To Slow Down A Filter...

[Kairi]

Cloud is in a 10 gallon tank. His filter is a Whisper 10 (whatever... can't remember what exactly). He was ok with it at first, but I've noticed him really not enjoying swimming by the filter as it catches his fins and kind of shoves him around. What can I do to slow it down or divert the flow of water so it's not so strong all in one place?

And stopping the filter is out of the question.

 

[BettaGardener]

You can make a filter baffle out of a plastic bottle. You can use a water bottle, but soda bottles are better... the plastic is more stiff and will retain its shape over time better.

1) Cut the ends off of a plastic water bottle - the remaining piece should be the same length or longer than the filter outflow.

2) Make one cut down the length of the bottle so you can spread it open.

3) Wrap one end of the cut bottle under the bottom of the outflow and the other end over the top. You'll most likely need to tape the bottle to the filter or it will come off.

This will slow the water down. If you do a really good job, it will force the water to the back of the aquarium where it will gently trickle down the glass. You might need to experiment with the angles a little, because if it's trickling out right next to the intake and making air bubbles, the air bubbles in the intake will make an annoying slurpy noise. You can also shove some filter floss or sponge material into the bottle around the outflow... this slows the water down even more.

There's a DIY link for this on the UltimateBettas Forum... I was going to dig it up for you, but the forum seems to be down right now.

 

[Kairi]

yes, it's a HOB filter.... so a sponge, eh? The coke bottle thing sounds good too, but I am not too good at fixing stuff lol I'm afraid I'd end up mucking it all up

 

[BettaGardener]

Ah ha! Finally got the link:

http/www.petfish.net/articles/Do-It-Your...currentkill.php

It's pretty easy to do.

 

[lisie]

MAKE SURE ANY SPONGES YOU USE ARE SAFE! I used a sponge once in my divided 10 gallon, and whatever was on/in it killed two of my boys and almost killed the third.

 

[Kairi]

oh definatly. i was going to see if petco carried sponges tomorrow.... i'd be horrified if i killed cloud

 

[Dark_Lenne]

How would I go about slowing my current? I have a Juwel aquirium, so the filter system is in a box in the back right hand corner of the aquarium. The water outlet is a pipe about 3 inches long. But the system creates one hell of a current. Is the a way to slow it down? Could I just stuff a filter pad into the pipe?

 

[Taridan]

Or if you have any silk/real plants that can live (for real plants) in a current like that, add them to where the water is coming in so it hits the plant and slows down. at one point before I got silk plants I actually tied a piece of string to a plastic plant and taped the string to the top of the filter cover and dangled the plant in fro nt of the flow. My fiancee thought I was nuts, my Betta thought it was hilarious, and after five minutes I realised I had to take the back of the filter cover as well since the weight/pressure against the plant pulled it off and into the tank. but it worked after I taped it and lasted until I got my silk plants and new les current-y filter.

 

[wuvmybetta]

There's a link in the pinned section too..
http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=84710
HTH

 

[f250fisherman]

I have used regular clear packing tape to cover the slits on the pickup tube. I've covered part of it, which leaves some holes, but the intake pressure is more on these holes. I've covered all of the holes, and then cut the slits with a razor blade. This made the holes smaller. It really slows down the water flow. I wonderd about the glue on the tape, but tried it first on a community tank with no effects. I have used this several times for 3-4 months at a time, and had no ill effects at all on fry. If you want a regular filter to put on your intake tube, you can buy them from Kensfish. Here is a link. This link is for the bigger tanks, but it was the only one that showed a pic. It is a Filter max Pre-filter


Pre-filter

 

[~Bella~]

The soft drink bottle is a great idea! I just cut one up now to slow the current on my betta's filter because he didn't seem to like it and kept swimming under it and getting knocked around!