Filter Too Strong?

[SarahBravo]

I have just put a betta in a 40l AquaEl round tank - I thought it would be perfect when I got it as it is small but has lighting, heat and filter all built in. Only problem is the filter seems fairly strong - I have surrounded it with plants and put in some wood to break up the flow but the poor betta seems to be being blown around the tank. He does find quiet spots where he rests, but most of the time he is going round and round He is swimming with it and not going backwards or I would have taken him out straight away, but he definitely can't swim against the flow.

I am currently running the filter for 10 mins, off for 10 mins as I don't want to exhaust the betta or kill the bacteria in the filter, but I'm kinda at a loss what to do now. Is it worth trying to break up the flow even more, or should I rehome the betta (beautiful blue, red and white crowntail) and get some fast-water friendly fish? How much flow can bettas put up with?

Never had this problem with them before, guess the AquaEl is overfiltered (which I had always considered a good thing!)

Appreciate any advice.

 

[Frollickyfish]

Can you take the filter system out and buy a seperate air driven sponge filter instead?

 

[tibby25731]

Try getting a piece of a pair of tights and an elastic band, wrap the tights over the outlet and secure with the elastic band. This custs down the flow to almost nothing whilst still keeping the filter going.

 

[liz2]

I have had this problem and in the end I just took the filter out! I tried 2 different bettas and they both hated it. I have an air stone in now and it just throws tiny bubbles up ever few seconds and the betta is not bothered!

 

[SarahBravo]

Yeah, but I want to put cories in and I don't think they will do too well unfiltered - plus I'm too lazy to do daily water changes

Thanks for the tights thing, sounds just what I needed, I will go and buy a pair now. (I'm more of a sock person, or just slobbing around in bare feet weather permitting!)

Thanks guys

 

[doresy]

Hi, try pushing a piece of course filter media onto the filter outlet tube and hold on with an elastic band

 

[millym]

could you get hold of something like a piece of plastic pipe with holes in it to put on your filter outlet to make a spraybar - so the flow from the filter is spread along and not so strong.
i did this in our bettas tank. i had a old piece of plastic hose that came with a gravel vac, cut a piece about 6 inches long & made holes in it, managed to fix this onto the filter outlet spout ( if you soak the plastic pipe/hose in hot water for a few mins it makes it more pliable to stretch over the outlet spout)
it spreads the water flow out & slows it right down & works well.it works even better if you can block the far end of the pipe off with something.

ive now got a small spraybar that came with another filter that ive put on the fluval 1 filter in berts tank, i used a bit of old vac hose again soaked in hot water to make a sort of attatchment to make the spraybar fit onto the end of the filter. if you look at my signature you can see it the white pipe stuck onto the black filter in the small tank.

 

[ReMz]

Try something like this. I used tights on one of my filters but it was still too strong, so I added this in conjunction:
http/www.freepowerboards.com/bettabuddie...p?f=21&t=24

can be modified to work with almost any filter.

Also, I used several layers of tights (like 5)... just make sure you aren't going to stress out the pump too much. Over time, the filter media and tights clog up a bit and you can remove a few layers or eventually take the tights off entirely.

Good preventative measure if you are worried about the filter intakes sucking up your betta's fins.

 

[SarahBravo]

Thanks for all the advice guys The filter is kinda strange, it's got a long intake with foam at the bottom, water is them sucked through a foam basket and a tube media basket, in a half-saucer type arrangement in the lid and goes out over the edge of this reservoir. As a built in filter, it's damn good actually. Because of the shape I couldn't do anything to the output but I put 2 laters of 40 denier pop socks over the intake foam, and now it seems perfect! There is a stready flow of water, but Mr Fishy (original name, huh?) is not blown around and can hover in place quite comfortably, and can swim against the current when he wants to. I'll give it a few weeks for the bacteria to recover then add a little family of cories.

Yay, I'm happy now

 

[eb2]

Thanks for all the advice guys The filter is kinda strange, it's got a long intake with foam at the bottom, water is them sucked through a foam basket and a tube media basket, in a half-saucer type arrangement in the lid and goes out over the edge of this reservoir. As a built in filter, it's damn good actually. Because of the shape I couldn't do anything to the output but I put 2 laters of 40 denier pop socks over the intake foam, and now it seems perfect! There is a stready flow of water, but Mr Fishy (original name, huh?) is not blown around and can hover in place quite comfortably, and can swim against the current when he wants to. I'll give it a few weeks for the bacteria to recover then add a little family of cories.

Yay, I'm happy now

an easy current killer is to cut a water bottle .. heres the link http/www.petfish.net/kb/entry/347/

 

[metromyers]

I use a cut up water bottle. Works like a champ.

 

[ReMz]

lol eb2. click on my link 2 posts up