Filter

[Ch0le]

Hello all. I am gettimg a Betta for my 10 gallon. What filter do I want? I really don't want a sponge filter. I don't think ot would work to well with my tank location? Thank you.

 

[Back in the fold]

I'm an old fool from the old school. The tried and true air driven inside box filters (Lee's) and sponge filters are great in smaller tanks. Don't knock the old standby under gravel filter either. I mainly like these because I like bubbles. With air drive you can seal the tank better too. No big gap for an HOB. Bettas like that moist air at the surface. With air drive make sure you keep a spare pump and parts on hand as they always fail at some point.

 

[Essjay]

Sponge filters powered by an air pump are ideal for bettas as they create a gentle water flow. If you put a 2 way splitter in the air line, you can control the water flow by allowing air to escape from the unused section.

 

[Byron]

I second the sponge filter, there really is nothing anywhere close to a single sponge filter for a 10g with a male Betta.

Can you explain why you say it will not work with the tank location?

 

[FishGuest5123]

I third the sponge filter. I just changed over from an in tank filter to a sponge and I love it!

 

[Essjay]

Undergravel filters can also work with bettas though as I've never used one I can't talk from personal experience. But my betta's tank has an air pump powered sponge filter and that works well.

 

[Ch0le]

I second the sponge filter, there really is nothing anywhere close to a single sponge filter for a 10g with a male Betta.

Can you explain why you say it will not work with the tank location?

Don't I have to have the air pump up higher than the sponge? I could usebooks dor now if that is the case.

 

[Essjay]

In theory it should be higher than the tank. But mine isn't

My betta's tank in on a worktop in the kitchen. I have a small hook inserted in the underside of the wall cupboard above it. The airline tubing (and the heater cable) are suspended from this hook with a piece of string. The airline tubing also had a non-retune valve between the pump and the tank. The danger is that water can seep back along the airline tubing into the pump when the pump is not running (eg power cut), which will do no good at all. The non-return valve is supposed to prevent that.

The hook is an added extra as we are supposed to have a drip loop in all the cables coming out of the tank. Usually this is created by having the cable drop down to the floor then up to the socket but I can't do that with this tank as the electrical stuff runs off an extension lead flat on the worktop (I'm not allowed to drill holes in the tiles to wall mount it)

 

[seangee]

+1 for sponge filter with a non return valve. They do work.

 

[FishGuest5123]

+1 for sponge filter with a non return valve. They do work.

Yes, I forgot to mention that I have the non return valve on mine too.

 

[Ch0le]

Ok.cool. Thank you everyone. Any suggestions on a heater?

 

[Lajos_Detari]

Don't I have to have the air pump up higher than the sponge? I could use books for now if that is the case.

Not necessarily, as most air pump is strong enough to push the air into the water/sponge filter.
Even the use of air valve to prevent the water from flowing backward to the air pump is not really needed.
Just "coil" the air tube and place the air tube(at the point where the tube is connected to the air pump) at a lower position than the air pump to prevent the water from flowing back to the air pump in case of the electricity being cut off.

But for my personal preference, I will choose "hang on filter" over sponge filter.
Hang on filter is the easiest to maintain among all the types of filter. It also makes your water cleaner.
And you also don't need to have other extra accesories like the "air pump and the air tube" if you use hang on filter.

If you choose a hang on filter, you can get one that has a "flow rate of at least 6-7 times of your tank volume".
So, for a 10 gallon tank, your hang on filter flow rate need to be about 300-400 liters per hour.
But you have to cover the intake tube with a "intake filter sponge" especially if you are keeping betta fish with big tail and fins such as the half moon, veil tail, delta, etc.
The intake filter sponge will prevent the betta tail/fins from being sucked by the filter's intake tube.

If you keep Plakat Betta (the one with short fins and tail), I don't think you have to cover the intake tube as long as you set the flow rate slower and not too high.

Plakat Betta is more hardy and I think it's less susceptible to fins rot but Plakat is more aggressive than the Veil Tail Betta.
My favourite is the Candy Koi Plakat Betta.

Here is a video of the fish:

 

[Byron]

Ok.cool. Thank you everyone. Any suggestions on a heater?

The heater is the most important piece of equipment in the sense that a faulty heater can cook or freeze (figuratively speaking) your fish within hours. So, don't try to go cheap on the heater. A faulty pump or light can be replaced with no detriment to the fish but the heater can malfunction overnight and by morning the fish is/are dead.

I have most recently been purchasing Eheim Jager heaters. For a 10g tank I would use a 100w heater. Generally, the lower wattage heaters seem to fail most often, so I just won't use a 50w or even 75w. I have a 100w heater in my 10g.

 

[Ch0le]

Thank you for all of the great advice. I finally decided on a sponge filter. Not that I have anything against any other kind. Just seems more convenient right now. I ordered the heater that Byron recommended. I also decided to try sand substrate. I am really excited! Thank you all again.