filters???

[Kaja]

First I would like to say sorry for my spelling, I am Danish so English is not my native language. My question is about filters-should I get one or not-and what type (brand)? Can I have it running only a few hours of the day? I have a 15 gallon tank now, upgrading to a 24 gallon long in a few month- I have a bare bottom tank with ceramic caves to hide in. I have 3 ACF that is about 1 1/2-2 inches long (body). All help and suggestions are very welcomed.

[carsona246]

I'd like to clarify this post with the fact that I've never kept ACF's, but I am pretty big into aquariums. How you filter your tank will depend on the care requirements of the frog, but I always advice at least some form of filtration in the tank.
Are you familiar with the nitrogen cycle? If not, I would highly suggest you do some research on the nitrogen cycle to better equip yourself to decide what kind of filtration you want.
I don't know why you would want to only run the filter a few hours a day, it would kind of defeat the purpose of having it there, unless it's only mechanical filtration.
Filtering a tank doesn't need to be complicated or expensive, a simple sponge filter may be all you need depending on how much ammonia those ACF's put out.

[Kaja]

Acf are sensitive to vibrations, and there are different opinions about to use filters or not- I do 25% water change every 2-3 day but would like to run a filter for some hours just to get all the poop off the bottom, so they have a clean "plate". The water here in Denmark is great and no chlorine in the water-I take a water sample to my local pet shop often and the quality is great (I dont know much about water chemistry, but they do, so I trust them)- so its just to clean poop and leftover bloodworms.

[carsona246]

The water may be fine out of the tap, but the ACF's produce ammonia. Ammonia is toxic, and you need to cultivate bacteria in your tank that will convert it to a safer toxin(nitrate). That is the only real purpose of a filter for the fishes/frogs sake. If your tank has already cycled without a filter, and your are just looking for some mechanical filtration, I would actually advise you against getting a filter if you are just going to leave it on for an hour or two.
A mechanical filter in your tank will not really improve the quality of the water, it will only remove objects out of sight in your tank. However, when the filter is off all of that junk will just be sitting in stagnant water until you run more tank water through it. If you were to find some form of filter that completely drained when it was turned off, this would be just fine. Just make sure to find a filter that doesn't allow a pool of water to stagnate with all the junk in your tank.
Definitely stay away from canister filters if you only intend to use it for 1-2 hours at a time. Canister filters have the potential to grow anaerobic bacteria in a relatively short period of time if left off. If you were not planning on cleaning the canister filter after every use(which would be more work than just siphoning the tank) I would advise against using a canister filter for this purpose.

[mpmistr]

I like canisters. I run an eheim 2217 on my 40 breeder without any problems. It's quiet and does a great job filtering. I break it down every 6 months for maintenance.

[Kaja]

I think I found the solution. I bought a battery driven graval cleaner- and modified it with a long hose to drain the water and poop directly in to the toilet, so will be changing their water with 10% daily. About ammonia- when I started the tank I got a water sample cheked at my pet store (well they only have fish, frogs and turtles) every day for 2 month, they say the water chemistry is great so now I get it checked once a week. But now I will change my routines, so will chek the chemistry every day for 2 month. But would still love get a filter, that could run 24 hours when I upgrade to my 24 gallon, so I can cut back on the water changes a bit, but only if I can find a quiet one with low suction and outlet so the frogs can thrive in it. I would live it to be one that goes inside the tank, since I live in a small flatt, but money is not a problem, just want the best filter when I upgrade.

[deranged chipmunk]

I like canisters. I run an eheim 2217 on my 40 breeder without any problems. It's quiet and does a great job filtering. I break it down every 6 months for maintenance.

A 2217 on a 40b? Holy over filtration batman! But I like your style! Lol

[mpmistr]

A 2217 on a 40b? Holy over filtration batman! But I like your style! Lol

I would say a single 2217 is good up to 55 gallons or so, yeah it's rated much higher than that but I never go off those ratings. The turnover rate on it isn't really extreme, my tank has decent flow but it's nothing that disturbs the frogs. The plants in my 40B are so dense now I can't even see my frogs unless they come up to the front of the glass (I need to start pruning..), lol. That slows the flow down consideribly.

It's not like I put a Fluval FX5 on there or anything. =P

[deranged chipmunk]

Kaja, since you're in Denmark, I know you can get Hagen, or fluval products. You seriously cannot go wrong with any of their filters. They offer excellent bio, as well as mechanical filtration. I have been using their stuff for decades.

[deranged chipmunk]

I would say a single 2217 is good up to 55 gallons or so, yeah it's rated much higher than that but I never go off those ratings. The turnover rate on it isn't really extreme, my tank has decent flow but it's nothing that disturbs the frogs. The plants in my 40B are so dense now I can't even see my frogs unless they come up to the front of the glass (I need to start pruning..), lol. That slows the flow down consideribly.

It's not like I put a Fluval FX5 on there or anything. =P

Haha! I know they are under rated. The fluval filters are closer to realistic ratings. I ran a 2215 on a 40b for years.

Admittedly, when I turned my 125 into a paludarium, I slammed the fx5 for it onto my 75. Yeah, it was overkill, but it kept the water so clean, people questioned if it actually had water in it when they saw it in person lol