I just recently set my mother's 35g hex tank back up for her. She had just let it go because she never had any luck with keeping the fish alive in it. She had problems with her ammonia levels constantly. I don't think she ever checked the nitrites because I didn't find any testing equipment for anything but ammonia. This tank has just been sitting covered in her living room for years. I tossed all of the test kits, food, and anything else that wasn't worth keeping. She had been using an undergravel filter with an aquaclear power head and an aquatech HOB filter rated for 30g. She had way too much gravel in the tank. I know her cleaning schedule was not the best. She has a difficult time trying to reach down into this tank because it is so tall. I removed all of the gravel and did a good cleaning and then put some diluted bleach solution in and cleaned again. I rinsed the tank extremely good and then put sand in as the substrate. I'm not using the undergravel filter because I just don't care for them. I purchased an AC50/AC200 for the tank because it was the only one that I could find that would fit on the small space at the back of the tank. I cleaned the powerhead and placed it down low in the tank aiming the return upwards to circulate the water from the bottom to the top. I did use the extension tube on the AC50. I also added 2 air stones at the back of the tank to help oxygenate. The bubbles float up and get circulated by the return flow from the AC50. This is going to be a community tank with some tiger barbs and other assorted tropical fish. Does anyone have any suggestions on other things that I can do to help with filtering this odd tank. The surface area vs. the height of this tank creates a problem. I have considered adding the filter attachment to the powerhead that AC makes. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Best Method To Filter 35g Hex?
- Thread starter lighthouse39183
- Start date
Thanks, I had considered this option but I don't think my mother would be able to handle the canister. Do you think if we keep it lightly stocked with the filtration I have we will be ok?
I definately think this tank needs all the help it can get. But I know my mother isn't able to reach down into the tank and do good gravel cleanings. I have been going over every few days and keeping a check on the water. So far we have 0 ammonia and 0 nitrites. I will probably be the one to do the water changes on it since I really don't think mom is up to it.I think you'll be OK with the filtration that you have, but I second the canister idea. It'll work MUCH better than what you have now. And I wouldn't worry about your mom having trouble with it- most only need cleaned every few months. On a community tank especially, I wouldn't worry about cleaning a canister too often. With a 2215, I'd think once every 6 months would probably be good enough. So, once every few months go over and open the canister, change the polishing pad, and backflush(run water through the canister backwards- easy to do with an Eheim by lifting it up and letting the water in it drain out the intake) the filter into a bucket. Voila. It's a 20 minute process.
Also, that AC attachment only provides mechanical filtration. I wouldn't bother with it were I you. If you want something more, a sponge attachment would work much better than the micron filter AC sells.
Also, that AC attachment only provides mechanical filtration. I wouldn't bother with it were I you. If you want something more, a sponge attachment would work much better than the micron filter AC sells.
Thanks, I had been looking at the sponge filters. I've never used one so I'm not sure how they work.