Filters in half and half pyxie tank.

[Bruer Sharp]

I have a small pyxie frog but when he gets bigger i want to get rid of the water bowl and divide a tank and make it half water half land and use a filter to clean water. Would a filter be able to clean out solid pyxie frog waste and peices of substrate?? I dont want to be replacing water everyday if its not in a bowl. But if a filter can take care of all the filth then i will not have to use a bowl and the tank will look much better. If you have a half and half tank and use a filter, how often do you have to completely replace all the water??? and can the filter clean out big stuff like waste and substrate???

[Glenn]

I have a small pyxie frog but when he gets bigger i want to get rid of the water bowl and divide a tank and make it half water half land and use a filter to clean water. Would a filter be able to clean out solid pyxie frog waste and peices of substrate?? I dont want to be replacing water everyday if its not in a bowl. But if a filter can take care of all the filth then i will not have to use a bowl and the tank will look much better. If you have a half and half tank and use a filter, how often do you have to completely replace all the water??? and can the filter clean out big stuff like waste and substrate???

If you have a strong enough filter, yes, it can mechanically filter out some of the substrate and poop. You probably won't be needing to do a 100% water change ever (depending on how large a water portion you have, of course) but you will still need to do the occasional partial water changes like you would in a fish tank (though much more often).

An important thing to note is that maintaining a stable nitrogen cycle in a pyxie tank will be very difficult, if not impossible.
Pyxies do not use the water all the time (rarely as they grow older, IME), which means they will not be there to provide a steady source of "food" for the beneficial bacteria in the cycle. What that means is that when he does drop a dookie, you're gonna get a huge ammonia spike with nothing alive there to "fix" it... except you and an aquarium vac. By the time the system it's semi cycled, Mr. Pyxie will have already decided to jump out take a nap for a couple months. Unless you want to dump a number of fish into the water portion that will constantly produce the equivalent amount of waste the pyxie would (good luck!), then being able to get away with monthly water changes for your pyxie tank like a typical fish aquarium will remain a pipe dream.

So to recap, a filter for a water portion is there to mechanically filter detritus from the water, and possibly maintain a limited biological system.
You WILL need to do water changes when the ammonia gets too high (I hope you have a liquid ammonia testing kit!). This is important because with a filter, the water can look deceptively "clean" and you don't want a pyxie sitting in that for too long.
When my boy is actively using the water, that usually means I do at least a 40-50% water change every five days (Can be as often as every day if he's shedding and pooping a whole lot in there. After a poop I always do a small water change to get whatever the filter doesn't out of there).

[Bruer Sharp]

Ok. Thanks for the info

[Bruer Sharp]

If i changed water every 2 weeks or so, you think that would be enough?

[Mentat]

I have a small pyxie frog but when he gets bigger i want to get rid of the water bowl and divide a tank and make it half water half land and use a filter to clean water. Would a filter be able to clean out solid pyxie frog waste and peices of substrate?? I dont want to be replacing water everyday if its not in a bowl. But if a filter can take care of all the filth then i will not have to use a bowl and the tank will look much better. If you have a half and half tank and use a filter, how often do you have to completely replace all the water??? and can the filter clean out big stuff like waste and substrate???

In picking a filter for a Pixie, recommend get the largest canister type you can afford and it should flow around 10 times the actual water volume per hour. Due to Pixie's large poop and shredded coco fibers reaching filter, it's better if you run coarse filter pads available for pond filters or just plain bio-media (I use Seachem's Pond Matrix). If you see poop in water before filter get's it, just net it out. Will have to adjust your filter media cleaning according to water flow and frog's activity level.

You do not need to completely change the water; just stay on with water changes and clean filter media as required. Use tank water to clean filter media to prevent beneficial bacteria from dying. I do not use or recommend running carbon in filter unless needed to remove a medication.

Once your filter is seasoned (normally 4 weeks; but can reduce in half if use a product like Seachem Stability) then you change around 25% of water volume every week (adjust volume to maintain a Nitrate level around 25PPM). Good luck !

[Bruer Sharp]

What do you mean "use tank water to clean filter media" ??

[Bruer Sharp]

Any suggestions on type of filter or brand?

[Mentat]

What do you mean "use tank water to clean filter media" ??

Tap water will kill the beneficial bacteria that reduce the ammonia to nitrites and then to nitrates. Using water from a water change avoids that.

Any suggestions on type of filter or brand?

I've used Rena's canisters and like them. Ehiem is very good; but on the higher price area. Fluval's just remodeled their canisters and new ones appear good too.

[Bruer Sharp]

So i should use the dirty tank water to clean filter?

[Mentat]

So i should use the dirty tank water to clean filter?

Yes, the one you siphon off tank during water change. The way I do it is by a rubber started aquarium gravel siphon cleaner (no dirty frog water goes to mouth) into a 3 gal. pail. Once flow starts, I squeeze the hose tip to create a jet flow and spray the filter pads above pail to rinse them. Then I spray the water into the canister media tray.

Once a year disassemble the whole filter and clean it up to include container, impellers, etc. The hoses can be soaked in a 10% bleach solution in a pail, even overnight if required. Do keep the media in wet in tank water during all procedures. If media dries out he bacteria will die . Canisters are very efficient and you do not need to clean them until water flow reduces. There are aftermarket flow valves that let you know or you can just eyeball it .

[Bruer Sharp]

Ok. Thinking about getting a Ehiem classic. And ill probably change 50% of water every 2 weeks or so and net out any waste or substrate i see floating around. Does this sound ok?

[Mentat]

Ok. Thinking about getting a Ehiem classic. And ill probably change 50% of water every 2 weeks or so and net out any waste or substrate i see floating around. Does this sound ok?

Yes. I would get a nitrate test kit after tank is cycled and use it weekly to develop a timing for water changes .

[Bruer Sharp]

Ok. What is the best results of a nitrate test for a pyxie frog?

[Bruer Sharp]

What nitrate level should the tank be at?

[Bruer Sharp]

Do you use seachems pond matrix as the only media?