushes. Give it a light (and not hot) rinse monthly or sooner as needed and that’s all you need.

[notyour-cup-of-tea]

Anyone else ever look at their fish and wonder how the hell they're so beautiful/graceful? I do with all three of my boys

[hella-free-space]

im setting up a betta tank and i was wondering what are the best filter and heater for a ten gallon?

Hey there anon! :D

In my opinion, the best filter for a 10 gallon betta tank (for any tank, really) are sponge filters! :D they come in a few different styles but i personally prefer the bactosurge sponge filters that I got from an LFS :p for any style of sponge filter, you’ll need some airline hose, a check valve, and an air pump :pStyle 1: more of a block sponge with the input and output at the top. this type of sponge sits on the bottom of the tank.

Style 2: two smaller sponges with input near the bottom and output near the top. this type of sponge suctions to the wall of the tank.

As for heaters, there’s a tons of different brands and price points to choose from :p Usually you want to shoot for 5-10 watts / gallon :p If you live in a warmer place or if your house stays a bit warmer, you might be able to get away with say, a 10 watt heater for a 5 gallon tank (2 watts / gallon) or something like that and if you lie in a colder place you might need to get a 200 watt heater for a 10 gallon tank (20 watts / gallon). Adjustable heaters are always better than nonadjustable ones, though, and I highly recommend getting an adjustable heater for your betta! :)  (comments in italics courtesy of @fishhhhhhh from this post)Blue Aqua: I had these heaters recommended to me  by @pet-of-subs (who I believe had these heaters recommended to them from another tumblr) and I was curious as to how well they’d work so I orderd them! (to the wrong house ;n; they’ll be here sometime by the end of the month ^-^” I’ll let y’all know how they work when I get them!)Eheim JagerPenn Plax: (I have three of these heaters, in different wattages, and haven’t once been let down by them. One of them is about 4-5 years old now, and still holds the correct temp.)Hydor Theo: A highly recommended heater, by many aquarist. It tends to be a little more compact than others!Aqueon Pro: I really like these heaters, they’re pretty much indestructible, and have a temperature light that turns red and green.Fluval E: Great heater with a LCD showing the current temp of the water! I have a 50 watt that works hella’ good. It’s preset at 77, so you won’t need to mess with it, if you’re using it for a betta! Hopefully that helped you out anon ^-^If anyone has any other heaters/filters to suggest, please feel free to do so! :D

[bettagal]

Thought I’d post a first impression of new aquarium products I try from Amazon. I got this  Corner Filter Aquarium Fish Tank Internal Air Driven Filter with Media XY-2008 for under $7, free shipping with Prime. I poked holes in the tubing to lower the current, so it’s easily baffled. I am going to keep an eye on Genji’s fins to see if the intake is too strong. Honestly, I feel with its size, it’s best suited for a 10-gallon looks wise. So it will eventually be Genji’s 10-gallon filter once I upgrade him . Probably overly fancy for a sponge-filter I could get for $3, but I oddly like the way it looks? I have it running with the old filter going, too.