Box Filters?

[Ogrt48]

Whenever I buy 10g tanks at the lfs they include things like a little plastic box filter with a pump. Inside it has a sponge, carbon, and the ammonia chips. It just sits in the bottom corner of the tank and runs by the airpump pumping air into it making it bubble. Are theses things even good or just trash?

 

[Bloo]

The have a purpose and are good for a very lightly under stocked tank - especially fry or juvenile fish. And as long as the carbon and ammonia chips are replaced every few weeks (under those conditions) is absolutely fine.

But a normal 10 gallon tank would do far better with a decent power filter

 

[Ogrt48]

The have a purpose and are good for a very lightly under stocked tank - especially fry or juvenile fish. And as long as the carbon and ammonia chips are replaced every few weeks (under those conditions) is absolutely fine.

But a normal 10 gallon tank would do far better with a decent power filter

Ahh so those are the sponge filters everyone talks about for taking ccare of fry with?

 

[Bloo]

Yep more or less. The box filter has the added capacity for the ammonia chips and carbon - something the standard small sponge filter doesn't have.

 

[freddyk]

There is nothing wrong with box filters except for the space they take up - fill it with filter floss and you suddenly have an extremely effective biological filter that can handle any typical fish load. Just because it's simple and ugly does not mean it doesn't work. Ammonia chips are a waste of money, as your biological filter does the same thing for free.