Hi all,
First time poster, second time tank owner (if we count a rather poorly conceived one I had aged 10). I recently bought a [url=https://aquadistri.com/brands/superfish/aquarium/aquariums/quadro/]Superfish Quadro 70 Pro[/url] and have been having some issues with the filter, basically the intake is just a bit too powerful.
The tanks first inhabitants were some cherry shrimp after I'd checked on the product page that it's grilled filter intake was 'shrimp safe', that proved not to be the case. When I first bought them they sheltered underneath the intake so I sat and watched to make sure they could get back out, which they could, but unfortunately one morning I woke up and a few were missing. After a bit of frantic search I disassembled the filter and found that three of them had been sucked up and died :(. Lesson learned, I bought one of those meshed substrate bags and put that over the filter to add extra shrimp proofing, and things were rosy for awhile.
Fast forward to yesterday when I bought this handsome fella. A silver lining to the first disaster was that I was cautious about the filter, turning it off when I introduced him as I thought the flow would be a bit fast for him anyways. After a while I then turned on the filter and observed how he got on, he liked playing in the outflow but then he ended up getting his tail trapped underneath the filter and couldn't get back out. Dammit. I turned it off and he was able to get back out.
So that leaves me now with a filter I don't dare turn on. As a temporary measure I've replaced the pump in the bottom compartment of the filter with an airstone to hopefully drive some water flow up through the media, but it doesn't have enough pressure to flow out of the top so I don't know effective that will be.
I can't see any control for limiting the power of the pump so I was thinking my options are either:
[list]Limit the filters intake power somehow[/list]
[list]Replace it with a sponge filter[/list]
[list]Leave the setup with just the air stones[/list]
Limiting the intake power unfortunately doesn't seem to be something that can controlled on the pump, would stuffing the pump compartment be very effective? Then I imagine I'd have issues with whatever I stuff it with becoming clogged and requiring maintenance. I was also thinking I could cover up the underside intake but then I figure that'll increase the flow through the side grills which sounds like another recipe for a stuck betta.
Replacing with a sponge filter seems to me to probably be the most practical and safe option, it'll give me peace of mind about the betta and shrimp, and without the crystal clear in the current filter hopefully the catappa leaves I've added will actually colour up the tank nicely. Only things I'm less keen about are that it'll ruin the whole integrated look of the tank, though critter safety ultimately takes priority over this.
And then lastly easiest option would just be to leave it with the airstone in the pump compartment (and another elsewhere in the tank), which has the benefit of being easiest and keeping the established media and look of the tank, I'm just concerned about how effective it will be.
So yeah just looking for some input or any advice that anyone might have as I wasn't really sure where to go from here, I'm probably leaning towards just ripping out the damned thing and getting a nice simple sponge filter, but thought I'd see what others thought. Here's some pics of the tank, intake, removed filter, and a [url=https://streamable.com/kgd84q]bonus video of a betta elevator[/url]
