Filter advice for a 10 Gallon

[brucemc777]

I have a 10 Gallon "Top Fin" aquarium that was given to me as a present a year ago. The cheap filter died. Every-time i read a review of in-tank filters on Amazon, i notice the negative reviews all pointing out that the motor assemblies regularly die, so i guess i should trash the present one and get a rig that hangs on the outside of the tank.

In the tank is a betta, a little bottom feeder and a few shrimp.

Could i get a recommendation on what i should get for good filtration? I don't want to spend a fortune on this, but i want to insure their health!

Thank-You!!!

 

[Sprinkle]

For a betta, always go for a sponge filter. Please, do not keep anything with bettas. He might seem to be mellow for now, but he always has the chance to snap out and kill everything else in the tank. Return the shrimp and the bottom feeder to store.
Bettas do better in solitary tanks.

 

[brucemc777]

I was thinking of setting up a second tank...

Is there a brand you would recommend? Seems you can't trust Amazon reviews anymore at all. Understood that about EBay, but now neither.

 

[Sprinkle]

I buy everything from eBay since I heard the dark truth about Amazon. Any brand will do. Would you mind providing me a photo of the bottom feeder so I could figure out the tank size you'd need?

 

[NoodleCats]

Sponge filter is good any one off Amazon is fine ive ordered many from there.

Just read the dimensions and be sure to get a good one for the tank size. You will need an air pump with it as well

 

[brucemc777]

Sprinkle : He (or she) loves to hide and i was going nuts trying to find the type - a Reticulated Hillstream Loach! Not quite 2"-

NoodleCats : Oh boy, i remember from long ago the vibration noise of those things... Oh well-

 

[NoodleCats]

Many are quiet, and if not, stuff some filter padding under them lol

The reticulated sucker loach needs much colder water than a betta, so you definitely need to work on a second tank.

And get a group of the loach, and a strong filter for them as they need current.

Keep THIS tank set up for the loaches, get the betta a new tank with the sponge filter. Once its cycled move the betta over. Betta temperature 78-82F for best longterm health.
The loach will need to be kept much cooler so you may be able to skip using a heater at all.

 

[Squawkbert]

If you don't want sponge/air pump, I'd go HOB type, either Aquaclear or a biowheel filter - and don't be afraid to go big. The ratings they put on these things are "optimistic" at best. When I was running 5.5g tanks for shrimp, I tended to use an Aquaclear 20. They restart pretty reliably after a power outage and provide adequate biofiltration, little to no noise and excellent mechanical filtration with SUPER easy to rinse sponges. The Biowheel filters provide adequate mechanical filtration with harder to clean (or pricey to replace, over time) cartridges and they provide outstanding biological filtration - as well as some unavoidable noise. They also don't restart quite as reliably as Aquaclears. If you don't like either of the above, Aquaeon (sp?) HOBs are reasonably good in terms of quiet, reliable, easy enough to clean the cartridges (you'll still want a new one now and then) and they include a little diffuser that increases biofiltration (a little) while helping minimize noise.

In agreeing with most of the above stuff, I can add that a small power head with a sponge on it will make a decent, quiet filter as long as you stay w/ at least a 10g for the betta, just remove and rinse the sponge a couple of times per week.

Personally, I include some live plants in all of my aquariums and prefer quiet, so I go w/ Aquaclear except for my 60g tall which uses an Eheim 2215 with a 2217 impeller.

 

[TwoTankAmin]

One of the nice things about the AquaClear hang-on line is that is has flow control. If I remember right, if one uses the lowest flow rate it would be 1/3 of the maximum rate. The smallest AC is 100 gph which means you can slow it to about 33 gph.

Also, the AqauClear offers the greatest flexibility in terms of accommodating the greatest variety of media. For example, if one needs to run carbon for a while, it is harder to do with a sponge filter.

I have run an Emperor 400 which broke after a decade.
A Liberty filter (Eheims hang-0n) for about 5 years. It is now on the shelf as the result of my downsizing.
I have 1 old style Whisper Mini. It ran on a 2.5 gal. tank with a betta and 3 corys. I moved the filter to a 5.5. It's still running after 15+ years.
I have had close to 30 AquaClears running at the peak but I am now down to 17. I have every size they make. I may be biased.....

That said, I also use canisters, Poret foam for sponge filters as well as for Hamburg mattenfilters.

p.s. My second AC was bought used 18 years ago, it is still running fine today. My first is 19+ years old and also still running. They were a lot cheaper back then.

 

[fishorama]

I agree with both Squawkbert & TTA, a smallest Aqua Clear or whatever a small Whisper is called now. AC are my more favored filters but I still have & use Whispers that are both 20+ years old (I need to replace an O-ring on the oldest Whisper, less than $1 I think).

I only use sponge filters rarely anymore, they take up a lot of tank space...& to me air pumps are louder...but they can have a place in our hobby.

Don't be too worried about flow & bettas, they often adapt (& grow better muscles) to a bit of water movement. They aren't the wimps they're often treated like, lol. Give it some time & a calm area to get used to the tank.

I have & breed sewellia lineolata, awesome little loaches! Mine are in a 55g with 2 AC 70s, a Maxijet powerhead & quite a few plants. I wouldn't keep them in less than a 20g with 2 smallish HOB filters. Mine love!! Repashy Soilent Green gel food almost exclusively!