BigA Posted April 20, 2007 Report Share Posted April 20, 2007 I got home from work yesterday and decided to clean my tank. Do the usual. Clean glass and change the water. Decided it about time to change my filter media as well. Lo and behold when I look at the canister for the filter (Rena XP3) I see something moving erratically in it. Ok. maybe it's some sort of gunk caught in a current of some sort. Upon closer inspection (...these are loafers! Remember Ranier Wolfcastle simpson fans?) I find out that I have not 1 but two different species of fry in my canister. Krib fry from when I was priming this filter on their tank about 6 weeks ago, and 1 lonely platy fry. Now here''s where I need help. How can I prevent this from happening again? Is it possible to get a guard or sponge of some sort to put over the intake? Should I separate my female platy's into breeding traps or another tank to grab the rest of the fry if one of them is dropping? Or wait 3 or 4 weeks, assuming that no more fry made it and then move them? How do I know which one it is? I tried to ID the preggers one a few weeks ago, but to no avail, I couldn't tell. Thanks for any help you can give. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whiterose Posted April 20, 2007 Report Share Posted April 20, 2007 Before we setup a fry tank, we picked up some cheese cloth and attached it to the end of our intake. Prevents the fry from getting sucked up but doesn't reduce the intake flow. Worked real well for us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigA Posted April 20, 2007 Author Report Share Posted April 20, 2007 How did you attach the cheese cloth? String? Silicone? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whiterose Posted April 20, 2007 Report Share Posted April 20, 2007 we just used elastics to attach it to the intake. Worked really well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sam Chicklets Posted April 21, 2007 Report Share Posted April 21, 2007 I use aqua clear sponges over the ends of my power filters on fry tanks. It adds extra filteration as well. The best way to get it to hold is to get the sponge fairly wet freeze it and drill a hole in it slightly smaller than the diameter of the intake intake on the filter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slough Shark Posted April 21, 2007 Report Share Posted April 21, 2007 I use the same Method as Sam Chicklets, though his method of "drilling" is much more elaborate than mine. I just use a knife to make a hole almost to the opposite end of the spoge, then it fits snugly over the intake, no prob. The only this that kind of sucks is that any of the larger debris that would usually go through the intake and end up inside the filter just gets stuck on the outside of the sponge and I have to clean it alot. I use it because my Kuhlis like to hug the intake on a regular basis. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
syno321 Posted April 22, 2007 Report Share Posted April 22, 2007 Would you prefer to clean the sponge on your intake or the complete canister filter? I use the AC sponges on ALL my intakes for mechanical filtration and just squeeze out the sponge when performing a water change. On my canisters I usually go at least 1 year between complete filter cleanings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigA Posted April 22, 2007 Author Report Share Posted April 22, 2007 I may have to try that...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corrosionjerry Posted April 22, 2007 Report Share Posted April 22, 2007 Glad I read this ... good alternative to regular sponge filters... I have had trouble in my tank that has brig snails in it with an HOB filter... the snails occasionaly like to go on the intake end and wind up being stuck on it and die... I will give the A/C sponge method a go. I am surprised that enough water gets through the sponge to adequetly feed the HOB... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NatureNut Posted April 23, 2007 Report Share Posted April 23, 2007 I use AC sponges on all my HOB intakes now. I put them on while the filters were running and I didn't even notice any slowdown on the output of the filter. Works great. Only thing I wish is that I could find sponge that would camouflage a bit better. LOL I buy larger sponges and just cut them to the size I need, BTW... cheaper that way, I think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corrosionjerry Posted April 23, 2007 Report Share Posted April 23, 2007 Has anyone tried putting sponge on a Penquin Bio Wheel filter... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vallisneria Posted April 23, 2007 Report Share Posted April 23, 2007 I use AC sponges on all my HOB intakes now. I put them on while the filters were running and I didn't even notice any slowdown on the output of the filter. Works great. Only thing I wish is that I could find sponge that would camouflage a bit better. You can buy black sponges that looks a bit better then the white/brown of the AC sponges. Big als carries black sponges in different sizes. I also bought a chunk of black sponge at AquaGiant that I use on my filter now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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