Adding a filter to a water pump

[deranged chipmunk]

sorry, just saw this. you can cut a small piece of poret foam to cover the pump intake. it's also knows as pond foam. no, not the expanding stuff. that will give you, at the very least, a little extra mechanical filtration.

[Buck Rogers]

Thank you so much for the feedback on that, really appreciated. How do I wrap it around and secure it, with cable ties? DO you have some sort of visual point of reference?

[deranged chipmunk]

You could use cable ties. I've never done it, but i have wrapped a water feature pump with landscaping fabric to prevent clogging, so the principals involved would be the same. Just refrain from using rubber bands. They will eventually rot and fall off.

[HerpDerp]

I will be adding either a fresh water snail or 2 small tetras to help clean up excess waste - which I've used in the past with some great success but I am looking for some alternative options that could work nicely for this sort of setup.

This all depends on the actual volume of water that will be in the bottom of the tank. It sounds like it's not going to be enough water to put fish into? The fish could potentially just add to the waste in the water (ammonia and nitrates) and make it more difficult to keep clean. I suggest some sort of invert like shrimp. Using live aquatic plants in the bottom would also be a great biological filter. Shrimp and planted tanks are Bill's specialty so I'm sure he'll have more specific suggestions .

[deranged chipmunk]

Wow....nice pickup Michelle, i don't know how i missed that. I wouldn't use shrimp. Even though they are prolific breeders, they wouldn't have a prayer against voracious hunters like fbt's. Even with a planted area to hide in. Plants would definitely add some bio filtration. You could maybe use a pair of the smaller guppies, like endler's live bearers. Otherwise, i would look at micro fish like mosquito fish or chili rasboras to keep the waste at a minimum.