Rezatii
Fishaholic
Ahh, leaving it filterless then? Brave, I know I couldn't trust myself to do all the changes every day XD
-Rezz
-Rezz
My Small Male Betta Tank (awaiting Male)
- Thread starter jasminekiddell
- Start date
the only way the media will really clean up the ammonia is to have flow through it.
you said you have an airstone, so why not build a small sponge filter with that media?
dont be put off in building one. it is super duper easy and fool-proof!
ive got some instructions from my own build technique that id be happy to share with anyone who wants them
cheers
you said you have an airstone, so why not build a small sponge filter with that media?
dont be put off in building one. it is super duper easy and fool-proof!
ive got some instructions from my own build technique that id be happy to share with anyone who wants them
cheers
OP
OP
jasminekiddell
Fish Addict
Oh! Yes please, would love instructions, anything to have a betta tank
aly_starh
Fish Aficionado
OP
OP
jasminekiddell
Fish Addict
thanks very much, will have a look now!
OP
OP
jasminekiddell
Fish Addict
After about 4 mins i got confused lol!
that link is overly complicated and probably requires you to go out and buy more expensive pieces and parts (ie powerhead which can run quite a bit- airpumps are much cheaper!)
so for all the folks who are interested im finally going to post my instructions here. maybe start my own thread about them so more folks will read it.
i am feeling particularly lazy so ive copied/pasted from a PM to someone who was interested. so ignore any info that doesnt pertain to the general population
the build will be the same
here goes:
if you have an established tank, use some media and MAKE your own filter. heres how to make one. ive given advice to a few members so ignore any info that doesnt pertain to you. any more questios feel FREE to ask!
here's how to make one. it is reallllly simple.
list of things you will need:
- an old fish food tub or any other container with a lid depending on the size of the tank to house it (like an old peanutbutter jar (plastic of course), big yogurt container, sour cream container, etc.,).
-something to poke holes in the plastic- a nail and hammer or a drill with a small. sized bit
-gravel or some other material to weight it down
-filter media (sponges work best)
-air pump
-airline tubing
now to build it:
-take the clean container and poke some holes in the bottom. like 8 or so (they should be no bigger than about a mm in diameter).
-poke a hole in the lid of the container that will accommodate the airtube and be just a BIT wider than the tubing(so the air can get out as it bubbles)
-take an amount of gravel and put it in the bottom (a small handful will be enough)
-put the airline tubing thru the hole in the lid and then run it in the container right down into the gravel
-pack the filter material nice and tight around the airline tubing. you can cut sponges to fit. just make sure its packed well. if not, the airbubbles will have lots of "options" to escape. the idea is to get it so that there is good suction thru the filter as the bubbles rise. if there is lots of airspace in there, the bubbles take the path of least resistance and suction will not be as good thru the media as it should be, and the filter will not work as well.
- put the lid on the container that now is weighted with gravel and packed with media.
-turn on the airpump and viola- nearly instant and cheap filter!!!
some troubleshooting advice:
-if it seems to float, add more gravel to weight it down
-test your water daily and do appropriate waterchanges until it cycles.
-if using mature media, ive found that they usually cycle within a week or so (or sometimes instantly if the bio load is low).
- if you dont notice reduction of ammonia within a week or two, try packing with more media...or if it was REALLY jam packed, maybe take a bit out.
these filters require VERY little maintenance. they are NOT mechanical filters (do not remove the solid waste in the tank) so they dont get all gunked up with waste. i have not touched my filter media in months!!!! although this means that with water changes, you will have to syphon out the solid waste- these filters do not do that for you. they just take care of the chemical filtration (turning ammonia into nitrites into nitrates). they do circulate water quite well tho.
good luck and feel FREE to ask if you need any further instruction or clarification. they truley are very very simple to make. once you make one, you might not buy a filter ever again. i know i wont smile.gif its a little extra work to clean the solid waste up, but if you regularly do partial water changes anyway, it is not a big deal as you should be syphoning up the poo anyway.
good luck and have fun making your filter!
i hope that gives some assistance to folks. my "door" is open if anyone needs help or advice. this is a fun rainy day kind of activity and a snap to do in an emergency (if your filter dies or you find yourself with a recuse fish and no filter handy)
cheers
so for all the folks who are interested im finally going to post my instructions here. maybe start my own thread about them so more folks will read it.
i am feeling particularly lazy so ive copied/pasted from a PM to someone who was interested. so ignore any info that doesnt pertain to the general population
the build will be the samehere goes:
if you have an established tank, use some media and MAKE your own filter. heres how to make one. ive given advice to a few members so ignore any info that doesnt pertain to you. any more questios feel FREE to ask!
here's how to make one. it is reallllly simple.
list of things you will need:
- an old fish food tub or any other container with a lid depending on the size of the tank to house it (like an old peanutbutter jar (plastic of course), big yogurt container, sour cream container, etc.,).
-something to poke holes in the plastic- a nail and hammer or a drill with a small. sized bit
-gravel or some other material to weight it down
-filter media (sponges work best)
-air pump
-airline tubing
now to build it:
-take the clean container and poke some holes in the bottom. like 8 or so (they should be no bigger than about a mm in diameter).
-poke a hole in the lid of the container that will accommodate the airtube and be just a BIT wider than the tubing(so the air can get out as it bubbles)
-take an amount of gravel and put it in the bottom (a small handful will be enough)
-put the airline tubing thru the hole in the lid and then run it in the container right down into the gravel
-pack the filter material nice and tight around the airline tubing. you can cut sponges to fit. just make sure its packed well. if not, the airbubbles will have lots of "options" to escape. the idea is to get it so that there is good suction thru the filter as the bubbles rise. if there is lots of airspace in there, the bubbles take the path of least resistance and suction will not be as good thru the media as it should be, and the filter will not work as well.
- put the lid on the container that now is weighted with gravel and packed with media.
-turn on the airpump and viola- nearly instant and cheap filter!!!
some troubleshooting advice:
-if it seems to float, add more gravel to weight it down
-test your water daily and do appropriate waterchanges until it cycles.
-if using mature media, ive found that they usually cycle within a week or so (or sometimes instantly if the bio load is low).
- if you dont notice reduction of ammonia within a week or two, try packing with more media...or if it was REALLY jam packed, maybe take a bit out.
these filters require VERY little maintenance. they are NOT mechanical filters (do not remove the solid waste in the tank) so they dont get all gunked up with waste. i have not touched my filter media in months!!!! although this means that with water changes, you will have to syphon out the solid waste- these filters do not do that for you. they just take care of the chemical filtration (turning ammonia into nitrites into nitrates). they do circulate water quite well tho.
good luck and feel FREE to ask if you need any further instruction or clarification. they truley are very very simple to make. once you make one, you might not buy a filter ever again. i know i wont smile.gif its a little extra work to clean the solid waste up, but if you regularly do partial water changes anyway, it is not a big deal as you should be syphoning up the poo anyway.
good luck and have fun making your filter!
i hope that gives some assistance to folks. my "door" is open if anyone needs help or advice. this is a fun rainy day kind of activity and a snap to do in an emergency (if your filter dies or you find yourself with a recuse fish and no filter handy)
cheers
OP
OP
jasminekiddell
Fish Addict
thanks for that ^ I succesfully made one, its a bit loud though lol! But it should be ok!
I succesfully made one, its a bit loud though lol! But it should be ok! 
Amberleaf
Fish Addict
- Joined
- Sep 17, 2009
- Messages
- 780
- Reaction score
- 1
Ooh! ^^; Looks nice; my male Betta fish lives in a 2.5-US gallon tank, and he does just fine there!
I will have to give him my lame heater which didn't work properly in a 5-gallon tank but it should for his when winter comes! ^^;
I will have to give him my lame heater which didn't work properly in a 5-gallon tank but it should for his when winter comes! ^^;
is it loud because of the bubbles? if you cant deal with the bubble noise (i dont mind it) then use a lift tube, many aquatic shops have clear tubing that would accomadate and airstone (ie slightly larger than an airstone(...as the filter build is done, take a piece of plastic tubing that either your tubing or airstone would fit in and drill a bunch of holes in it, place your airstone/tubing inside and pack media around the tube instead of the tubing itself. ,make sure the outter tubing sits above the water level and then you sont hear the bubbles. but youd have to be careful that the airline tubing or airstone (whichever the media is currently packed around) fits really snuggly inside the "housing"...if it isnt a tight fit, you will lose suction and the filter may not work as well.thanks for that ^
i hope that made sense. if not ill try to explain better.
cheers
llamalord305
Fishaholic
Try this link.
http
/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=85297
http
/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=85297Similar threads
Most reactions
-
437 -
219 -
177 -
154 -
138 -
135 -
123 -
121 -
103 -
100 -
98 -
92 -
90 -
A
79
-
61