Tropical Fish Keeping banner

Filter Problem

2K views 7 replies 5 participants last post by  Pasfur 
#1 ·
Hi im really new to aquariums. I have a ten gallon, with a betta, two frogs, a midland painted turtle, and ten goldfish. I used a duetto 50 filter and it worked great for two days but now it only works when the aeration is off. It works but only trickles out air and water, alot slower than it did before. I took it apart and cleaned the sponge and the air tubing, but no results. can anyone help me as to whats wrong with my filter? or is it safe to run without the aeration on with that many fish?
 
#2 ·
Watermello said:
Hi im really new to aquariums. I have a ten gallon, with a betta, two frogs, a midland painted turtle, and ten goldfish. I used a duetto 50 filter and it worked great for two days but now it only works when the aeration is off. It works but only trickles out air and water, alot slower than it did before. I took it apart and cleaned the sponge and the air tubing, but no results. can anyone help me as to whats wrong with my filter? or is it safe to run without the aeration on with that many fish?
Your aquarium is way overstocked. I can not emphasis enough how extremely overstocked your tank is. For the bioload you are attempting to keep, you would need a 55 gallon aquarium or larger. And that might not be enough.

Also, the sponge inside your filter is a biological filter. It should not be cleaned. Unfortunately, with the bioload you are running the sponge will become clogged and not function properly.

This entire situation is impossible. You have to make a decision on what livestock you want to keep and set up a proper aquarium environment. The answer to your original question is useless, because the filter is not being used as intended.
 
#3 ·
I didnt clean the bio-spira sponge, the first sponge. And its only the little goldfish that are 3/4 of an inch long. The turtle has to stay, its my girlfriends, and the frogs are mine, but we put the goldfish in because they were only ten cents and we didnt know if the turtle ate fish to see if we could put any fish in there. how much should i have in there? and whats wrong with my filter?
 
#5 ·
I'd recommend reading up on the care of your turtle, as 10 gallons will not be sufficient. They also need UV light (to prevent shell erosion) and a place above water to bask.

Also, keep in mind that goldfish grow well over 12 inches, so these guys won't be small for long.
 
#7 ·
i did read up on my turtle, and it said ten gallons was fine, its a little babay midland painted turtle. and i do have a turtle dock and uv light. The turtle is my girlfriends so i have to take good care of it. as was the betta, i told her not to put it in there, but the turtle ate it yesterday. and i moved the frogs and half the goldfish to another ten gall. so in one i have four goldfish, and the turtle, and the other i have five goldfish and the two frogs. but im still having the original problem with my filter.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top