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Thread: Need help with filters for ACF

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    Default Need help with filters for ACF

    Hey everyone;

    I just found this forum, and I am glad I did. I am a newbie frog owner (had her since a tadpole, about 6 months). Got her from Grow-A-Frog. She is still small, her body length is about 2 inches. She does not look as "fat" as some that I have seen on here, and i really try not to overfeed. I use the grow-a-frog food I bought from them.

    She started in the tiny habitat when she was a tadpole, then moved up through a 1 gallon aquarium, and are now in a 5 gallon one.

    The water will not stay clean for even a week! I have a Nano10 external filter, and change most (75%) of the water on a weekly basis. I change the water in the filter at the same time. I use a reverse-osmosis setup we have for the house as the water source, and add in dechlorination powder prior to the water change (and leave it for a few hours before I change the water).


    Within a few days it gets green and smelly.
    Wife complains.
    I change water again...

    The filter I have is not cutting it, or I am really doing something wrong?? We have plastic plants only in the aquarium, and no other frogs/fish/etc.

    I like an external filter, but will defer to you experts....What filter should i be using?

    ANY help, advice, tips on anything are much appreciated. I am smart enough to know there is a LOT I don't know, so please - any advice is welcome.

    Thanks in advance
    Terry

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    Default Re: Need help with filters for ACF

    Ah grow a frog! I can’t believe they still sell that little kit. Nonetheless it’s a great way to break into amphibians. As far as your setup goes you may be having trouble with the tank cycling. The RO water is good but remember new aquatic setups can take a while to acclimate. It’s normal to see algae blooms etc. for the first few weeks until the tank is fully cycled. Essentially what happens is every time you do over a 10 percent water change the water re cycles again which may be your problem. Excess nutrients in the water from over feeding or excess lighting can all cause nasty stuff to bloom. I’d start with a 10 gallon and let it cycle for two weeks and then add your frog. A larger tank is more forgiving and once you have some good biological filtration going you should be ok. Fluval makes some good products so I’d check them out. You may want to look at some aquarium forums too.

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    Default Re: Need help with filters for ACF

    Quote Originally Posted by TerryInLeesburg View Post
    The water will not stay clean for even a week! I have a Nano10 external filter, and change most (75%) of the water on a weekly basis. I change the water in the filter at the same time. I use a reverse-osmosis setup we have for the house as the water source, and add in dechlorination powder prior to the water change (and leave it for a few hours before I change the water).

    Within a few days it gets green and smelly.
    Wife complains.
    I change water again...
    I suspect the main reason that your tank's getting green and smelly after a few days is because it's receiving too much light. If the tank's receiving direct sunlight or is artificially illuminated, I suggest either that you move the tank to a darker location or remove, or significantly reduce, its exposure to artificial light.

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    Default Re: Need help with filters for ACF

    Dan;

    I am not sure what you mean about tank "cycling". When I change the water I change all of it, rinse the sand, take the filter apart and rise it - basically clean everything so it doesn't stink.
    Guess I need to read up on this now - so much to learn, here I thought I was just getting an easy no-muss pet for my son!
    Live and learn

    Geoff;

    It does not get direct light, but it is pretty bright in there. I will have to talk....er....negotiate... with the wife for a new location.

    Thanks so for the help
    Terry

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    Default Re: Need help with filters for ACF

    Quote Originally Posted by TerryInLeesburg View Post
    Dan;

    I am not sure what you mean about tank "cycling". When I change the water I change all of it, rinse the sand, take the filter apart and rise it - basically clean everything so it doesn't stink.
    Guess I need to read up on this now - so much to learn, here I thought I was just getting an easy no-muss pet for my son!
    Live and learn
    Dan was referring to "The Nitrogen Cycle". It'd probably be best for you to Google it. There's loads of info about it out there.

    Quote Originally Posted by TerryInLeesburg View Post
    Geoff;

    It does not get direct light, but it is pretty bright in there. I will have to talk....er....negotiate... with the wife for a new location.
    Instead of relocating the tank you could try shading up to three sides of it with card or a black plastic trash bag cut to size.
    Last edited by Geoff; March 7th, 2019 at 12:43 PM. Reason: typo

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    Default Re: Need help with filters for ACF

    Thank you Geoff I should have clarified my post regarding nitrogen. And Terry, you are actually too thorough with your tank maintenance. You don’t need to change all the water at a time. 10 percent is fine. I applaud your commitment to your animal but you’re making too much work for yourself. Once a tank is fully acclimated and has passed it’s nitrogen cycling ( two weeks or more sometimes) it will require much less maintenance. Only if you add excessive food and add multiple animals will you have to do so much cleaning.




    weeks

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    Default Re: Need help with filters for ACF

    Terry, Dan's post reflects my own thoughts, especially his observation that you appear to be making too much work for yourself, albeit with the best of intentions. I’ve been back over your original post and it seems to me that it shouldn’t be too difficult for you to get things onto a more easily manageable and less time-consuming footing.

    In my opinion your filter is inappropriate for a 5 gallon tank containing a 2-inch frog. It’s claimed to have a turnover rate of 80 gallons an hour, which means that your tank’s water’s passing through it 16 times every hour (384 times a day), which is excessive and unnecessary for a 2-inch frog. Aside from the fact that it’s not presently serving any useful purpose if the water's getting green and smelly in a few days, I imagine that it must also be creating considerable water turbulence in the tank. This wouldn’t be a problem if it contained fish but Xenopus frogs occur naturally in pools where the water's still or very slow-moving. It follows therefore, that if a frog’s kept in a tank with a lot of water movement at all levels, it’s having to survive in conditions for which it’s not naturally adapted.

    I think that a box or foam filter powered by a low-output air pump would be a more appropriate arrangement for such a small tank and frog. There are a lot of YouTube videos illustrating these things and explaining how they work. If you do that and keep the tank shaded I think you’ll have a lot less work to do.

    Finally, one of the reasons that I kept these frogs for 26 years was that they were so easy and undemanding to maintain successfully. You’ll probably find it encouraging to read the posts in this old thread that was started almost 9 years ago: http://www.frogforum.net/showthread....rog-age-record

    Good luck.

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