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Post by parker002 on Jul 8, 2010 8:44:02 GMT -5
I have two sponge pre-filters in my 50G tank and they absolutely rule. They might be the best thing I've done yet. I recently moved my bamboo shrimp to a small betta tank so that I could treat ich in my 50G tank. We ended up deciding to leave him there and added a few ghost shrimp to keep him company. The dilemma - the small tank is using a Tetra Whisper 5-15. 1) I couldn't fathom spending MORE on a sponge than I did on the HOB filter in the first place. 2) The intake is too small to fit a pre-filter anyway. I set out to do the only logical thing - MAKE ONE.
| First, I found the perfect raw material. This is a sponge gasket used to seal up air leaks around a window air conditioner. It's roughly the same in terms of porosity as an actual sponge pre-filter and cost me $1.99 at the hardware store. Make sure to choose the right width for your intake tube. Also important: WASH THE SPONGE. Since these sponges are sold for an "industrial" purpose, it's hard to know what's in/on them.
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| Next, I gathered the necessary tools. Make sure whatever blade you use is SHARP. Anything less than a razor blade will tear the sponge rather than cut it. It may also be necessary to use a finger to "roll" away some material as you near the end.
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| Cut a nice little, round hole in the top. Pull out the "plug" with the tweezers. Cut again and pull again. Repeat until your hole is deep enough to fit the entire intake tube.
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| Once you're sure it's good (don't rip it!), WASH THE SPONGE one last time. Then insert the intake tube into the sponge and secure it with a tie wrap.
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| Here's a photo of it in action. The water flow is not significantly different with it versus without it. I feed my shrimp frozen plankton that is 800 micron or smaller (per the packaging) and it's sticking to the sponge, allowing them to forage for long periods of time.
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Hopefully this helps someone else!
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Post by Carl on Jul 8, 2010 10:05:35 GMT -5
Excellent tutorial! Thanks for posting. I might add that over the years I have simply cut the replacement Sponges sold for Hydro sponge Filters or similar to fit over intakes of many hard to fit intakes such as the Marineland Emperor Filters. My preference was the reticulated sponge material used for their Pro series since the Marineland Emperors had higher flow rates Carl
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Post by parker002 on Jul 8, 2010 10:20:11 GMT -5
We're moving, which is always a time when my OCD tinkering gets bad. I had fun with this one and it only cost me $2!
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Post by Carl on Jul 8, 2010 19:16:31 GMT -5
We're moving, which is always a time when my OCD tinkering gets bad. I had fun with this one and it only cost me $2! Are you moving to a new home? Sorry if I am being too curious. Either way, I guess moving of any sort is great for your creative juices Carl
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Post by parker002 on Jul 10, 2010 11:08:53 GMT -5
Yeah, we're moving in to help my mother-in-law with upkeep and stuff. Her house is huge and she can't take care of it by herself.
I moved my 55G tank yesterday and all fish are doing well. We moved 20 gallons of tank water in 5-gallon buckets with gasketed lids. We put the fish in the other two buckets and ran an air pump off of the AC outlet in the back of the car.
It took us about 15 minutes to load everything up and another 15 to reset it all at the new place.
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Post by babygeige on Jul 15, 2010 21:32:57 GMT -5
Nice job with the pre-filter. That's a great idea!
I'm glad the fish move went smoothly. I hope everything goes well living with your mother in law.
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Post by parker002 on Aug 4, 2010 12:53:13 GMT -5
We lost a variatus and mickey mouse platy, but it was well after the move - almost 2 weeks. We also lost our bamboo shrimp.
NOTE: Don't put ghost shrimp in with a bamboo if you have a small tank and few hiding places. They WILL mess with him while he molts.
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Post by Carl on Aug 4, 2010 16:23:04 GMT -5
Sorry that you lost you Bamboo Shrimp & Platy
Thanks for the education, I did not know this
Carl
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Post by parker002 on Aug 4, 2010 20:15:50 GMT -5
I can't say that they actively KILLED him - it's not like they picked him apart or anything.
But they did pick at him while he was molting and he never finished - he died with his shell half off.
I have noticed now that bamboo shrimp are EXTREMELY sensitive to stress.
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