Hi

I have a 20gal tank with a fluval 2 plus , Iam thinking about going barebottom and was wondering what filter i will need to keep the barebottom poop free when i go bare bottom, What filter will i need besides my fluval 2?, What filter will be good enough and be near enough to bottom to keep the bottom clean its about a ft from bottom to top of water,

Would i need a big filter witch uses power, Or somesort of filter witch sits on the bottom witch operates of an air pump?

Would someone give me some names of filters witch good keep my bare bottom clean

Names of the filters and sites where i can buy them from would be excelent as iam not sure what i will be looking for a picure would help me

Hope someone can help me out as i really want to go barebottom so i can add some rocks and plants and pebbles etc to make it look fancy.

Thanks in advance

My favorite filters are Aquaclear. But for a bare bottom tank I think it is most helpful to extend at least one filter intake tube close to the bottom. It is also a good idea to have a turkey baster to suck up "accidents"! I ALWAYS do weekly water changes, & as I am removing water I clean the bottome real good!

Sounds like a nice idea. Regardless of filtration, the best way of removing solid waste like poop is by regular partial water changes using a gravel vac - the suction works the same way as it does through gravel and just lifts any solid waste fom the tank bottom.

Other than that, more filtration is usually the answer.

Personally, I recommend external/cannister filters, but they're not the cheapest. The good thing about this type is you can position the intake tube close to the bottom of the tank, but even then it won't necessary lift all solids from the bottom but they do keep solids moving around the tank and are more likely to get sucked up back through the intake. You could also just add another internal filter to the one you aready have, but the suction is not usually as powerful.

Most people on here recommend filtration that processes the whole tank at least 10 times an hour for goldfish, as they are soo messy.

So for a 20 gallon tank, which is about 75 litres, you need a filter or filters that will turn around at least 200 gallons or 750 litres an hour. I've just checked and the Fluval 2 plus you have does about 400 litres an hour, so you need another 350 litres an hour to make roughly 10 times filtration on your tank, if you see what I mean.

At this point it would be good to double check exactly how many litres your tank is. You could also just get another Fluval 2 plus to make up your 10 times and then that would do about 800 litres per hour, over what you need. Whether you decide to go bare bottom or not, it sounds like you do need to add more filtration anyway. A single fluval 2 plus will be working very hard to biologically and mechanically filter a 20 gallon tank.

The most popular filter types in the UK and most readily available tend to be internals like you've got and external cannister filters. You may find other types like bio-wheels and hang on backs but they're not so readily available here. Personally, I would avoid any type of air powered filter system with a goldfish tank and definately not an undergravel filter (which you coudn't use on a bare bottom anyway for obvious reasons) - they tend not to be up to the job with goldies.

Fluval are a good affordable brand, as are tetratec, there are many others available in the UK.

Hope this helps a bit

Have a look at these fluval filters while I look for some more


http://www.hagen.com/uk/aquatic/sub_catego...AT=1&SUBCAT=107

These are the ones made by Tetra, also readily available in the UK

http://tetra-fish.co.uk/tetratec/externalfilters.html

http://tetra-fish.co.uk/tetratec/internalfilters.html

Once you've decided what type of filtration you want, internal, external etc. then just have a look at you LFS to see what they stock, there are also some good online stores. I think there is a link in the UK forum pages about online stores

Hi, Yes i understand more now and for the fluval iam a bit low on money at the mo, Would a fluval 1 be good enough ?, Iam going to have to sort something out for another filter maybe get a power head and make the intake very low to the bottom of the tank,

I will try and sort some filter out and then maybe start to go bare bottom.

Ill keep you all informed i get paid in 2 weeks so ill have to wait untill then to purchase a filter, Unless any body on here has a spare second hand filter i could purchase from then

Thanks in advance.

I think a Fluval 1 plus would still leave you a bit short, as it only does 200 l/hr. That would take you up to 600 l/hr. Would definately help though. Maybe double check how many litres your tanks holds so you know what you need to reach in terms of filtration rate.

Try Ebay UK for new and used filters, you can save a lot of money buying like that. I bought my external filters through there, including postage for less than half, in some cases a third of what you could pay in the shops. I'm sure you could pick up a new or used Fluval internal quite cheaply from there. Have look what's available at the moment