Page 2 of 3
Re: Thinking about getting puffer fish
Posted: Sun Jul 12, 2009 5:47 am
by LilGreenPuffer
BioWheels are nice.
I use a Tetra Whisper. It gets the job done, and it was cheap.
Re: Thinking about getting puffer fish
Posted: Sun Jul 12, 2009 2:32 pm
by Lil' Swimz$
I use a Whisper too. Works wonders.
Re: Thinking about getting puffer fish
Posted: Sun Jul 12, 2009 3:30 pm
by randro
which kind of whisper? The EX20 or the EX10?
Re: Thinking about getting puffer fish
Posted: Sun Jul 12, 2009 3:33 pm
by Lil' Swimz$
Don't know. Its for 15-30 gallon tanks, though.
Re: Thinking about getting puffer fish
Posted: Sun Jul 12, 2009 4:18 pm
by Pufferpunk
I really prefer Aquaclears. Much more surface area for bacteria to grow on the rinsable sponges for mechanical/biological filtration, I put 1" filter floss on top of that for "polishing" the water crystal clear & it comes with BioMax ceramic rings for biological filtration. No need to constantly buy more pads either.
Re: Thinking about getting puffer fish
Posted: Sun Jul 12, 2009 4:44 pm
by Nick
Yea, I buy one aquaclear sponge every 6 months to a year, and I usually have 3 of them running at any given time.
Re: Thinking about getting puffer fish
Posted: Sun Jul 12, 2009 4:55 pm
by Pufferpunk
LOL, I have some that are >20 years!
Re: Thinking about getting puffer fish
Posted: Sun Jul 12, 2009 5:35 pm
by Lil' Swimz$
I use my filter pads for my Whisper for a year or two. My water level is low right now, so the water comes down in a two-inch cascade which pushes my fish around!
Re: Thinking about getting puffer fish
Posted: Sun Jul 12, 2009 8:58 pm
by thekarens
Aquaclear is my favorite HOB filter for smaller tanks and yes, you can use sand. Pool filter sand is great for FW tanks.
Re: Thinking about getting puffer fish
Posted: Mon Jul 13, 2009 4:51 pm
by randro
ok so i am getting a tetra whisper 10 and i have an undergravel filter will that be enough?
Re: Thinking about getting puffer fish
Posted: Mon Jul 13, 2009 9:45 pm
by Lil' Swimz$
I'd say no. After all the bacteria gunk gets in your filter it will be slower, about an 8 or so. I'm not a fan of underground filters, so I'd just get the EX20 and use that, alone.
Re: Thinking about getting puffer fish
Posted: Tue Jul 14, 2009 2:39 am
by Pufferpunk
I agree--UGF are old school, like sweeping dirt under the carpet. Get a filter you can clean on a somewhat regular basis.
Re: Thinking about getting puffer fish
Posted: Thu Jul 16, 2009 3:30 am
by randro
Hey guys I got the filter. It's a tetra 10 and I got a 10 gallon tank and I need some help with the fiahless cycling part because I dont know anybody that has a tank also what works the fastest with the bacteria and where can I get it?
Re: Thinking about getting puffer fish
Posted: Thu Jul 16, 2009 8:52 am
by LilGreenPuffer
"Fastest" would be Tetra SafeStart. Lately, people have been saying that it's not quite doing the job, and they got a mini-cycle when they added the fish. Still, there's some live bacteria in there, so you might try getting a bottle and then feeding ammonia until the parameters stabalize, as per the Fishless Cycling article.
Re: Thinking about getting puffer fish
Posted: Thu Jul 16, 2009 12:32 pm
by Pufferpunk
Check out the artivles on cycling in our Library. Please take your time--it'll be well worth it!