Technical question about my 5 gal tank

rainbowcharmer

rainbowcharmer

AC Members
Jul 30, 2007
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East Coast, USA
I've got a 5 gal hex tank that houses a betta and a few live plants. It's got a whisper filter on it, which is fairly slow-moving (there is minimal water movement with the filter alone), so I've also got a small bubble wand, in the back of the tank to assist with water movement and aeration.

If I don't keep the water moving, it develops a film on the top of the water. Doesn't seem to bother the betta, but it bugs me, so I keep it moving.

Anyhow, problem is, the bubble bar is apparently too powerful. I've got a gauge on the airline and have it turned down as far as possible without being "off", and still the bar makes a mess out of my tank. The water bouncing up from the bubbles gets on the hood and subsequently leaks out the side of the hood onto my desk. Or, if I open the hood (i.e. to clean or feed), the water drips down the back of the tank from the hood and makes a mess behind the tank, of course where I can't reach real well.

I'm just wondering... is there a way to stop this from happening? the tank is not over-filled, it's about .5" from the top of the black trim, which is about .5" from the hood, and the hood has about a 1" space from where it meets the tank to where the water builds up (it is somewhat dome shaped).

Here is the tank I bough: http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2752239

So... I need help in keeping the water moving without making a mess of my desk at work... I've ruined a few important papers with tank water leaking out onto them... and I'm worried that I may have to tear the tank down altogether and not have one at work, which makes me very sad.

I could probably get a HOB filter on this (there's a "cutout" section on the back of the hood), but I'm not sure if that wouldn't cause the same issues with splashing water up onto the hood...

Any ideas would be great!

Thanks!
 
people have made a protein skimmer of sorts by taking your intake tube and redirecting it upward. The water slows into the intake tube sort of. That way the film will get circulated and you won't have to worry about the bubbles. It's kinda hard to explain and I don't have a pic. Just picture you intake tube in a U shape with barely a tip above the water. You could give that a try
 
The whisper does not have an intake tube. I'd have to switch to an HOB to do something like that, and again, my main concern is the splashing. Is there a sponge filter or something that moves water a bit more or that has an intake like that?
 
OH sorry thought that when you meant whisper filter in your first post it was a hob. Try taking using just the air line then. The larger bubbles will still disturb the top layer and will splash less because of the size of the bubble. Other than that maybe someone else has a tip gl
 
have you considered a very small power head to circulate the water? or get a wood stone they have very fine bubbles, if still to much try to bury it or deflect the bubbles from going straight up.
 
I'm not sure what you filter model is like, but (ditching the bubbles) could you position it so that the outflow breaks up the water surface? Or run a piece of vinyl tubing up to the surface, secured with a suction cup?
 
Right - any suggestions on filters to switch to. Again, I'm concerned that an HOB would create just as much splash as the bubbles are, and cause the same problems that I'm already having.

The whisper filter is a completely self-contained operation - no way to hook up a tube to it - or at least, not for someone mechanically challenged like me.

And is there a powerhead that will work in a 5 gal without turning it into a whirlpool? I have never seen one that gentle??

I was researching some of the internal filters and saw a Fluval 1 Plus 50 GPH filter - but I'm wondering, is 50 gal too much? Will the current be a problem? Saw that filter here: http://www.aquariumguys.com/fluvalinternal.html. Says it's good up to 12 gal, which is much bigger than my little 5 gal hex.

Again, any suggestions on what filter would work in this situation would be appreciated.

Thanks.
 
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