# 10g Planted Dual-Betta Tank w/Matten Filter



## ObiQuiet (Oct 9, 2009)

Just set this up to see how it goes...
* 10g standard glass tank
* Substrate is native Central Texas dirt from the yard, capped with Flourite Black
* Lighting is two SunLite 13W T5 Daylights in GE Slimline under-cabinet fixtures

The new part for me is the filter:
* 4" cube matten-filter with Airlifter from Swiss Tropicals

The rest of the divider is made of:
* 2" matten-filter foam also from Swiss Tropicals
* I used some cut piece to block the space at the top of the cube filter so the bettas can't get across.
* The foam sits on the glass bottom and touches the lid, so there's no way past it above or below.









Yes, the 2" divider is pretty thick, but it holds itself up and doesn't look too bad. 1.5" or 1.0" could have been a better choice, but I think some support would have been needed.

The original idea was that water passing through the divider would add to the biofiltering capacity, but since I put a T on the airlifter output (to provide water movement on both sides) there's not much flow going through the divider. I think it's stagnant in there.

We'll see how it goes and what adjustments to make. If the foam up against the glass gets grungy over time, I may add some trim on the outside to hide it from view.


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## Michael (Jul 20, 2010)

Interesting! Please keep us updated. I've thought about using a matten filter in soil substrate tanks, and wondered what problem might come from having the filter foam in contact with soil.


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## ObiQuiet (Oct 9, 2009)

Thanks Michael!

There's a little bit of debris collecting already between the foam and glass, but the water parameters are stable. Of course the filter and substrate were cycled before the fish went in.

I don't yet see any interaction between the dirt and the foam -- the sediment isn't being drawn into the filter, for example.

Only the large anbuias has made any growth yet, but it's still early. That new leaf had started before being put into this tank anyway.

This is looking like a good way to keep a pair of betta, except for these points:

* Quiet air pumps are expensive. The one on this tank (Tetra Whisper) is better than most, but only acceptable because it's in the kitchen and is masked by the refrigerator hum.

* If one were to use flake or pellet food I expect a lot of gunk would collect on the foam at the waterline.

For this next week, I am routing the outflow to one side only.


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## Michael (Jul 20, 2010)

How much noise does the air lifter make, not including the noise from the air pump? And do you think it works better or worse than a power head for moving water through the mattenfilter?


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## ObiQuiet (Oct 9, 2009)

Just the splashing of the water onto the surface. In this tank the outlet is above the surface level.

When I had it in the 110g to seed the filter, the outlet pipe was below the surface. The outlet pipe is cut at 45 degrees -- somehow that reduces the burbling noise of the air bubbles. In that case the noise was just the fizzing of the bubbles when they hit the surface.

If not for the air pump, the airlifter is about as silent as you can get.


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## Michael (Jul 20, 2010)

Thanks. All my experience with air driven filters is from ancient days, when they gurgled and burped enough to keep you awake at night. I'm glad they are quieter now, LOL!


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## ObiQuiet (Oct 9, 2009)

I fully support the pursuit of silence.

I can't think of a chemical or mechanical reason not to embed an electric pump into the foam, removing the need for the external air pump. Something to try eventually.


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## s2man (Nov 8, 2016)

You folks should go half-deaf, like me. If you don't like the noise you can turn off your hearing aide. LOL

Seriously, could you use an air stone to provide lift and eliminate the large bubbles' noise? 

My lids are pretty tight so I added a large air stone just to make sure I have fresh air in the tank for O and CO2 availability. I am about to add a small sponge filter so it is colonized and ready to drop into the 10g QT. I will listen to see if the air bubbles are annoying or soothing (My wife likes the white noise of my tank for taking a nap)


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## ObiQuiet (Oct 9, 2009)

Yes, an airstone would lift the water too. Though the airlifters direct the outflow out away from the filter cube.

This week I've experimented by replacing the air pump with a small spare powerhead. In the photo you may be able to see how I made a cut out in the foam and inserted the bottom part of the powerhead housing.

The intake water comes entirely through the foam, just like the airlifter did.

With a makeshift T to direct the outflow both ways, this is silent. Lock-line fittings are on order.

Air pump + airlifter:
Pro: Can't clog / no maintenance
Pro: Doesn't add heat to the tank
Con: Air pumps are noisy or costly. As I said above, the one I used is actually pretty good.

Powerhead enclosed in the filter foam:
Pro: Quiet
Pro: Cheap
Pro: Adjustable flow
Con: You have to cut a nice expensive foam block
TBD: Might be adding heat -- the pump may be running hot with the extra load (can that happen with these magnetic impellers?)... the water temp jumped up 5F for some reason.
TBD: The foam may prevent the powerhead from clogging. It will certainly keep snails out.


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## ObiQuiet (Oct 9, 2009)

Update:

I put a Lifeguard Quiet One PRO 200 in the matten filter. This pump has the advange of having the intake at the bottom and the output at the top. It is buried in a hole in the center of the matter filter that I cut for it. I removed the pump's own tiny foam filter and bottom cap, since its fully encased in foam.

On top of the pump is a Y made of loc line. I improvised a fitting with vinyl tubing to connect the locline to the pump. And, yes, the loc line is too big -- my mistake in ordering the parts. But it works and lets me change the flow direction.

You can see that the locline is also wrapped in foam to keep the separation between the bettas:


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## dwalstad (Apr 14, 2006)

ObiQuiet said:


> Just the splashing of the water onto the surface. In this tank the outlet is above the surface level....
> 
> The outlet pipe is cut at 45 degrees -- somehow that reduces the burbling noise of the air bubbles. In that case the noise was just the fizzing of the bubbles when they hit the surface.


With all this splashing, fizzing, and bubbling, I suspect that you will get very poor plant growth. Aeration removes CO2 and this is the one nutrient that plants need most. CO2 is also lost very easily by air-water mixing.

What disturbs me most of all is this emphasis on filtration. Over-filtration/over water-mixing disregards the power of the plants to purify the water. You are sabotaging their growth by the emphasis on filtration such that they will never be able to fulfill their marvelous function as water and substrate purifiers. Only healthy growing plants can do their job of keeping the tank healthy.

Attached is picture of my 5 gal tank in which I spawned and raised a large batch of baby Bettas. It has no filtration at all. Plant and fish growth was fabulous.

Admittedly, it is good to have a little water movement, which brings nutrients to plants, prevents formation of cold water layers, and brings oxygen to the soil bacteria. All good things.... In that case, I use a small air pump (the 'Whisper' ones I have are very quiet) connected to tubing that releases air bubbles from the bottom of the tank. (No filter material, sponges, etc.) Bubbling is *very gentle*. I would guess a large bubble is released every second or so. I use a gang valve to control the bubbling.

Just because a tank has soil in it, does not make it an NPT. Please read my article 'Plants v. Filters-- How Plants Help' (free download) on my book's website:

http://www.bookmasters.com/marktplc/00388.htm


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## ObiQuiet (Oct 9, 2009)

Hi Diana! Of course you're right -- it's not an NPT just because it has soil.

(BTW, your book was the bible that got me into this. Going WITH instead of AGAINST the natural processes was the main attraction for me. I read and cross-checked the book endlessly as I was setting up my first significant tank. That tank had no filtration nor ferts and ran for several years. My current 110g has filtration only to remove clay which never does settle.)

Instead of minimizing artifice or maximizing growth, this experiment had some different goals: 
* Try something different mechanically and layout-wise and see what happens. 
* Perhaps lead to a design that will make more successful novices. 

I suspect the majority of the betta fish market has no inkling about filtering of any kind, let alone natural filtering. The fish are miserable, and all the parents want is to avoid icky maintenance and tears.

In keeping with NPT principles, I ditched the air bubbler after the first week and the water movement has been now gentle with no surface agitation since then. 

As ever, thank you for your guidance!


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## ObiQuiet (Oct 9, 2009)

So here's a question brought to mind by Diana's comments:

In the current incarnation of this tank, there is (I believe) only one variance from the NPT approach -- the presence of the foam that makes up the divider.

If there existed (does there?) a submersible spinner that wouldn't over-power a 10g betta tank, in what ways would that be better?

a) Less surface area for bacteria => more nutrition for the plants. Do we know the limiting ratios of surface area to plant mass?

b) Less horizontal space occupied by the divider

c) Would it be easier/harder, slower/faster, to establish a cycled tank?

d) More or less resilience to what would otherwise cause ammonia spikes?

e) What else?


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## flchamp89 (Aug 31, 2016)

Spinner? Like a hydor ?

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## ObiQuiet (Oct 9, 2009)

flchamp89 said:


> Spinner? Like a hydor ?


Yes, like their Korelia Nano but smaller.


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## flchamp89 (Aug 31, 2016)

You can buy just the attachment that will fit most powerheads. 

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## ObiQuiet (Oct 9, 2009)

flchamp89 said:


> You can buy just the attachment that will fit most powerheads.


Excellent! I ordered one to try. Sounds like they fit on the loc line.


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## flchamp89 (Aug 31, 2016)

I had one before. Pretty good. Some times they come off. And do need to be cleaned occasionally. 

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## ObiQuiet (Oct 9, 2009)

That's a nifty little device, thanks for pointing it out! 

It spins with even the minimal flow in each side of this tank, which is hard to describe as anything more than a "trickle". Changing the flow direction over time seems to be a good way to improve distribution without increasing the flow volume.

We'll see how it does as it mucks up.


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## flchamp89 (Aug 31, 2016)

ObiQuiet said:


> That's a nifty little device, thanks for pointing it out!
> 
> It spins with even the minimal flow in each side of this tank, which is hard to describe as anything more than a "trickle". Changing the flow direction over time seems to be a good way to improve distribution without increasing the flow volume.
> 
> We'll see how it does as it mucks up.


What head do you have in on. I may get one.

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## ObiQuiet (Oct 9, 2009)

flchamp89 said:


> What head do you have in on. I may get one.


It's the Lifeguard Quiet One PRO 200.


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## ObiQuiet (Oct 9, 2009)

A three-month update:

* The water params have been very stable, as hoped for

* Even without surface agitation, plant growth has been slow -- as Diana Walstad predicted based on the amount of bio-filtration provided by the foam. What intrigues me about this is that it seems a happy coincidence that the surface area in a normal tank doesn't support bacterial amounts that impose limits on plant gowth. Did we just get lucky? Is there a formula that relates surface area to (ultimately) nutrition available for plant uptake?

* Diatom algae has been easily managable with a magnetic scrubber on the glass; that's the only kind so far.

* Heat from the pump inside the foam is indeed a factor. Now that the nights aren't cold and the air temp stays more even, the tank is 6C higher than the room. This ok for now for the bettas, but will not work as the summer comes and the air temp creeps up.

* I have removed the Lok-Line and just use a Y divider for the water flow. 

That's it for now.


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## Michael (Jul 20, 2010)

Interesting--this is the first evaluation of a mattenfilter in a Walstad tank that I have read.


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## ObiQuiet (Oct 9, 2009)

It's debatable if it's a Walstad method at all, since the filter is doing so much rather than using the plant's growth rate to keep the water clean.

Hypothetically, if the plant volume was much greater relative to the filter volume maybe it would qualify?


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## ObiQuiet (Oct 9, 2009)

I will be looking for a low-voltage pump or powerhead so that I can move the 120V step down heat out of the tank. Ideally with a straight water flow, rather than 90 degree from intake to output. There are e.g. bow thrusters for model boats, but they are noisy and not capable of 100% duty cycle.


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## hoppycalif (Apr 7, 2005)

You can use a Hagen Elite Mini Filter, https://www.amazon.com/Elite-Underw...99821&sr=1-1&keywords=hagen+elite+mini+filter stripped down to just the pump. I doubt that it would heat the water enough to measure.


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## ObiQuiet (Oct 9, 2009)

hoppycalif said:


> You can use a Hagen Elite Mini Filter, https://www.amazon.com/Elite-Underw...99821&sr=1-1&keywords=hagen+elite+mini+filter stripped down to just the pump. I doubt that it would heat the water enough to measure.


That's a really good idea - I have one in the spares box, and you're right it doesn't put out much heat. I'll take a look at making it work here. Thanks!!


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## ObiQuiet (Oct 9, 2009)

Here's something I don't understand, but which I'm sure will be obvious once someone explains it:








During a water change, the fine silt in this tank goes into suspension making the fog you see here.
In this case, the water is being extracted from the left side which makes clearer water flow through the central foam divider from the right side. (The pic is crooked, but the foam edge is vertical.)

Why is there more flow at the top than at the bottom? The evidence is that the suspended particles are shaped into a nice curve at the top, and their boundary converges in at an angle toward the bottom where the foam meets the substrate.

Why isn't the flow more even top/bottom? Why isn't it stronger at the bottom where there is a tad bit more pressure?


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## backinaction365 (Dec 11, 2009)

I have been toying with the idea of using a matten filter,how is it working out so far?


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## hoppycalif (Apr 7, 2005)

When I used a mattenfilter I had a problem with BBA growing on it. That was a major reason I decided to not use one again. Other than that it worked very well for me.


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## ObiQuiet (Oct 9, 2009)

backinaction365 said:


> I have been toying with the idea of using a matten filter, how is it working out so far?


It's been working well for this purpose -- keeping the water parameters stable and keeping the bettas apart while "hiding" the pump and no need to clean the tank.

But, it's over-filtration for a planted tank so it depresses plant growth rates and there is a growing baseline of diatom algae. At least in this example with the 10g and this amount of foam.

I've had a few small outbreaks of other algae, but nothing severe so far. Others, like hoppy, with a wider experience have better data.

I would like to try another variation soon.


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