DIY Filter Modification...

[muzscman]

okay...so i'm setting up my first 10 gallon fry tank.....i have a sunshine peacock that is going to spit out her eggs here in a week or so....so i thought i'd put here in a tank by herself and let her spit out her eggs.....now my question is this....i have an aquaclear 30 in the tank right now and i want to make it safe for the babies....is there a extremely cheap way to make it safe??

someone said you could put netting over the filter intake or another was to use some kind of sponge and make the aquaclear a sponge filter.....

which way is cheaper and which way is more effective??

thanx!!

 

[csr mel]

if you take a piece of open cell foam (any foam you can blow air through with ur mouth) and bore a hole into one side of the foam with a knife or scisors or somthing, you can place the piece of foam over the end of the filters intake.
this keeps things like eggs or fry from getting sucked into the filter, yet lets fish crap and water pass through wihout getting clogged up.
because youre using a piece of foam, (the larger the better) it only gets clogged up every few weeks or so depending on youre filtering needs.

if you use somthing like cloth or nylon over the filters inlet instead of a big piece of foam, you have to clean it every day or twice a day because it doesnt have the surface area to stay unclogged for long periods of time like foam does.

also, foam greatly adds to the filtering surface area for which the beneficial bacteria live and is somthing you may wish to keep on the filter at all times, even when there is no fry or eggs to worry about.

i can post pictures of my setup if you want.

 

[muzscman]

where do u get the foam at???

pics of your setup would be awesome....

 

[Paul_MTS]

if you go to a fish shop with pond supplies you can use one of the clumps of foams used on fountain pumps, you might want to tie it on with some fishing line to make sure it stays in place.

 

[DanL]

you can use an extra Aquaclear foam filter and cut it to fit over the intake.

 

[muzscman]

you can use an extra Aquaclear foam filter and cut it to fit over the intake.

i like that idea....cheap and effective...

 

[jordan barnhart]

Or you can save even more money. Go get a rubber band and some ladies pantie hoes or stockings. Whatever you want to call it. Put that over the filter intake and then put the rubber band on to hold it in place. I do this all the time.

 

[DanL]

I personally think that pantyhouse way is sorta tacky...

If you use a cut Aquaclear sponge over the intake you are also gaining more real estate for your bio buddies to take up residence...