# [Wet Thumb Forum]-Filtration in a 10 gallon



## Fyre (Nov 27, 2003)

I have a 10 gallon tank I'd like to set up with plants and some small critters such as daphnia/ ostracods. Problem is the plants I want to grow need absolute minimal water movement. I want to filter somehow to help avoid algae. What will cause the least agitation and be the most compatable with daphnia and other small water creatures?


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## Fyre (Nov 27, 2003)

I have a 10 gallon tank I'd like to set up with plants and some small critters such as daphnia/ ostracods. Problem is the plants I want to grow need absolute minimal water movement. I want to filter somehow to help avoid algae. What will cause the least agitation and be the most compatable with daphnia and other small water creatures?


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## Kevin Jones (Apr 4, 2004)

I use a small fluval 1 with aquaclear mini sponges crammed in as media, that would likely be alright for small critters as i have used this setup for several breeding projects.


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## Roger Miller (Jun 19, 2004)

By way of natural solutions, try using freshwater clams. Several other filter-feeding animals are available but most of them will filter your daphnia and ostracods along with the algae.

Roger Miller

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_"The indispensible first step to getting the things you want out of life is this: Decide what you want" -- Ben Stein_


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## Bill D (Feb 7, 2003)

Hello,

With such a light bioload and plants that don't care for running water, you might not need any filtration at all. 

In my larger fish and plant tanks I have just foam filters, and I'm condidering getting rid of them.

One comment on clams: when I was a kid I used to use fresh water mussels to clear up cloudy water. They did a great job of it, after which I released them. Your tank might be too clean for them to survive. My mussels plowed through the substrate uprooting plants, until I confined them in a plastic box.

Bill


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## Wally (Aug 31, 2003)

While the idea of freshwater clams and or mussels is a great one, if you do use them make sure that you get them from a LFS and not from the wild. Most freshwater mussels are on state and federal endangered species lists these days and can carry hefty fines and/or jail time.

Also you should NEVER EVER EVER release anything into the wild that you have had in your aquarium, even if you collected it in the wild. The chances of introducing something back into the wild are just to high.

*Don't feel like Satan, but I am to them...*


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## Fyre (Nov 27, 2003)

I saw somewhere a good article on DIY sponge filters.. can anyone reccomend any?
Also, does anyone know if any shops near Portland, OR sell muscles or clams? I haven't seen any..


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## Faruk Gençöz (Nov 4, 2005)

I put a couple of cyclops in to a 3-gallon tank along with the water I took from the lake. There was an internal sponge filter in the tank and while it was working none of the cyclops died but I could not see any increase in the number of cyclops. After three weeks I stopped the airflow to the sponge filter. Cyclops, then, begun to increase their numbers. At the time I stopped the airflow I took some cyclops and put them in to another 3-gallon tank in which the similar sponge filter was working. Today none of them are alive in the sponge filtered tank but the cyclops in the original tank continue to increase their numbers.

Sponge filters may somehow prevent cyclops to breed. IMHO the more appropriate and simple way to create minimal water flow in a natural tank can be achieved by giving air bubbles through the air stone.


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## Fyre (Nov 27, 2003)

I read somewhere that air stones aren't good for a daphnia tank because the air bubbles get under their "shell" and bring them to the surface, killing them


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## Faruk Gençöz (Nov 4, 2005)

Naturally tiny air bubbles can attach to daphnia shell and carry the daphnia to the surface level. Attachment is not necessary, though. Upward water flow created by the bubbles can do the same thing. But I did not understand why a daphnia could die because it was carried to the surface level. In the natural environment I did not see any daphnia wandering around right on the surface, but they are most often found just beneath the surface level.


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## aquabillpers (Apr 13, 2006)

Wally,

The mussels I used (for a week) were from a 20 acre lake in MA that had zillions of them. Their tiny offspring were all over the fish that I caught in that lake. 

I have never seen a fresh water mussel for sale in any fish store, although I'm sure that there must be some that sell them. 

I doubt that releasing those mussels from a tropical tank back into a cold water lake in New England would have any bad effect whatsoever. We can go overboard in trying to "protect" the environment. There was a series of postings at the APD site, featuring the estimable Tom Barr, on this subject.

On the subject of daphnia, I raise mine without
any aeration at all. They thrive, although perhaps I could raise more if I aerated.

Bill


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## Kevin Jones (Apr 4, 2004)

the mussels you collected were probably invasive zebra mussels anyway...


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## imported_Art_Giacosa (Nov 29, 2003)

How about a small plant filter? I use to filter my tanks via a small overflow into another tank filled with hornwort (ceratophyllum demersum). I small return pump to the display tank. You need to put a good amount of light over the hornwort.

I did this after a talk I had with Claus Christensen of Tropica. He mentioned that they had observed that plant tanks that received water from their hornwort tank had very few, if any, algae problems. He hypothesized that the hornwort had something to do with it.

I'm not sure if it's allelopathy or the hornwort's ability to uptake nutrients, my tanks' nutrient levels were always dead on. Algae was never much of a problem.

Regards,

Art


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## gpodio (Feb 4, 2004)

I find the Duetto DJ-100 filter to be great for a small planted tank. They are rather small and the return can be customized right out of the box. Flow can easily be adjusted, they are easy to fill with your own media and sponges and being internal filters you can push them below the water line to reduce CO2 loss (gas exchange). I also use a piece of sponge over the intake to avoid sucking up any fry or live foods. They also have a venturi before the impeller, meaning that air or CO2 is mixed up much better than traditional venturi designs which are placed after the impeller.

BTW, I think plants do require water movement, be it filtration or a simple current. It's the way nutrients are distributed in a tank.

Hope that helps
Giancarlo Podio


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## James F (Sep 24, 2003)

You could try a simple small powerhead, or even a water fountain pump. Either wil give you water movement without being excessive.

Regards,
James

Plants and supplies for Canadians at www.tbaquascapes.com


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