# Shrimp filter cover no more!



## John N. (Dec 11, 2005)

Well I have an Eheim 2213 running on my 29 gallon shrimp tank. I covered the intake with a media mesh bag, similar to a panty hose but with larger pores. Despite the larger holes to let debris in, at the end of each week the intake gets clogged up with gunk, filter goes on little/no flow, and ultimately I have to get my hands wet to shake off the particles. :smow: I think I had enough with the mesh bag, and finally decided to take my chances and leave the filter intake uncovered.  

Hopefully the baby shrimp that arise will be okay and not get sucked up in large numbers. Anyone have any thoughts or ingenious inventions to protect the shrimp, while not hindering flow and getting my hand wet constantly? :-k 

-John N.


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## DataGuru (Mar 11, 2005)

Would a foam prefilter work?
for an example see the penguin 660R powerhead (I think that's the right number)


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## John N. (Dec 11, 2005)

I wonder if a prefoam filter would work. I've never tried it. But I'm guessing that I'll have to squeeze it out or clear the debris just as much as I did when I had the mesh bag over it. Definately something to consider though.

-John N.


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## Bert H (Mar 2, 2004)

John I have xp2's in both of my 50's and when I clean them every couple of months or so, I find a bunch of red cherries in there living happily, and healthily. In nearly two years I have been doing this, I must have fished out over 200 shrimp total from the filters and have only found 2 deaths. They seem to thrive in the filter.


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## MrSanders (Mar 5, 2006)

To second Bert, I have heard from a few others also that thier canisters are like a shrimp condo, and they actually do great inside of the filter for some reason.

But also I am running a 2217, and I run a foam prefilter on it. One of the ones Ehiem makes, but im sure any that would fit on the intake would work just fine. I dont have problems with it being clogged up and killing the flow. It only gets cleaned out ever few weeks. and even then it really isnt bad at all.... in most cases it didnt even really need cleaned. I would imange it could go almost a month with out needing pulled off for a rinse.

Also the pre filter really saves your media.... I cleaned mine for the first time since being set up in december...... about 6 months of use. And i couldnt believe how clean it was inside... I could see right through the course filter pad, and even all the filter floss that I stuffed on top was decently clean..... with almost NO bulild up of debris in the cermic rings..... Once again it really didnt need cleaned at all.... but I already had it off soooo....


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## dstephens (Nov 30, 2005)

John, go with the foam pre-filter. I tried to do something very similar with my JBJ nano tank. I covered the intake opening with nylon panty hose and it was getting gunked up too quickly. Within a day it begins to impede the water flow and by 3-4 days needs to be taken off and cleaned or replaced. I attached a piece of filter media and my water flow has been more consistent and the babies get all over it picking at it. They still get into the filter as well. With the JBJ set up, their are 3 seperate compartments in back for different filter media. I have the fine meshed foam blocks in the first overflow which is where the shrimp end up. I stuffed a big chunk of moss on top of the top foam block and the shrimp crawl all over that. Mostly the babies are back there, a few sub-adults. I have not seen any casulties and at this point may remove the foam alltogether and let them go back and forth which I think they can. My vote, try the foam pre-filter. More later. D


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## Steveb (Oct 20, 2005)

You might want to check out the ATI Hydro Sponge Pre Filter, it is a coarse sponge, that does not clog too quickly. I use just the sponge and slip it over the intake.

SteveB


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## John N. (Dec 11, 2005)

Shrimp condo eh? Hmmm. I'll look into finding a sponge prefilter to cover it up to prevent the majority from coming in. The hydro prefilter might be the route I'll take if the foam blocks don't seem to the the trick. I have the blocks on hand, so I'll give it a go.

-John N.


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## Neon Shrimp (Apr 26, 2006)

Please let us know how it went!

Thanks


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## Mikee (May 8, 2006)

I agree with steveb the sponge filter is very good you can either buy one or make one your self i usually use 1 or 2 in my discus tanks for a 33 gal and 65 without any other pump and do a 50% water change using R/O water usually everyday this way no worries about little discus babies being sucked up etc..


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## John N. (Dec 11, 2005)

*Filter Cover is a Must!*

I've come to rethink not having a cover over the intake...

I was cleaning my Eheim 2213 for the first time since it's been running without a cover, and it's true what they say that their would be dozens of little shrimplets thriving inside the canister. What they didn't mention was how the heck you get those shrimplets out of the canister and back into the tank...

Anyways, long story short. Spending a hour looking through a bucket of dirty water for baby shrimplets wasn't my idea of fun or efficient. So back on with the intended pre-filter.









_Aquaclear foam blocks, perfect for the job._

I finally took out those foam blocks I have for an old filter. After it cutting down to size of the inlet grill, I dug and cut a good chunk of the center out. And now that's over the intake with a rubber band around it to keep it in place. Hopefully that will do the trick...we'll see in a month or so with the next canister cleaning...


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## jeff63851 (Feb 23, 2005)

Yeah...I also use those prefilter foam, but instead I got those Ceramic Tile Grout from Home Depot. Just remember to change it every two weeks. It gets kind of annoying when the filter gets clogged up.


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## turtlehead (Nov 27, 2004)

Actually, you don't need any covering, at first I thought baby shrimp would get sucked up by the masses, but they didn't so I left it alone.


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## turbomkt (Mar 31, 2004)

But they still get sucked up some even if not en mass. Why not use a prefilter if you have the material available?


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## turtlehead (Nov 27, 2004)

The most that ever happens is on get sucks up. I've only had one get sucked up a cannister and one get sucked up and pushed back out a whisper hang on (seemed like fun). Both were little ones.


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## turbomkt (Mar 31, 2004)

That's a bit different from an Eheim cannister. I've taken 30 out at one shot from my 2126. Cleaning his cannister out is how Bill Harada collects shrimp to give away


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## jeff63851 (Feb 23, 2005)

That's kind of weird. When I first started out, my filter wasn't covered. I soon found my small shrimps disappearing (but the big ones were fine). But then when I cleaned out my filter, there wasn’t any shrimp in it. Now, with prefilter foam, my shrimp population is more than it was before I put on the foam.


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## dstephens (Nov 30, 2005)

If you ever see one for sale cheap, the jbj nano's in 6 gallon and 12 gallon size are awesome for shrimp. If you were to see my early posts, I was freaked out about the shrimplets getting sucked all over the place with the overflow configuration, but in reality they have just gone through the overflow opening and end up on the first sponge of 3 that the water filters through on it's journey to the return pump. I pulled them out to clean the sponges last week and found close to 50 babies of various size. I netted them our with a small brine shrimp net and wallah... dumped them back in the nano. The only issue I have had has been the temperature and I found a small clip on fan that turns on with the lights and keeps the temp. around 74-75 degrees most of the time. I have the smaller tank so I took out about 40 adults 2 weeks ago and put them in my 90 gallon planted. I had been very worried the emperor tetras would just hammer the shrimp but so far I have not seen them nail one yet, which doesn't mean it has not happened. But the population looks good. I doubt they will be able to successfully spawn though because of the tetras. Anyway, that's my 2 cents worth. I love these little cherry shrimp. The only real issue I have had has been an explosion in scuds, small amphipods, that eat my moss and breed every other day. I have started putting in pieces of blanched zuchinni and letting them cover it then scooping it up in the brine net and feeding them to the tetras. Hard to keep up with them though. Anyone else ever have this challenge?

Darrell


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## Neon Shrimp (Apr 26, 2006)

For the most part, it sounds like we should keep the filters covered if we have shrimplets! Thank you for sharing your experiences .


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## YuccaPatrol (Mar 26, 2006)

I have found a great little sponge that fits over the filter intake of most any HOB type filter. It is the replacement sponge for a "Tetra Billi". I must confess that I have no idea what a Tetra Billi is, but the sponge is a great fit. It ends up being one of the favorite spots for shrimplets to hang out and munch of little bits of debris that cover the surface.


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## John N. (Dec 11, 2005)

*Aquaclear Foam Block Didn't Cut it*

*It seems the Aquaclear foam blocks didn't cut it. *The sponge pores still allowed shrimp to get into the canister filter. In my last cleaning I fished out about 30-40 cherries and crystal reds. I could see some shrimp stuck inside the media of biorings, and eheim 'gravel' media. There wasn't much I could do for them, since everytime I dug at the rocks, the shrimp would get crushed.

So I went back to my trusty Media mesh bag ($2 from petsmart) with rubber band to secure it. Though it get's clogged frequently, I still have to clean out the sponges about as often as I would the mesh bag.









_Media Mesh Bag over the Intake in an old picture.

_Ultimately, the media mesh bag to me has proven to be the best method to keeping your shrimp safe and out of the filter. This is of course next to using a regular air driven sponge filter.

*So Filter cover is a Must! and Media Mesh Bag is the key resource!*

-John N.


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## milalic (Aug 26, 2005)

Nice tank going there. Very good information.

-Pedro


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## eklikewhoa (Jul 24, 2006)

in my little nano and my zebra pleco tank i have a piece of foam sheet thats about 1/2" think and i just wrap the intake with it. thin enough not to hinder flow but thick enough to keep the babies out of it.


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## Six (May 29, 2006)

i have a 10g for my sri lankan shrimp and use a ACmini on it. i took out the sponge media and cut it and shaped it to fit over the intake. the intake ishidden behind some wood so i never see it. i clean it every 2 weeks and have had no problems with it sucking up the baby shrimp. the filter itself is run with biomedia and carbon. and yes, the tank is not *crystal* clear, but the shrimp like it. 

i guess with an eheim it pull A LOT more water and the sponge may not be a good resource. i dunno if i'd use a media bag around mine, it would clog too much for me. then again im running my shrimp tanks with very low technology. 

GL!


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## beviking (Feb 3, 2006)

Hello John,

To ditto what Bert said, I have an XP3 on the 92gal and 75gal which get cleaned about every other month. One has the penguin 660R sponge on the intake, the other a Filter Max III. The penguin foam is definitely coarser than the filter max and I find more shrimp in the filter with the penguin foam prefilter on it. An odd note, the previous Filter Max III prefilter I had (before it wore out) was more coarse than the current one.
They love it inside the filter


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## beviking (Feb 3, 2006)

If/when you decide the shrimp are just going to get in there try this...

rinse all media into a bucket along with the water fom the canister. Let it sit for a while so the solids can settle and the water is fairly clear. Slowly pour the water off so as not to disturb the solids. Most of the shrimp will sit back on the solid but will have come to the surface of the solids. You can (although it takes a little dexterity) pour the water through a net and catch the shrimp. You will have to decide how many shrimp you want to save vs. how much solids you want to put back in the tank


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## John N. (Dec 11, 2005)

So far the mesh + rubber band is working wonders. I figured out if I minimized the plant selection, and the more delicate plants I could reduce the amount of debris that get's stuck on the mesh and intake, so less cleaning. But I may experiment a little with the denser type sponges as Six and Beviking (Bill) describes. 

Cleaning out the filter, sifting through the muck and saving shrimp is no fun for me. I tried it before, and eventually had to drain the muck through the net, and dump the solids and shrimp back in. I have a tendancy to want to save all the little shrimpy, especially those few baby crystals.

-John N.


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## southpark (Oct 9, 2006)

why don't you try a foam block (don't cut a hole, just a slit so the fit is tighter) over the mesh bag, first they have to get through the foam, and if they do, they're stoppped by the mesh bag..

this way you don't lose any shrimp, and you also don't need to clean the mesh bag.. the foam block should remain porous enough to allow good water flow and a treat for your shrimp to snack on.. i use foam blocks in all my filters and i never clean the foam blocks unless big plant parts get jammed against them.. and even then i give it a few days to break down and get eaten and usually its ok..


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## FobbyBobby23 (Mar 8, 2005)

^^^ i was thinking exactly the same thing for my tank

and to remove the foam/mesh bag what i was thinking of doing was flipping the mesh bag inside out kinda? so that the foam is now on the inside of the mesh bag and what used to be the inside lining is now the outside lining...

if that makes sense, kind of like how you remove latex gloves, just imagine that there is a sponge in the palm of your hand and when you remove the glove you do it in a way so that the sponge is now on the inside of the "glove" (what used to be the outside lining)

confusing to explain yes....


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## Round Head (Feb 28, 2006)

John,
You need a prefilter kit for a Hydro 2 or 3 to use as a prefilter for your Eheim.
You want the fine sponge and not the course sponge.
Call up Jehmco and talk with John.


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## southpark (Oct 9, 2006)

having the fine mesh bag outside the coarse foam block won't help reduce the amount of cleaning you have to do, you'll want the fine/coarse foam to cover the mesh, which covers the final intake plastic mesh.. this will 

1. keep out plant and large debris (foam)

2. keep shrimp out of the intake (mesh)

3. keep foam and mesh from being sucked into the intake (plastic intake filter)

voila shrimp savior system..

i use a real fine open-cell mesh foam that i get from work.. specifically the pink foam used to package cisco equipment in.. it works great.. you just have to get all the tiny trapped air out before you use it by running it under water and squeezing.. after that it works wonderfully and is in my opinion too small for even fry to get through.. but increases your surface area enough to avoid blockage due to debris

FYI be careful not to use closed-cell foam if you choose the recycling route, closed-cell foam is basically non-permeable and is much stiffer (so its used in packaging) but it is useless as a filter item because the foam cells are left sealed and won't let water though


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## onemyndseye (May 12, 2006)

How about positioning your filter intake behind a corner matten filter. Problem solved  Not to mention the grazing area this sort of filter offers.


When/If I add a canister to my 20gal shrimpery I plan to do this.


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## FobbyBobby23 (Mar 8, 2005)

southpark said:


> having the fine mesh bag outside the coarse foam block won't help reduce the amount of cleaning you have to do, you'll want the fine/coarse foam to cover the mesh, which covers the final intake plastic mesh.. this will
> 
> 1. keep out plant and large debris (foam)
> 
> ...


yeah when i spoke of having the sponge inside the media bag was only when you went to remove the sponge, so all the debris inside the sponge won't get everywhere

so you'd flip the media bag over the sponge when removing it, but otherwise the media bag goes onto the intake first then the sponge which seems to me the best method if you want to go that route


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## southpark (Oct 9, 2006)

oh yeah, heh that sounds like a neater way of doing it, or use a fish net to scoop your sponge out would work to.. but i generlaly don't worry abotu debris falling off my sponges.. the shrimp or the sponge will get it again eventually.. im' not that picky about cleanliness heh


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## redstrat (Apr 3, 2006)

Just a thought - I use the aquaclear quick filter on my power head intake to my CO2 reactor. Two reasons I use this thing, it was easy to modify for my CO2 tubing and to fit my powerhead, and the biggest one, ease of maintenance. 

The whole thing unscrews from the end mounted to the powerhead, so you can take the whole thing to the sink to rinse and if you position it well enough you barely have to stick your hands in the water. I probably clean it once every 2-3 months and I can do so in less than 5 mins. Replacement filter pads are easy to find and relatively cheap. The whole thing costs $10 or less.


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## Rob Tetrazona (Jun 21, 2005)

This is a good thread. Any manufacturered, sponge prefilter suggestions for a Magnum 350 intake?


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## argblarg (Aug 10, 2006)

I was able to go to Home Depot and get some little PVC connections to connect my Eheim 2213 to one of those Lustar Hydro-Sponge filters. I got the 5 but it seems really big, I might downgrade to a 3. I would have a picture but I had to tear down the tank due to bad substrate. There was no way a shrimp would be sucked up into that thing.


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## fish newb (May 10, 2006)

Has anyone tried using a surface skimmer on their shrimp tank? I think that could really cut down on the shrimp getting into the filter, if they arent dumb.

I might try this, not sure though since it will also help CO2 out of the water....

- Andrew


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## Xema (Mar 24, 2004)

Hi to all,

I just set up in my last shrimp tank a kind of filter named (in germany) Hamburg MattenFilter. It´s really nice for shrimp tanks, easy and efficient. You can put into the sponge-corner a pump or a canister filter pipe. Debris in the sponge will be food for your shrimps and that blue stuff will be a nice nursery for shrimplet due to the microorganisms indeed.

Greets


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