Aquarium internal filters

[Lionelgee]

Hello All,

Yes I did check and there has been earlier posts about keeping fish in aquariums already posted in the General Chat section :o.

Anyway, I was gifted an aquarium and it uses an internal filter. The filter came without any instructions so I do not know much about it. It is also a different type of filter to the ones I had years ago. They were under gravel filters with air stones and a pump.

I was lucky enough to find the type of internal filter on eBay that my current tank comes with. I have noticed that while this filter handles larger particles quite well there still seems to be a lot of smaller particles that just seem to get constantly recirculated through the filter system and do not get captured. The two gold fish seem happy enough so it is not a problem to them.

The tank is 500 mm by 150 mm by about 300 mm in height so it is not a large tank. I may get another gold fish so it will only have three gold fish in it.

Okay the internal filter is this one... Aqua One Maxi 101F Internal Filter Aqua One Maxi 101F Internal Filter 3 Year Guarantee Aquarium Fish Tank Filter | eBay (http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Aqua-One-Maxi-101F-Internal-Filter-3-Year-Guarantee-Aquarium-Fish-Tank-Filter-/181068476596?pt=AU_Pet_Supplies&hash=item2a2885b0b4)

Is there a better type of internal filter or should I go up to an external filter?

Are internal filters better than internal filters?

By the way should the outlet of the internal filter be located above the water line so that the water leaving it gets aerated? Or is the water meant to come out of the outlet at or below water level?

Without any instruction manual I guessed that having aeration and some rippling of the water would be better than a stagnant state within the tank. Because you often see aerators such as paddle wheels on commercial aquaculture ponds so maybe the same thing applies to small aquariums?


Well I should have tried eBay before I posted an earlier thread about Fish Pellets! I just found what I think is the same product on eBay too -
Fish Food Pellets Goldfish, Koi & Tropical 2.5kg 6mm Floating - http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Fish-Food-Pellets-Goldfish-Koi-Tropical-2-5kg-6mm-Floating-/140850972549?pt=AU_Pet_Supplies&hash=item20cb5f4785

Now to contact the seller to see if they have an instructions about how much to feed my little friends each day.


Kind Regards
Lionel

[ramblingboy42]

the Aqua Ones often had a small nipple on the top of the outlet tube. this was to attach an airline and use the vortex action of the water passing through to draw air into the water stream. Regular cleaning of your filter will keep your goldfish happy and you can buy activated carbon inserts as well as the foamblocks to suit your filter....just clean them in plenty of fresh running water until all gunk stops coming out.

[ramblingboy42]

if you dont have the aeration nipple put the outlet at water level so that it does just as you said......the fish like the water movement too.

[Slunnie]

There shouldn't be a problem with inserting a finer foam in place of the current foam filter.

[meldrew]

Good on you for getting some fish, they are relaxing and an interesting hobby. That filter should be okay I think. As far as I know those types should be mostly submerged, however the outlet at the top above water line should be okay for some aeration of the water.

I would just get some goldfish food from the supermarket of a pet-shop, some flakes would do.

You may be better off sticking to only two fish in that tank, as tempting at three may be, the fish are better not overcrowded, the set-up would work better that way.

Cheers,

Ashley

[Lionelgee]

Hello All,

Thank you for the replies they are much appreciated. I will post this message and then click on edit so I can see people's names - hang on a tick....

Thank you Ashley for the caution about the numbers of fish - I do have access to a bigger tank.

Slunnie thanks for the suggestion about getting a smaller size foam.

Ramblingboy42 my version of the filter is nipple-less - poor bugger!

SWMBO is amazed - "we had gold fish in tanks in the kids room for years and you never took that much interest in them!" ... [The gold fish that is :0) ...] Now you have a tank right next to your computer on your desk it is a different story!"

I must admit that it is great to take a break and glance to my right and observe the fish and two snails while I try and think about a better way to phrase something or remember an important point that has eluded my memory.

Kind Regards
Lionel

[Slunnie]

Yes, the capacity of the tank is asked on surface area for oxygen exchange rather than volume, and gold fish require a lot of surface area compared to most other fish of the same size. Water movement increases the effective surface area but the must always run and of course the water toxin levels won't be sustainable - you will need to do periodical water changes.

[Lionelgee]

G'day All,

The other benefit of the fish is they don't surprise me that much.

I have an old timber teacher's desk and one of my dogs - the Border Collie Jack, likes to sneak under the desk when I go out of the study and get a cuppa. I come back and put my feet under the desk and they meet this big hairy obstruction and it scares the crap out of me! :eek:

Kind Regards
Lionel

[korg20000bc]

I love aquariums.

With this type of filtration the focus isn't really on removing particles but to greatly increase the surface area where a biofilm develops. This biofilm of bacteria eats the nasty molecules in fish crap and rotting fish food. I think it is that the bacteria eats nitrates (toxic) and turns it into nitrites (less toxic). It may be the other way around...

Anyway, make sure you do regular partial water changes and you'll avoid many potential problems.

Also, siphon your water out from the bottom of the tank when you change the water. Try to suck up the accumulated crap from wherever it likes to collect.

If you have plenty of aquatic plants in the tank it has a highly beneficial effect on water quality.

[Chucaro]

Going by my previous experience with 13 tanks I would suggest to you to install a under gravel filter with a power head.
The under gravel filter will do the filtration of the water and promote the good bacteria and the power head have much better water circulation than an air pump and also will aerate the tank much better.
If you are concerned about food waste and no plan to breed fish an addition of a cat fish will keep the pollution at bay.

I used this system (without the cat fish) on standard five 4 foot tanks were over 300 tiny cichilds were kept until they grow to a 20cent coin size.

Remember that a weekly water change do a lot of good for the health of the tank.

[Slunnie]

Absolutely re the under gravel filter, except for your tank I'd be inclined to use a twin bubbler rather than a power head. I think with the size and shape of your tank that the power head will make the water too turbulant and the water flow will be too reduced at the extremities if you do turn the pump down.

[Ausfree]

Remember, it is a PARTIAL weekly water change, that doesn't mean you empty the tank right out. I have kept tropicals for over 30 years. I no longer do it, had enough!!:D Watch your PH levels!!:D

[dullbird]

I have an aquaonw 850...ans i did initially use the over head filtratin system..but personally as I started to learn more about fish I realised it did not cut the mustard.

I dismantled it and I now run an external canister.

[DEFENDERZOOK]

With an external canister filter.....you get the bonus of some increase in your volume of water.....

It's always best to either run an air stone......or agitate the surface of the water with the return of the filter.......

Do not clean your filter material with tap water.....rinse it water from the fish tank.....so as you do not kill any beneficial bacteria that is growing there.....
Tap water contains chlorine and other chemicals which kill bacteria and fish....

You should be adding water ager to any tap water before adding it to the tank......

Korg was pretty close.....fish waste produces ammonia....which is very poisonous to fish.......the bacteria will break this down to nitrite which is less toxic......and then more bacteria will break that down to nitrate.......this is then reduced via water changes......

Goldfish are very messy and produce a lot of waste......when setting up a new tank there will be no beneficial bacteria in it.....which means nothing to break down the ammonia yet.....so you may need to do a few extra water changes initially till the tank cycles.....as the bacteria grows.....

And it's also a good idea to add aquarium sat (pool salt) when doing water changes at one level table spoon per 20 litres of water for gold fish......
This help prevent sickness.....


If you are anywhere near Illawong.....drop in for a drink and a chat.....and I can show you how it's all done.....it sounds like a real chore when written out.....
But it's only a few minutes a week with that size tank.......

[dullbird]

You can put a product called stability in for the first 7 days of the new tank this will help you on your way to starting a bacterial colony.