A New Beginning

J

jason78

Registered Member
Dec 20, 2005
2
0
0
Last year a bought a new fishtank and took ample time to properly stock my tank with testing equipment as well as medicine for the more common medicines, I cycled the water for three weeks before I purchased a small healthy fish community.

Overall it was an excellent experience and I loved seeing my angelfish, my sailfin mollies as well as my clown loaches interact with eachother. Unfortunately after two months, I was losing my fish over time due to the equipment that came with the sale of the aquarium. My filter would occasionally "trap" one of my beloved fish and it would die a grewsome death within the sucking force of the filter. After a certain amount of loss of fish, I went to several fish stores to find myself another good filter for a 30 G fishtank and despite all my visits I found the same type of filter just different adaptations of it for different tank sizes. I grew very frustrated with my limited choices and inquired with their staff who were "surprised" that these "safe filters" would cause such a loss of fish.

One guy recommended that I purchased a small sponge (the same type that we use for the filter) and to use it to reduce the sucking power of the filter. As I went back home I noticed that my prized completely black male sailfin molly of 5 months was stuck alive in the filter and I shut off the filter and it went free. Alas, he was stuck awhile and was crippled, unable to properly swim. :(

A hour later, he went to fish heaven along with 2 of his previous girlfriends as well as two of my three angelfish. I was very upset as I grew attached to these fish. I installed the sponge and for the next two weeks, I had no fish loss. Unfortunately even with the routine cleaning that I performed on the tank, all the fish were suddenly infected with ich and they all died within a few hours.

This left me completely numb and I emptied the tank and it's been like that for the last year.

Last weekend, I visited one of my friends who had a 50 G tank and had something really special going and I grew passionate about getting fish again.

This time however, before I dare to start again I need a 100% fish safe filter as well a more performing vacuum (one that works with a machine as the manual one I had was just too time-consuming and tiring). Alas, I live somewhere where the options of such things to be limited and not acceptable. Can someone provide me a link to a place they already have used that may have some sound choices that I may use?

I'm also ready to completely restock my fish tank and like to take some suggestions that you may have. Money isn't a real factor for me and I'd rather make sound choices than taking a cheaper alternative that will give me the same amount of frustration and sadness during my first experience.

:hi:
 
I'm sorry to hear about that. Believe it or not, many people (including myself) have had a fish get sucked in by the might of a power filter. (What type of filter was it, by chance?)

As for your filter choices... My favorite is the marineland Magnum 350 deluxe. It comes with a quick disconnect valve, which I shall describe as an easy way to adjust the amout of water being sucked into your filter. Using that, your fish will never be sucked into the filter again.
Look here: http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Product/Prod_Display.cfm?pcatid=3595&N=2004+22777

Or, you could keep your old filter and add this onto the intake: http://www.thatpetplace.com/Product...ers/T1/F26BA+0558+0011/EDP/5217/Itemdy00.aspx
It disperses flow evenly, and I used these for raising baby angels in my tanks. (Also provides a place for beneficial bacteria to grow.)

Hope this helps. :)
 
I appreciate the advice given and if it weren't too much to ask of you as well as the others, I'd like to inquire yet again for more advice. :dance2:

Firstly, to answer your question I currently have an Aquaclear 150. I'm certainly not impressed by it's safety measures.

I took a good look at the links that you provided me and I must say that the Magnum 350 deluxe is a nice tool however I really think it's just too potent for my 25-30 G tank, I also noticed it has the same intake as my current filter... Are there other choices?

About the sponge for the intake, how long does it usually last? What was your experience with it? I don't wish to order new sponges every few months.

Do you happen to have any advice on tools that are more efficient on cleaning the fish poop from the tank? Also, what measures can be used to limit the amount of poop that remains at the bottom of the tank? The clown loaches I used to own weren't very fond of it and I had to adapt to purchase some special food for their diet. Any advice?
 
The Magnum won't suck the fish in, but it can blow them to bits.

Seriously.

Some of the Magnums come from the factory with the output nozzle set for "kill" -- the inside is adjustable and if it is wide open it forces the water through two small slits. It's enough to send a 3" heavy fish flying and a smaller fish can be smacked into the side of the glass or have all its fins and eyes blow off.

I have a Magnum 250 on my 36g and it killed one of my gravid otos. She swam into the flow and it tossed her from one end of the tank to the other, SMACK into the glass. She died 5 minutes later.

I'm not the only one this has happened to.

I highly suggest a Penguin or Emperor Bio Wheel as an alternative to canister or HOB types if you are worred about your fish being sucked in or blown away.

Just my 2 cents.
Roan
 
jason78 said:
Do you happen to have any advice on tools that are more efficient on cleaning the fish poop from the tank? Also, what measures can be used to limit the amount of poop that remains at the bottom of the tank? The clown loaches I used to own weren't very fond of it and I had to adapt to purchase some special food for their diet. Any advice?
Click to expand...
Fish, especially clown loaches, don't eat poop, you have to remove it yourself.

Roan
 
I must say I am also surprised that you lost fish to this filter. I have one with dwarf gouramis and otos and have had no problems. My otos even feed on the intake sometimes.
Is something missing from your filter? Does it have the proper extension?
I'm also wondering if the fish were killed by some disease and then got stuck in the filter. The molly could have been on it's last gasp when you found it.

BTW, welcome to the group.
 
Just a thought, but could have been something other than the filter? I noticed that you only cycled for 3 weeks, the fish might have gotten week from high ammonia or nitrites, or nitrates if you weren't doing sufficient water changes. They could also have gotten sick. The only fish I have ever lost to a filter intake was sick or dying and just didn't have the streangth to swim free. In my experience, a healthy fish should have no problem with "sucked in". Hope things work out better this time around for you.
 
Roan Art said:
I highly suggest a Penguin or Emperor Bio Wheel as an alternative to canister or HOB types if you are worred about your fish being sucked in or blown away.
Click to expand...

i have a newer penguin 100 on my ten gallon and i am very happy with it. the intake has never been a problem with my fish, and they tend to hang around it every so often. however, the outflow is a bit extreme... i noticed my fish struggling to swim in what should have been the calm spots of the tank. so i put a small piece of sponge-like media in between the post-biowheel outflow and the filter cover. now it is just fine. my boyfriend had an older model 125 on his ten gallon though, and never had this problem... i guess it is because the penguins have been redesigned.

you will probably find that most filters have the same or a similar intake as the murderous piece of equipment you had before... it is a simple and efficient design. but just because they all look the same does not mean they will work exactly the same. if you are really that worried about it, you could buy filter floss or a thick sponge (as those used in a fluval canister filter) to cover your intake. i believe i remember roan mentioning that you can use a big fat hagen sponge with a hole cut in the middle for this purpose in another thread. you do not have to replace it... just rinse it when it gets to looking super gross.

as far as controlling poop... more frequent gravel vacuuming should do the trick.
 
I just want to reinforce what UncaBret and Sytingray have said: It's nearly unheard of for any healthy fish to get stuck to the filter intake - especially on the models we're discussing here. If fish can't swim against the intake, they're almost always already sick.

There were other issues with the tank. I doubt there's anything wrong with your filter. In fact, if I were to replace it, I'd go for one with a little more flow. Don't treat the symptoms by hampering the performance of the filter. You need to find out what was wrong with the tank.

Do some more research before starting a the tank again. Get a book like The Simple Guide to Freshwater Aquariums. Read the "cycling" sticky at the top of this forum. Understand treatment of your replacement water with declorinators, and understand the importance of regular water changes. Research the fish, make sure they're compatible, and that you're not overstocked. Catfish don't eat excrement. They eat algae and other things, the algae in the tank (if any) is not enough for them, and they need special food separate from what you give the other fish, like algae wafers.

In fact, I usually discourage people from the catfish until they have more experience and know they want the catfish because they want the catfish, and not because they were told that adding catfish were some miracle cure for a dirty aquarium. Frequently, this simple "cure" ends up exacerbating the problem it was meant to remedy (overstocking, insufficient water changes, etc.).
 
Very good point about the filter intake and weak fish and very true. One of my kuhli loaches likes to hang right on the end of the intake of both the Penguin and the Magnum (I have both on the same tank) and eat the stuff off of it. He has no problem.

I've even sucked up my favorite corycat, Fu, into my python :eek: and he had no problem staying near the bottom until I lifted it up and let him out. He just slipped under the edge of the tube swam away. I swear I saw him give me the fin, though.

The only "healthy" fish I've ever seen get "stuck" in a filter was a new betta fish that had not developed its swimming muscles.

Roan
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
AquariaCentral.com
Top Bottom