Experimental Filter System

[Captain Neon]

Hi all- I have two tanks, both the same size (150l), one houses an Asian community, the other has three African Clawed frogs, and ten Apple snails. While I know that ACFs have their own section, this is about the filtration, hence posting here. The tank uses a Fluval 205 external filter, and the decor consists of one layer of large pebbles as substrate (They'd swallow gravel), with bogwood and tufa rock and a few java ferns on the bogwood. Biological filtration is good, and the nitrate/nitrite readings are consistently zero or at least well within the acceptable levels, but my main issue is with mechanical filtration, as the frogs are notoriously messy eaters, and there's always a brown mulch that can be found between the pebbles every so often. The frogs have eaten this on occasion which has led to bloating (Which I've medicated for and cured), so I'd really like to cut down on this, or have this happen in a way that the frogs can't get to it. They're fed only 2-3 times a week, and no more than they can eat within five minutes, and I syphon as much of the mulch as I can when I do water changes, 40% every two weeks- but there's always some whenever I look afterwards!

This is where my brainwave comes in- I have the idea of putting undergravel filter plates- like the Rena ones, on the aquarium floor, and having the intake tube from the Fluval connected to theuplift pipe of the filter to power it, essentially the Fluval will draw water through the undergravel filter plates, before filtering the water itself. I'm thinking that this will pull the mulch below the filter plates so's the frogs can't get to it, and adding another layer of biological filtration as it's broken down by beneficial bacteria. I was wondering if anyone else had used a similar system with fish or other aquatic animals, and whether this would work?

Any input would be appreciated, thanks.

 

[Colin_T]

using a power filter to run an undergravel (U/G) filter does work to a degree but you need to have two intake tubes, one at each end of the U/G filter.
The gunk you get in the gravel is frog poo and uneaten food. The easiest way to get rid of it is to do a gravel clean each week or even twice weekly. Alternatively get rid of the gravel completely and have a bare bottom tank, just glass and nothing else. Then the power filter will be more likely to pick up the gunk and trap it in the filter material. Make sure you clean the power filter once a month.

 

[drtim]

If youre not getting all the 'gunk' out when doing the water change, how about getting a small external, using the intake as a 'gravel cleaner' and having the output draining back into the tank.
Its just another idea, i have used it in the past, and it works well as long as you have big gravel, otherwise it sucks it all up!
Let us know if you try it
T.